Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1) by Alene Anderson Read Free Book Online Page B

artists and the decision she had made regarding them.
    “I hope you had a good lunch.” Her mother always fussed over her as though, even at her age, she was unable to take care of herself.
    “Actually, I did. I went to lunch with Charlie Harrison.”
    “How’s she doing?”
    “Still on her honeymoon. Both she and Josh are absolutely crazy about Sloan.”
    “As they should be.”
    Her mother passed on a few tidbits of family news, then asked, “Would you like to have dinner with your father and me this evening?”
    “Thanks for the invitation, Mom, but I’m a little tired. Since I had a big lunch, I thought I would eat a light dinner and have an early night.”
    “If you’re sure. But you know we would love to have you.”
    “Ordinarily, I would love to come.”
    “All right, dear. Another time. You know you don’t need an invite. Just come any night. Of course, call first and make sure we’ll be here. You know your father and I like to eat out on a regular basis.”
    Amanda hung up the telephone and went back to her vacuuming. She couldn’t help wondering what her mother would have said if she had told her about the homeless man and how attracted she had been to him.
    There was only one answer. Her mother would have been absolutely horrified. It was fortunate that Charlie had taken it so calmly. At least if there were any more developments, she had someone to share them with. Regrettably, she couldn’t imagine having anything further to discuss with Charlie.
    In fact, she had definitely made up her mind to ride the bus the next day. It was the only way she had the remotest chance of forgetting about the homeless man and her attraction to him. With that plan decided, she put away the vacuum and headed for the kitchen.
    The evening passed as slowly as the afternoon at work had done. She picked up a book by one of her favorite authors, but try as she would, she couldn’t concentrate. She turned on the television and surfed the channels in an attempt to find a program that would hold her interest.
    There was no point in going to bed early. In spite of what she had told her mother, she wasn’t tired, and if she went to bed, she would only toss and turn. She should get herself a dog. It would be good company for her. She could put it in the backyard during the day. Now that she was rid of Eric, there was no reason not to have a dog. He had never wanted one. Said he didn’t want its hair showing up on his trousers.
    She stretched out on the couch. She was tired of trying to control her thoughts. Closing her eyes, she decided to give herself up to the luxury of thinking about the homeless man. She was able to immediately bring his face to mind and it gave her pleasure to remember those gray eyes and the way he had looked at her, as though he was as attracted to her as she was to him. She wondered if he was looking for a job. But who would hire him with those ragged clothes, shaggy hair, and beard?
    She really should quit riding her bike to work and take the bus. But then she wouldn’t be able to see him. She was tired of debating with herself, as to whether to ride her bike or take the bus. She wondered how much longer he would be hanging out with the other homeless men. Eventually, he would be heading off to some other town, which would cause her to lose all hope of finding anything out about him.
    She wished she would have had the courage to question him when she had almost run into him on her way home. Asked him what his name was, where he was from, what had happened to him that he was homeless. It would have been an ideal time to do so, since he had been alone.
    She could save herself the cost of hiring Gary Kaufmann, the detective. But perhaps it would be better if the man didn’t know she was interested enough in him to want answers to her questions. It might cause problems for her.
    She wouldn’t want him to become a stalker. All he would have to do some morning would be to follow her over to the Mall