The Rules of Forever by Nan Campbell

Author:Nan Campbell [Campbell, Nan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2022-09-12T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Cara stepped out of the elevator and into the foyer of the Havemayer home. The Crosby piece was as magnetic and engrossing as ever, and she stared at it while she waited for Lauren to appear. She waited a few minutes with no sign of Lauren. Maybe she was somewhere near the familiar music Cara could hear, so she went to find its source.

The drawing room now featured a tall, elaborately decorated Christmas tree, and Cara paused by it before continuing her search for Otis Redding warbling a song Cara loved off to the left somewhere. She followed it into a room Lauren had not shown her on her last visit.

It was a mahogany-paneled library with heavily laden bookshelves on three walls. Many of the lower shelves held record albums instead of books, and there was an array of audio components sitting on a narrow table where Cara could see Otis’s LP rotating as he implored her to try a little tenderness. An imposing desk stood at one end of the room and a well-used sofa perpendicular to that, but the room was empty of people. As Cara turned to leave, she heard two voices approaching, neither of which were Lauren’s.

An older man entered the room followed by a woman who obviously was an employee. He stopped enumerating the list of items she was writing down when he saw Cara.

“Who are you?” the man who must be Lauren’s father said, his voice one degree shy of a demanding bark.

“Malcolm, this must be Lauren’s friend.” The woman stepped forward, gazing at her with kindness from behind a pair of large horn-rimmed glasses. “I’m Astrid. May I take your things for you? I’ll put them in one of the guest rooms. Lauren told her father you would be spending the night.”

Cara gratefully surrendered her bags to her. “I’m sorry, I’ve come a little earlier than expected.” She turned to Lauren’s dad as Astrid made a quiet exit. “Hello, Mr. Havemayer. I’m Cara Talarico. I went to Perry Bidwell with Lauren.”

“Cara Talarico.” He repeated her name as if he were committing it to memory. “You surprised me. It slipped my mind that you were coming.” He took her measure while he lowered the volume of the stereo. Lean and imposing, with short gray hair and sharp features that were nothing like Lauren’s, he had piercing blue eyes that seemed to be the only genetic link they shared.

“I’m sorry for intruding. I was following Otis’s voice.”

He gave her a stiff smile and folded his arms over his chest. “Irresistible, isn’t it?”

Cara nodded.

“How does someone so young know Otis Redding?”

“I guess the same way I’m sure Lauren knows about him. We have parents who enjoy his music.”

“I see. Were you at the reunion, Cara?”

“Yes, I was reluctant to attend, but happy in the end that I went.”

“I think Lauren felt the same.”

“It’s been terrific to see her again.” She stood awkwardly next to the console.

“Please sit.” Mr. Havemayer gestured to the sofa. “Forgive me, but I don’t remember her mentioning you back then.

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.