The Waiting Game by Unknown Read Free Book Online Page B

Your uncle is always doodling and sketching. You know that." He leaned down to flip through the rubber-band-bound stack.
    "Look. There are little drawings on nearly all the pages."
    "I know. But this is more than just an idle sketch." She swallowed, struggling to remember details.
    "There was a real wolf in his past, you see. A renegade killer. Never mind, it’s a long story. Uncle Lowell told me about him one night over a few drinks." Dazedly she stared down at the drawing.
    "Adrian, if this is the ‘unfinished business’ my uncle is taking care of, he’s in real trouble. We’ve got to do something."
    Adrian’s mouth tightened. He reached down and picked up the manuscript. "We are going to do something. We’re going to stay out of Lowell’s way and let him handle his unfinished business."
    "Adrian, we have a responsibility!"
    "My responsibility is to take care of you. Very clear–very simple. That’s what your uncle wants and that’s what I’m going to do. Now, if you really want to do something useful for Lowell, come on into the kitchen and help me clean up the mess. If we don’t take care of it, some helpful, foraging skunks or worse will take care of it for us."
    Chapter Three
    She was genuinely scared, Adrian reflected a few hours later. Tense, nervous, restless and scared. He had spent the past three hours alternately trying to reassure her that Lowell Kincaid could handle his own problems and trying to convince her that she was letting her imagination play havoc with her common sense. Neither attempt had been particularly successful. But then, he hadn’t had a lot of experience attempting to soothe the fears of others.
    It had been late by the time they’d finished cleaning up Lowell’s cabin, and when Adrian had suggested they spend the night at a motel instead of driving all the way back to Seattle, Sara hadn’t argued. He’d scrupulously booked two rooms at a charmingly rustic little lodge located just off the main highway.
    Now, as he studied her across the restaurant table, it occurred to Adrian that he was going to have his hands full trying to carry out the task Kincaid had assigned him in that damned recorded phone message.
    Nothing was going the way he had thought it would, and the knowledge irritated him. For the better part of the past year the unknown Sara had been hovering in the back of his mind, her nebulous image planted there by Lowell Kincaid.
    "The two of you are going to be great together," Lowell had told him with vast assurance. "But you both need a little time. You’ve got to get Phantom out of your system and she has to reach a few conclusions on her own. I figure in another few months–"
    "Lowell, you may be my best friend but I don’t want you playing matchmaker. Understand?" Adrian had been very firm even though he’d already downed a great deal of beer before the conversation had gotten around to the subject of Kincaid’s niece.
    "You’re going to love her, pal. Trust me. The two of you have a lot in common."
    "That's rather doubtful, isn’t it?"
    "I know people, Adrian. You should realize that by now. She’s perfect for you. She’s intelligent and full of life. She’s also fundamentally genuine and honest. She’ll help you keep your life in balance. You need a dose of enthusiasm and optimism. You’re too cautious. Furthermore, she’s capable of making a commitment to the right man. Luckily for you, she hasn’t found him yet. And she won’t as long as she hangs around those wimps she’s been dating for the past few years. She’s smart enough to play with the dross but wait for the real gold." Lowell had grinned. "She’s really very good at playing with life. In college she played at being pseudo-intellectual. She used to spend hours arguing about philosophical treatises. A lot of people thought she was serious, including her teachers. Got good grades. When she graduated she decided to play at being an artist for a while. Rented a genuine garret, wore her