Up in a Blaze by Alice Brown Read Free Book Online

of which, where’s the little pipsqueak?” she asked, referring to Betty’s young son, Timmy.
    “He’s still with his grandfather. He was due to come home about a week ago, but when we got word that Gregory was out of jail, we decided it may be safer for him to stay where he is right now.”
    Cassandra nodded, glad to hear the young boy wasn’t in the line of danger. It had made her sick to her stomach to hear how Gregory had turned his drunken temper on the little boy the night he attacked Betty.
    As the car turned into a nice, quiet neighborhood, Cassandra wondered what kind of house her host kept. He showed up very well dressed yesterday, wearing a dress shirt and slacks, but she got the impression he was much more comfortable in jeans and t-shirts, similar to what he had on today. She hoped she wasn’t going to be walking into a bachelor pad, complete with dirty beer cans flung everywhere, and pizza boxes stacked in the corner.
    Walter pulled into the driveway of what appeared to be a well-kept modest home. The flowerbeds in the front yard looked very well tended, and the lawn freshly mowed. Hmm, if the outside looked this good, maybe there was hope for the inside.
    Everyone climbed out and made their way to the front door. Donte pulled a set of keys out of his pants pocket and unlocked the door. She watched he and Walter walk in first, taking a quick moment to look around, as if to make sure it was safe.
    Betty and Sissy stopped at the threshold. “You probably need to get some rest, so I’m going to let you get settled, and I’ll probably see you tomorrow since both the guys will be at work,” Betty stated as she reached over to give her a hug. Once she had Cassandra within her embrace, she whispered, “Trust me, Donte is a jewel. Just give him a chance. He really is a nice guy.” Then her friend released her, stepping back, getting ready to leave.
    “Umm, yeah, I’ll probably see you tomorrow,” Cassandra replied, still trying to figure out how she came into this situation to begin with. And what did Betty mean by “give him a chance”? A chance at what exactly? She was only staying with him because they seemed to think it was the best way to keep Betty safe. Sure, he was a good looking, chivalrous, soft spoken, well-mannered ranger, but she wasn’t stupid. A guy like him wouldn’t want anything to do with someone like her.
    She turned to see the two men shake hands. “I’ll see you at the office tomorrow morning. Call me if anything happens,” Walter stated then turned, glanced at her, and bowed his head slightly acknowledging her. “Ma’am, Donte will take good care of you. If I didn’t trust him implicitly, you wouldn’t be staying with him.”
    The front door closing had a ring of finality to it, and she rubbed at the goose bumps running up and down her arms. She looked over to her host for some direction.
    “Okay, well, are you tired? Do you want to lay down?” he asked in an effort to end the uncomfortable silence between the two of them.
    Standing there, watching him, she wasn’t sure what she was. Yes, she was kind of tired, and she definitely hurt. But if she did lay down, would her brain shut off long enough to allow her to rest? “Umm sure, I guess so.” She shrugged as if it were no big deal and then immediately winced. Damn ribs .
    “Let me show you to your bedroom.” Donte turned and started walking down the hall, leaving her to follow.
    He turned into a doorway a quick moment later, and she was pleasantly surprised at what was before her. She had noticed that the parts she had seen of his house looked to be very clean. No old pizza boxes lying around. No soda bottles or beer cans. The coffee table in front of his couch in the living room had been clean of all debris except a couple of magazines and a laptop.
    The room he was offering her now was decorated way more than she ever expected a bachelor’s extra bedroom to be.
    “I hope this will work for you.” Cassandra