On the Ropes by Trent Holley

Author:Trent, Holley [Trent, Holley]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Stephen wasn’t one for domesticity, usually, but there was a certain rightness about being in a kitchen with Jan. They didn’t have to talk to work together. They comfortably traded off chores and switched places without a word while listening to public radio. His mind was on the approaching tropical storm, but she seemed more interested in the current events tidbits—the cultural stuff most people tuned out.

She’d stop sweeping or drying dishes and would cant her head toward the radio, giving it her exclusive focus.

And he’d watch her, relishing the changes in her expressions from mild curiosity at one story to appalled pallor at another. She had all those emotions in her repertoire, and in a year, she’d never shown them to him. He’d known they were in her, though. She just had to be comfortable enough to show them. He couldn’t imagine what she must have gone through to have become so masterful at tamping down her passion.

The station transitioned into their weekend folk music hour, and Stephen turned off the radio.

Jan draped her dishrag over the sink divider and shut off the light over the stove.

The house was utterly quiet with Seth, Meg, and Toby having gone to The Sandbar, and it was early yet. Too early for bed.

“What do you want to do tonight? Up to you,” he said, and stifled a yawn. Shit. He thought he’d caught up on sleep. Apparently not. “We can go see if there’s anything good at the movies, go out for drinks, watch television… What are you in the mood for?”

“Hmm.” She tapped her fingertip to her chin. “How about we pour drinks here and take a walk on the beach? Is that illegal here?”

“No, it’s perfectly fine. What are you in the mood for?”

“Just wine. I’m not too familiar with mixed drinks, so I couldn’t even begin to make a request.”

“Really?” He grinned. “You worked at a resort all that time and never haunted the bars there?”

“Hell no. The bartenders may have been perfectly cordial to guests, but behind the scenes, they were rather lecherous.” She shuddered.

“I’m sure Seth would love to introduce you to the finer aspects of vodka, and I’ll leave that to him. You want white wine or red?”

“White. Thank you.”

He poured cold wine from the fridge into a plastic cup and did the same with his beer. The discretion was probably unnecessary, but there was a good chance they’d encounter some kids at the beach. He liked to at least pretend to be upright.

He handed her the wine cup, and they walked out the deck doors and down the stairs to the beach.

It was a beautiful night. The day had been a bit cloudy, but the night sky was spangled with blue-tinged stars and the ocean took on a silvery hue under moonlight. The wind had picked up since lunchtime, which Stephen attributed to the storm building off the coast. They might even have to evacuate inland, though he and Meg almost always rode out anything category two and below.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.