Earth Blend by Lori Pescatore Read Free Book Online Page B

first friend she had made
in town. They quickly became more than friends.
    Austin recently
found out his mom was really his step-mother. That on top of all
the other revelations about just who and what they really were made
her sick with worry about him. They both had been through a lot.
Before she met Marcus at the hospital where she did volunteer work,
she knew nothing about how she came about her special gifts. Her
childhood had been a nightmare she wished to forget. "Okay, enough
feeling sorry for myself." She voiced and tossed back the covers.
She got ready for the day.
    After showering and changing into her clothes for the day she
opened the refrigerator. She stared at the empty contents and
sighed. "Guess I should get a paying job so I can get some food."
The money she took when she went on the
run was taken back when the men found her. She made the money for them being forced to tell them lottery
numbers, casino games and anything else with numbers. "Okay. This
is what you wanted. Suck it up and get moving." She told herself.
Her stomach grumbled in protest. Ignoring the noise in her belly,
she grabbed her hoodie and opened her apartment door. Her nose was
instantly assaulted with a wonderful scent. Someone was making a
delicious breakfast. She locked her apartment door and turned. She
lived next door to Doctor Eli Elsworth. He became a close friend
and confidant when she first moved to the area. He knew what she
was and wanted to help her. He owns the apartment building and let
her live in there rent free. She hoped to rectify that once she got
a job that paid. Eli's apartment door was open and Julie smiled.
Eli was an Earthling and did not need to eat, yet the wonderful
food smell that drifted about was emanating from his apartment. She
knocked on the open door.
    "Door's open." Eli
called out.
    Julie walked in
and grinned at the sight that greeted her. Eli was wearing an apron
and cooking breakfast. "I'm not sure what to ask first. Why are you
cooking when you don't need to eat or where did you get the apron?"
Julie laughed.
    "I promised your
Uncle that I would make sure you ate. The apron... came with the
new pots and pans I purchased." He smiled at her. "Now come and
eat."
    Julie felt her
heart flutter when he smiled at her. Her mind drifted back to the
clearing in the woods. Eli and his Earthling family had banded
together to help rescue her and Austin from Luke, the evil man who
had tracked her to Virginia. Eli was barefoot and shirtless and
that was the image that flashed through her mind. She lowered her
head and hoped her blush did not show. "Have you heard anything
from Suron?" Suron was the eldest of the Earthlings who was upset
with Eli for using the Earth's forces to help in rescuing them.
    "You needn't worry
yourself about Suron." Eli placed a steaming plate of eggs and
sausage in front of Julie.
    She reached for
his hand before he pulled it away from the plate. "I do worry. You
should not be punished for trying to help me."
    Eli raised her
hand to his lips and kissed it. "Eat." He said, returning to the
stove.
    His lips left a
tingling on her hand that she quickly put out of her mind as her
stomach once again growled. She began to eat and relished every
bite.
    "So, what are your
plans for today?" He asked.
    After taking a sip
of the orange juice he set down, she responded. "Well, before work
I'm going to see if I can find a job that pays actual money. Then
I'm going to the hospital to try and explain my absence."
    "I told them you
had a sick relative, remember?"
    "I know but that
does not cover the questions they will ask. I hate lying. I want
that part of my life to be over."
    Eli walked around
the breakfast counter and placed his hand on her shoulder. "This is
a new beginning. It will take some getting used to."
    Julie smiled up at
him.
    "If I'd known you
were cooking, we would have been here sooner." Marcus said.
    Julie turned to
see Marcus and Austin. Austin was staring angrily at Eli.
    Marcus was