Seaglass by Chris Bridges Read Free Book Online

enough to allow her to graduate to the “single family home” category, but still the home had to be affordable with the potential for a bigger resale.
    After scouting out five different locations, she felt fairly certain about an old craftsman style bungalow. It was in a neighborhood of well-tended homes and Madeline could see from the outside alone that this home had gone into disrepair. She made a mental note to speak to Kayla about it. For now, she’d have to bide her time and hope no one else scooped it up in the next week. The house had already been on the market for almost four months, so the odds were in her favor.
    Madeline pulled her rumbling pick-up truck, affectionately nicknamed Rusty by Kayla, in front of the town pharmacy where she’d been renting a studio apartment for the past week. She’d lived in the condo during the renovations, but she’d needed to vacate and decided that maintaining a residence off-site was probably a lot more practical. The little apartment was an expense, but not a big one. She locked up Rusty and headed up the narrow stairwell to the third floor apartment.
    She hadn’t seen Knox since their run-in outside of the movie theater, but she’d thought about him—a lot. The magnitude of the news Kayla had shared with her had scared her at first and she was a little afraid that if she’d seen him soon after, she’d have blurted out something lame or pitying. That was the absolute last thing she wanted. She was attracted to him. That was the simple truth of it. Knowing what she did about his vision problems didn’t change that.
    She opened the fridge to discover she had practically no food unless you counted the jar of mayonnaise and bread that was well on its way to becoming penicillin. She was bone tired and decided instead of heading to the grocery store, she’d treat herself to dinner at the café.
    Madeline tossed the moldy bread into the trash as she grabbed her keys and wallet and headed back downstairs. It was her favorite time of night; day sliding into evening. The deep blue and pink of the sky brought a slightly cool breeze that stirred the stifling humidity. She crossed over Main Street and trotted the few steps to the café.
    Madeline pulled open the door and was dismayed to see the café practically at maximum capacity. She waited for a harried waitress to seat her.
    “It’s just me.” She offered apologetically.
    “There’s space at the counter?” The waitress tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
    “That’s fine.” Madeline smiled as she walked to the counter and sat down in the last seat available.
    “What can I get you, honey?”
    “Oh, um…turkey club and a Dr. Pepper, please.” Madeline answered without opening the menu. She watched the waitress’s pencil stop suddenly.
    “Are you picking up an order?”
    “What? No.” Madeline answered, confused.
    The waitress turned around and grabbed a Styrofoam container off the counter. “I just prepped the same exact order for pick up.” She exclaimed as she laughed to herself. “I’ll get your drink and be right back.”
    Madeline frowned. A turkey club can’t be that uncommon. She swiveled slightly on her barstool as a shadow fell over her. She turned quickly and sucked in a hard breath when she saw Knox Barrows standing behind her.
    “Knox.” She said, embarrassed to hear the breathless quality of her voice.
    “Maddie.” He said as he looked down.
    She felt herself involuntarily smile at his casual use of her new nickname.
    “Are you…do you…” She stammered as she tried to order her thoughts.
    Knox, picking up on her train of thought, quickly said, “I’m just picking up a sandwich. I gotta get back.” He gestured to the door.
    “Oh. This must be yours.” She realized the mystery owner of her exact order was Knox. “Turkey club and Dr. Pepper, right?”
    She watched his lips twitch as he fought a grin. “How’d you guess?”
    “Knox!” The waitress hollered from across