Graveyard Shifts: A Pat Wyatt Novel by Laura Del Read Free Book Online Page A

name sounded as though he was choking on it.
    “Thanks.” I smiled, trying to be nice. But when our hands touched, my whole body tingled and the smile faded. “And call me Pat.”
    Our eyes met when I took the phone from him, and I saw how startlingly green his were. I must have stared for about a minute before I looked down to dial the hotel where Tina and I were supposed to be staying.
    “Excuse me,” I whispered, getting off the chair. Then I sprinted into the foyer to get away from this Michael Wolf person.
    “Hello. Saint Mark’s hotel,” a very bored clerk answered the phone. “This is Lisa speaking. How may I direct your call?” Boy, she was a ray of sunshine. But not even her nasty mood could bring me down from my high.
    “Room 204, please,” I rushed into the phone so the lawyer wouldn’t hear. I didn’t know why, but I felt it was something I had to do.
    “I’ll patch you through,” she coughed, putting me on hold. At least I was back in the twenty-first century again.
    “Gee,” I rolled my eyes at the hold music, “thanks.” I waited as it rang once, twice, three times… “Pick-up!”
    “Mmm?” Tina moaned groggily. Wow, she must have been so worried. “Hello? Who is it?”
    “Tina,” I said, looking over my shoulder to see if the Wolf was in the other room. He was. “It’s me, Pat.”
    “Patty! Where are you?” she asked through sleepy anger. That was more like it.
    “Do you remember that man last night?” I asked, almost giddy with emotion, which was new for me. Actually, everything was new, even the scene in the other room with Mr. Hot Wolf Guy.
    She yawned. “How could I forget? He kinda followed you out.”
    “Well…” I paused, thinking about how to tell her. She would have fallen right over if I just came out with it.
    “Well, what?” She perked up, which is when I knew I could tell her.
    “Do you remember what you said about me getting married?” I asked, and I had to admit that wasn’t the best thing to start with. Hey, it’s what I had at the moment.
    “Mm-hm,” I could hear the smile in her voice.
    “Well,” I said, grinning like the fool that I was, “you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
    “What?” she asked surprised. “You did not!”
    “I did.” I nodded vigorously. Then I felt a cold breeze caress my chest. As I glanced down, I saw that the top of my robe was open, and it showed between my breasts. That was why Mr. Wolf-Man had looked at me so strangely. So I quickly closed the gap with my newly ringed hand, which seemed to be heavier than usual considering that I don’t wear a lot of jewelry, and I quickly brought my attention back to the conversation at hand.
    “Oh my God!” she squealed, overly excited. “I am so jealous right now. Was he good in bed?” she asked seriously.
    I shook my head. Only Tina would ask that. “Good? How about fantastic!” The laugh came out of my throat like the involuntary spasm it was, and it hurt a little.
    “Are you actually laughing?” she asked, sounding shocked. And who could blame her? After all, I hadn’t laughed, cried, or had any other true emotion since my mother’s funeral.
    The laughs just kept coming. “I can’t help myself,” I whispered.
    “Yay!” She clapped with enthusiasm. “So when are you coming to get your car? You know, so you can give me all the dirty details in person.”
    “I don’t know when I can. You see,” I paused looking over my shoulder in order to see Mr. Wolf staring at me. And when I waved, he did the same. I noticed that he looked mortified, so I turned back to the conversation. “I’m in the Hamptons,” I whispered even lower.
    “What do you mean,” she whispered back, “you’re in the Hamptons? And why are we whispering?” That was a good question. And I didn’t know the answer.
    “Exactly what I said. I’m in his house,” I clarified, “in the Hamptons. And the reason why I’m whispering is that I don’t want someone to hear this