Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers by authors_sort Read Free Book Online Page A

practically,” I said, and then suddenly realized how much I had been talking. During the last five minutes or so, I probably had said more than I had at school in a month. He sat with a faint smile on his face.
    “I guess I’m babbling,” I said.
    “No, no. You do sound proud of your heritage. I don’t hear much of that. I imagine you people in Southern states have it more.”
    “If you met my father, you’d understand,” I said. “He used to teach my sister and me our family history as if it were a subject in school.”
    “You didn’t tell me you had a sister,” he said.
    I looked away toward the window in front of the restaurant. There was Cassie looking in at us.
    “She died in a tragic, freak accident,” I began, and pushed the button that played my programmed explanation of my mother’s death and Cassie’s.
    Like everyone who heard it, he looked sorry that he had asked. But then he said, “So, there’s only you and your father now?”
    “And my uncle Perry, my father’s younger brother.”
    “He’s not married?”
    “No.” I paused and added, “And won’t ever be, to a woman.”
    He raised his eyebrows.
    Our food was served, and he quickly changed the topic of conversation, describing his plans to go to graduate school for business—but first, he thoughthe might get out into the real world and experience some of it firsthand.
    “That way, when I learn theory, I can either accept or reject it and explain why.”
    “That sounds very smart, Ethan.”
    “And you?”
    I shook my head. He was surprised I had no plans, no ambitions, and hadn’t even applied to any colleges.
    “You’re going to work in your father’s business, then?”
    “I don’t know. I’m not sure what I could do.”
    “Sometimes it’s good to take some time off to think things out carefully,” he offered. “You can do it, so you should.”
    After dinner, we went for a walk and talked some more. Actually, he did most of the talking, but he was always interested in what I thought about something he had said. On our way back to my campus, he told me he had enjoyed being out with someone who was not an airhead. When we drove up to the dorm, he got out quickly to walk me to the door.
    “How about we go to a movie tomorrow night?” he asked.
    “All right,” I said. “As long as I get permission.”
    “Permission? To go to a movie? What kind of school is this? Ellie might not have been exaggerating when she said there were practically bars on the windows.”
    “They take guardianship seriously,” I said as an abbreviated answer. I certainly didn’t want to get into why Collier was populated mostly with girls who’dhad serious problems at one time or another, and I especially didn’t want to mention my own.
    “Well, you’ll let me know. I’ll come by at six so we can grab a quick bite to eat at the mall first. Is that okay?” he asked when I didn’t respond.
    I nodded. This was beginning to feel more like a dream I wished would never end. I’d stay asleep forever to keep it going.
    He looked at me and smiled. “You’re a very beautiful girl, Semantha. I’m glad you’re shy,” he said. “That way, no one got to you before me and stole you away.”
    I started to laugh, when he kissed me. My first reaction was that fear that always lay just under my heart whenever a boy had looked at me with interest or had gotten too close since my pregnancy, but those feelings seemed to recede as he held me longer and then kissed me softly again. I felt myself relax and then respond. It surprised me more than it surprised him. He pulled back but held me.
    “Good night,” he whispered.
    I watched him walk back to his car, where he paused to wave before getting in.
    As he drove off, I felt Cassie at my side. She had been trying to step between Ethan and me all night. I had refused to let her get a word into me and, except for when I had seen her looking in the window, had avoided looking at her wherever she was.
    I