Page 61 of Free to Run
Walking her to the back door, I turn to her and run a hand over her blonde hair. “How about we finish this conversation over breakfast tomorrow when I pick you up for work?”
She swallows nervously, causing my brows to lower.
I thought we had already agreed on seeing where this was going to lead, and then I hear her whisper, “I’m not sure if I’m ready to go into the office yet. I’m not entirely certain they want me back.”
Now I really want to kick my sister and the rest of her family in the ass. Except for Corinna. I’d welcome the whipped-cream ambush every day if I could eliminate the uncertainty out of Alison’s voice.
“Baby, they are way more uncomfortable about what happened than you are.” I shake her slightly. “You did everything right with the way you handled me. You did everything right to maintain your self-esteem. They were wrong, and Caleb agrees with me. Corinna agrees with me. You need to get past this. It isn’t you.”
“Cassidy thinks I was wrong.” And hearing those whispered words pulls out my protective instinct full force.
“Right. We can go over to Cass’s house and deal with this tonight.” Her appalled face answers that for me, so I continue talking. “Or we can go to breakfast, get you some of your favorite coffee, go to the office tomorrow and basically tell them all to shove it. And since I’ll be in hearing distance, I can jump in if they try to pull any bullshit.” I wait for her to respond, and when she doesn’t, I tack on, “And if it gets too bad, we can enlist Corinna to make more whipped cream.”
Alison grins. “Option B.”
I relax. “What time should I be here?”
“What time do you need to start work?” she counters.
I think for a minute. “My first call is at nine. Is seven too early?”
She snorts derisively. “Please, Keene. I’m the one who normally gets up to run well before that. I’ll see you at seven.”
She walks away.
Just as she hits the door, I call out, “Alison?”
She turns back. “Yes?”
“Right now, it may not seem like it matters a lot, but it does.”
“What does?” She looks at me quizzically.
“Taking this chance with me.” I step backward slowly. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.”
“You too, Keene.” She steps out of sight and closes the door.
Walking around the front of her house, I feel anxious and hopeful, despite the bugs that have been attacking me since the sun went down.
Almost cheerfully, I swat at my neck as I approach the converted carriage house my sister and Caleb have made their home. As I’m about to open the front door, my phone lights up with a text. Hoping it’s Alison, I unlock it, and I’m visually assaulted by pictures of Melody fucking herself with objects she’s stolen from my home.
I’m disgusted.
I’m appalled.
I want this over.
26
Alison
“Is this life or death?” Corinna mumbles when I call her early the next morning.
“I don’t know. Does a breakfast date with Keene before I go into the office count?” I say sarcastically.
“Holy shitballs! Yes, it does!” Corinna is clearly awake now. “When did all this happen?”
“After you threw a massive quantity of whipped cream on him, and before I woke up this morning,” I reply dryly. I’m standing in my closet, trying to determine what to wear. I have the phone on speaker while I search through the racks.
