In All of Infinity by H. R. Holt Read Free Book Online Page B

opened the book, she began thinking
what Isaac had said to her. So what if she liked animals? It wasn’t
as if she were the only one in the world who did. As for watching
movies, she had seen plenty and was currently hiding a secret crush
for Clark Gable from her father. Was it that obvious? She didn’t
like the Tarzan comment either. She talked when she needed to, and
babbling wasn’t something she ever planned to master. Isaac could
talk all he wanted, but she wasn’t going to listen to him.
     
    Reverie hadn’t walked far when she heard a
car come up beside her. She paused with the book in her hands,
clenching her teeth, and stared along the sidewalk. She knew who it
was without having to look, and wished he would leave her alone. If
there was anything that she detested about the day, it was ever
having met Isaac Partridge. Of course, she hadn’t been the one
who’d walked into his life; he’d walked into hers.
     
    “Reading again ?”
     
    Reverie ignored him and continued walking,
but he drove along slowly beside her. She began whispering the
passage in the book about the black bear, knowing she would have to
read it later to understand it. She could sense evil thoughts
trying to sneak into her head and, try as though she might, she
couldn’t get them to stop forming. She wanted to leap at him, tell
him to leave her alone, but she remained calm.
     
    “Where do you live? I’ll give you a ride.
That stack looks very heavy,” he said with laughter in his voice.
“Are you the doctor’s daughter?”
     
    Reverie looked at him and her arms suddenly
gave out, causing her to drop everything she was holding. As she
got down on her knees to gather everything, she heard him get out
of his car, slam the door, and rush over to help her. She rolled
her eyes at his laughter, wishing he would stop making fun of
her.
     
    “I don’t need your help,” she said and
swatted at his hand when he tried to pick up one of her notebooks.
“If I did, I would ask for it.”
     
    She looked up at him as he bent over his
knees, looking down at her, smiling. For a second, time seemed to
stand still, and then it shattered and punctured Reverie’s very
nerves.
     
    “I don’t need your help,” she quietly
repeated and began putting everything into the stack. She paused
when she realized he wasn’t saying anything. “I’m sorry if that
offends you.”
     
    “Why do you think that offends me? It’s not
like you’re my girl,” he said sincerely.
     
    He shoved his hands into his pockets and
walked away. When he got back in the car, Reverie stood and looked
at him, at the solemn expression on his face, and realized that he
was hurt. He started his car, ignoring her completely, and gulped
sharply. She wanted to say that she was sorry but the words died in
her heart. Instead, she watched him drive away, wondering if she
had been completely wrong about him.
     
    ***
     
    When Reverie at last arrived home, she
stopped in the yard and looked at the house. She had been living
here her entire life, but she was always mesmerized by it. The
architecture was completely different from the way the buildings on
campus looked. When she had first seen the schoolhouse, she had
decided then and there that, if the place was modern, she
wasn’t.
     
    Reverie found the key under the doormat and
went inside. Walking over to the living room to put down her books,
she realized how quite it was. Since the man of the house wasn’t
due back for a few hours, she knew she had the place to herself.
She wasn’t going to stay inside, though. Where her father was prone
to sitting still for hours on end, she always had the urge to move.
She took hold of the animal book and headed for the door.
     
    “Glad to see that you’re home early.”
     
    She froze with her back to the staircase and
hand on the doorknob. The voice wasn’t masculine in the slightest,
but feminine with an accent that emanated class and authority.
Reverie had met her only a few