Death Sung Softly by David Archer Read Free Book Online

falling in love this fast, wouldn't it? Oh, but, why does he have to be such a great guy, then? Why does he have to make me feel like I'm the most beautiful girl in the world when he looks at me? Am I losing it, do I not have what it takes to attract a decent guy anymore?
    She lay there for several minutes, until Kenzie came in and climbed onto the bed beside her. “Mommy, are you okay?” the little girl asked, and Indie dried her eyes as she looked up at her daughter.
    “I'm fine, Baby,” she said. “I just thought something that made me sad, that's all, but I'm all better now. Let's go make dinner, okay?”
    “Okay!” Kenzie said, and took her mother's hand to pull her up off the bed.
    When she got downstairs, Sam was sitting in his recliner, but he got up and came into the kitchen as he heard her moving around in there. He sat at the kitchen table and watched as she got out pans, and Kenzie went back to the living room and turned on the TV.
    He'd been startled when she took off, and he'd seen the tears trying to come from her eyes just before she did, so he'd sat down and tried to figure out what he had said that hurt her feelings. The trouble with being a cop is that you become accustomed to analyzing motives, and so his thoughts had gone in that direction, trying to fathom what could have motivated her to start to cry simply because he hadn't told her about his music, yet. He'd let the possibilities run through his mind, and finally realized that the only one that made any sense was that she was feeling an attraction to him, just as he was feeling one to her.
    The other thing about being a cop is that you become quite confident in your own powers of deduction, so he was pretty sure he'd hit on the answer. The only question remaining was what to do about it, and that's the one he wasn't sure of. He sat and watched her for a moment, until she finally turned to face him.
    “Okay,” she said, “I owe you an apology. I don't know what hit me, just then, and I shouldn't have done that. I hope it's okay, and you'll forgive me.”
    “Nope,” he said, and her eyes went wide. “It's not okay, not until we talk about it. Come sit down for a minute, Indie.”
    She stared at him, afraid that she'd messed up somehow and might even lose the home she and Kenzie were becoming so fond of. “Can I get dinner started first? I'm gonna make chili mac, unless you don't want me to?”
    “That's fine,” he said, “go ahead.” He sat and watched as she put water on to boil in one pot, and put two cans of chili into another and turned the heat on low beneath it. When she was done, she came and sat down across from him, watching his face nervously.
    “Indie,” he said, “there's something I want to tell you, and I hope it's not gonna cause us a problem, cause I really, really like having you and Kenzie here. If what I say upsets you, I hope we can get past it and keep things the way they are, okay?”
    Okay, now I'm really nervous, she thought. “Okay—I'll try, anyway.”
    Sam smiled. “Okay,” he said, and then he seemed to be at a loss to say any more. He opened his mouth twice, but nothing came out, and it was the third time that was the charm. “Indie, you are a very beautiful girl,” he managed to say, “and I want you to know that I notice that. I notice it every single time I look at you, in fact, and I'm sure you've caught me looking at you a lot.” He blushed as he said it, and Indie suddenly felt a surge of hope begin to swell up within her. “The thing is, when I offered to let you come stay here, I promised you I wouldn't try anything, that it wasn't like that, you remember?”
    She nodded her head, and watched him closely.
    Sam cleared his throat. “Okay, well, see, if I'm gonna be completely honest, the more I'm around you, the more I'm feeling—attracted to you. I just adore Kenzie, and I've come to the point that I can't deny what I'm feeling for you, anymore. I've been trying not to let it show,