Read Banish Misfortune for Free Online Page A

her ears attuned to sounds from above her, sounds that never came. After another hour or two of fitful sleep she had dragged herself downstairs to face Hamilton and Elyssa's sympathetic company. She yawned hugely, then managed a stiff smile that fooled no one. "I think the sooner I get off the better."
    "You can't, Jessica," Elyssa protested from her station by the coffeepot. "Springer came in sometime last night and I don't want you to take off without finally getting a chance to meet him."
    Jessica hesitated only a moment. "Some other time, Elyssa. I really have to get an early start—you know how I hate driving on the expressways, and the longer I put it off the worse it will be."
    "I'm ready when you are."
    Considering that she had only heard that voice once before, the familiar way it slid down her spine was surprising. She didn't bother to turn, to give him the benefit of her attention, but then, there was no need. With a glad cry Elyssa threw down the linen towel and rushed into her son's arms.
    "You're up early, darling," she murmured. "I thought you'd sleep till at least noon."
    "Normally I would have, but I had a previous engagement," he said, smiling down fondly at her. A gloomy foreboding filled Jessica, and she watched the cool nod he exchanged with his father with a feeling of extreme wariness.
    "You're not going off right away, are you?" Elyssa cried. "You just got here, Springer, and I haven't seen you in months."
    "Sorry, Ma," he said, slinging an arm around her slender shoulders and casting a speculative glance at Jessica's still form. "But I'm spending the weekend at Peter Kinsey's out on the island. He suggested I drive Jessica, since she apparently hates city driving."
    Elyssa cast a confused glance between the two of them, taking in the wary stance of one, the mocking smile of the other. "You two somehow managed to meet?" she questioned carefully.
    "Somehow," her son said. "We ran into each other looking for a midnight snack." He looked at his father then, the distant, cool look back in his eyes. "For a moment I thought you might have developed better taste in your old age."
    "Springer," Elyssa reproved gently, but Hamilton took it in stride.
    "Still your same winning ways, I see," Ham said softly. "Welcome to the East Coast, my boy. I'm glad you could make it." He held out one beefy hand, and Jessica found herself silently praying he would take it.
    Springer waited just long enough for the tension to stretch to the breaking point, and then he reached out and took his father's hand. To Jessica's eyes it wasn't much of a concession, but to the others it was clearly a start, and nervous smiles broke some of the strain.
    "I didn't know you and Peter still kept in touch," Ham said, handing him a cup of coffee. "I thought after Princeton you two drifted apart."
    "We did." He took a long, appreciative sip, the shadows beneath his dark, fathomless eyes attesting to his exhaustion. "But when Jessie mentioned him last night I decided it was time to renew my acquaintance."
    "Jessie?" Elyssa echoed, as Jessica choked on her coffee. "I've never heard you called a nickname before. I thought you didn't like them."
    "I don't!" she snapped, setting her coffee cup down on the butcher-block table. She noticed with distant dismay that her hand trembled slightly, from both the caffeine and the presence of that infuriating man.
    "Well, don't even bother trying to change Springer," Hamilton advised. "He'll call you any damn thing he wants, and there's nothing you can do about it."
    "I can refuse to answer." She slipped off the stool. "And I'd better get going. Thanks again, Ham. I appreciate your shelter from the storm." She gave him a swift kiss on his raddled skin. Jessica wasn't the type to touch people, and when she did, it was for a very good reason. She wanted to show that cool, mocking creature that some people loved and cared about his father, didn't make arbitrary judgments and nasty cracks.
    "I'm ready," Springer