Dark Star by Roslyn Holcomb Read Free Book Online Page B

he was on the hunt, or being
hunted, he’d recall the way she used to look at him -- the love and
tenderness she’d offered with her whole heart. Somehow the
knowledge that there was someone in the world who had once loved
him had a way of soothing and consoling him, regardless of the
circumstances in which he found himself. He watched as she sighed
and snuggled down into the pillow.
    Her hair fell from her face in long irregular
dreadlocks. When they’d been together she’d worn it long and
straightened, but right after she and Callie opened their bookstore
she’d cut it off. The locks suited her, adding an air of womanly
allure, an Earth Mother appeal. Her long high-bridged nose had been
almost too big for her face when they were younger, though it was
balanced by sharp cheekbones and a notably broad jaw. The features
were more symmetrical now that her face had filled out. But it was
those eyes that had captured him from the beginning and still held
him in thrall.
     
    University of Alabama, October 1994
    The room was unbearably crowded and the heat
was stifling. Nate stepped outside to catch his breath. Though it
was already October, there was no hint of chill in the air -- it
was still as warm and humid as late summer -- a not uncommon
occurrence in this part of southwest Alabama where November
tornadoes happened occasionally. Nate found a secluded corner in
front of the house away from the crowd and leaned against a tree.
The Denny Chimes struck the late hour and he looked up at the red
brick and limestone structure that glowed in the light of the
harvest moon. The air was redolent with the smokiness from that
afternoon’s bonfire. He didn’t really know why he was in such a
melancholy mood tonight. They had a hard-fought Crimson Tide
victory. The beer was cold and the women were plentiful. Usually
that was enough to engage his attention, but tonight there seemed
to be something missing.
    “ What are you doing out here all by
yourself? Usually you’re the one to close the place down,” a
familiar and welcome voice rang out in the darkness.
    Nate turned, happy to greet Callie who was
in his study group and a good friend. He was about to answer her
when he realized she was not alone. He locked eyes with the most
beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her eyes widened with the same
awareness he knew his own had to be showing. The world spun on its
axis as he realized that she felt as he did. Just like that he knew
his life would never be the same.
    “ This is my roommate Tonya. We’re leaving.
It was all I could do to get her to come to this party and she’s
had enough.”
    Nate realized that Callie was speaking to
fill the silence because neither he nor Tonya had said a word. He
took a deep breath.
    “ Y’all are leaving?” Callie nodded. Tonya
just stared at him mutely. “Shall I escort y’all back to your dorm,
little sister?”
    Callie grinned at him. “That would be
nice.”
    Their dorm was a fair distance from the
party location. A fact that Nate appreciated as it gave him a
chance to break the ice with Tonya. It didn’t take him long to
discover that she was an English major and like Callie, a
sophomore. He was a junior, but he and Callie were both majoring in
Business.
    “ So what do you plan to do with a degree
in English?” he asked, not really caring, but unable to come up
with anything else to say. He was pretty sure that if he said what
he wanted to she’d run screaming into the night, and Callie would
beat him to death with his B-Law book.
    They’d arrived at the dorm and stopped at
the large broad steps that led up to the red-brick Classic Revival
building. Tonya and Callie were seated on the steps while Nate
leaned against one of the large Doric columns that punctuated the
building’s characteristic Greek design.
    “ I’m a writer. I plan to write novels. I
promised my mama I’d get a teacher’s certificate -- she’s big on
fall-back positions, but I know I’ll write,” Tonya said