Unlikely Allies by Tiffany King Read Free Book Online Page B

last three summers."
    "Yeah , right," I said. My side was splitting from laughing so hard.
    The rest of the drive passed quickly as we compared book titles. I was amazed at the amount of books he had read and took notes on some of his favorites. I made a mental note to allow more time for reading in the future. I enjoyed reading, but it had always taken a backseat to my art.
    Rick pulled into the first gas station we ran across when we hit the foothills and I got out to stretch my legs. I was awestruck at the vastness of the mountains we had just left and wished I had the foresight to bring my sketchpad.
    "Pretty amazing, right?" he asked, joining me.
    "Most definitely. I wish I'd brought my sketch pad," I said wistfully.
    "I'm sure we can get you one in there," he said, pointing to the large store hooked to the gas station.
    "You think so? " I asked, doubtfully.
    "Trust me , this store carries everything but the kitchen sink. We can grab some grub at the restaurant , and you can look out the window and sketch to your heart's content."
    "You don't mind?" I asked, bouncing slightly in excitement.
    He laughed at my enthusiasm. "Not at all. I need to catch up on some emails," he said, holding up his laptop. "Not having Internet at Camp UA makes it a little tough at times. I'm going to hit the bathr oom while you look for a sketchpad. Do you mind holding this?" he asked, holding out his laptop.
    "Sure."
    A few minutes later, I met him outside the archway that connected the restaurant to the store.
    "I found o ne," I said, holding up the pad gleefully. "And guess what else I found out? They do sell kitchen sinks," I teased.
    "No shit?" he asked.
    "Kidding," I said giggling as the hostess approached us.
    "Two, Mary," he said.
    "How's it going , Rick? We've missed seeing you around lately. You can always tell when it's summer time around here. It gets a lot quieter without our loud mouth boys," she said, shooting me a wink. "Speaking of which, what've you done with my boy? "
    "Mason's up at the camp doing some last- minute stuff before the rowdy bunch arrives tomorrow."
    "I see. I guess I understand that excuse, but you tell him I'm expecting a visit as soon as summer's over. So , who might this lovely lady be? " she asked, setting our menus down at a table next to a huge picturesque window with a breathtaking view of the mountains.
    "This is my daughter," Rick said, throwing his arm across my shoulders.
    "Ahh, so you decided to take my advice and adopt another one of them young'u ns ," she said, cluckin g happily as she set our napkin- wrapped silverware on the table.
    I stiffened under Rick's arm. This was going to be everyone's assumption, and for some reason, it struck a sour chord in me. I was robbed of the opportunity of knowing him when I was younger, and it seemed unfair that it would trickle into adulthood, even after I found him.
    "No, Kimberly is my biological daughter," he answered.
    "Well, I'll be. I'm bettin' that's an interesting story," she said, obviously curious.
    "Definitely intriguing," Rick answered glibly, shooting me a smile of reassurance.
    Getting the hint, Mary took our drink orders before bustling away.
    "Small towns," Rick said, noting my silence.
    I nodded my head, pretending I got it, but in reality I didn't. Rick booted up his laptop while we waited for Mary to return with our drinks. He looked as if he wanted to say more, but a blanket of awkwardness covered us. Trying to take my mind off the sudd en tension, I opened the sketch pad and rubbed my hand over the clean smooth surface. Opening a new pad was always a spec ial ritual for me, knowing I would forever be changing it. I opened my oversized bag and rummaged around for my box of pencils that I never went anywhere without. The window at our table perfectly framed the view of the mountainside as my hand began the first sketches across the paper. I liked to sketch the overall picture in basic form first, and then go back to fill in all the details.