Nightfall by Laura Griffin Read Free Book Online

Street to the park, where she deposited her equipment
beside the lily pond. She glanced around, cataloging the details of
the composition. The wooden footbridge formed a low arc over the
water. Sunlight glistened off the pond’s surface, creating a
shimmery, storybook effect that Maddie had taken advantage of
before. As one of the few natural backdrops in this congested
college town, the park was a good place for wedding photos—or in
this case, engagement shots. Normally Maddie liked using it, but
this appointment had run way over schedule and she was anxious to
get back to the lab. She opted to skip the tripod and keep this
quick.
    Maddie composed the shot as
Hannah arranged her future husband behind her. In matching white
dress shirts, faded jeans, and cowboy boots, the couple’s look
today was what she thought of as Texas preppy. Hannah settled their
clasped hands on the side of the bridge, putting her two-carat
diamond on prominent display.
    “ How’s this?” she
asked.
    “ Perfect.” Maddie snapped
the picture. “I think I got it. Just a few more and… that’s it.
You’re done.”
    Both pairs of shoulders
relaxed. Devon looked at his watch, clearly relieved to be finished
with what he probably thought was a marathon photo shoot. He had no
idea what awaited him on his wedding day.
    Hannah turned and smiled up
at him. “Do I have lipstick on my teeth, sweets?”
    He grinned down at her. “No.
Do I?”
    Maddie lifted her camera one
last time as he reached down to brush a lock of hair from his
fiancée’s face.
    Click.
    And that was the money shot. Maddie knew
it the instant she took it. The ring wasn’t in the picture, but she
hoped they’d order a print anyway. Maybe they’d put it in a frame
on their mantel, where they could glance at it occasionally and be
reminded of the genuine fondness they’d had for each other before
the years set in.
    And, really, what more could
anyone ask of an engagement picture?
    Her mission accomplished,
Maddie collected her equipment.
    “ How soon can we see
something?” Hannah asked as she joined her on the grass.
    “ Oh, I’m guessing—” Maggie
checked the time. It was already 5:40. “I should have these posted
to the site tomorrow—plenty of time to pick one for Sunday’s
paper.”
    The bride-to-be looked
crestfallen. “You mean not by tonight?”
    Maddie took a deep breath.
She counted to three mentally. Yes, her day job paid the bills, but
freelance work was the icing on her cake. And that business relied
heavily on referrals.
    “ I’ll do my best,” she said
brightly, even though it meant turning her whole evening
upside-down. And that assumed she wouldn’t get called out for some
emergency. “I can probably get you something by midnight. If I do,
I’ll email you the password for the gallery.”
    “ Thank you! I really appreciate it.
Everyone’s dying to see how these turn out.”
    Maddie wasn’t sure who
“everyone” was, but she managed to keep a cheerful expression on
her face as they exchanged good-byes. Then she hitched her tripod
onto her shoulder and trekked across the park.
    Her stomach growled as she
headed for the garage where she’d parked. She cast a longing look
at the sandwich shop on the corner. Food would have to wait. She
needed to get back to the lab and send out half a dozen files
before she could possibly call it a day.
    She ducked into the shade of
the parking garage, avoiding the stairwell in favor of the ramp.
The blustery February wind had died down, and the air was thick
with car exhaust. Maddie hugged the concrete wall so she wouldn’t
get clipped by a driver rounding the corner. She reached the third
level and spotted her little white Prius tucked beside a pickup.
She dug the phone from her purse and checked for messages. Her
boss, her sister, her boss, her boss.
    Shoes scuffed behind her.
The skin at the back of her neck prickled. Maddie paused and
pretended to be reading something on her phone as