Read Embers for Free Online Page B

affectionately. "I am, I am. But I'm just so ... up."
    Meg, lying on her back, stared at the cracked ceiling and sighed. Allie was always "up" when she was falling for someone.
    "Night, Allie-cat," Meg said, turning off the little clay lamp on the nightstand.
    They lay alongside each other in the dark, each with her own thoughts, for a moment or two.
    "Meg?"
    "Hmm?"
    "This one's different."
    ****
    When Tom Wyler opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Allegra Atwells, enchanting in a white sundress with a low square neckline, standing in a pool of sunshine in front of his bed. The sides of her black hair were pulled back in combs, leaving her flushed face in plain view for him to adore. In her left hand she held a big straw hat with a yellow band.
    "Up and at 'em, sleepyhead!" she said in a voice as lilting as her getup. "I have a full day planned for us!"
    He lifted himself as far as his elbows. His first thought was that he'd died of his wounds and gone to heaven. His second thought was that divorced fathers didn't get to go to heaven. "What time is it?" he said groggily, still disoriented. A big striped cat with tufted ears and a white throat appeared from nowhere, walked over him, and jumped to the floor.
    Allie held out a slender wrist for his examination. "Nine. How you slept through the twins' morning toilette, I'll never know. But now they're off to school; there's plenty of hot water; and the bathroom's available. It doesn't get any better than this — almost."
    It was that "almost," delivered with that half smile, that set his heart to turning over at a brisker pace. Oh, yes; he was awake now.
    But confused. "Did I sleepwalk into your room and beg you for a date last night?"
    She laughed — which made him suddenly want to take her in his arms — and said, "Your manners are much better than that. No, I planned your day all on my own, as I tossed and turned in bed. It starts with a quick tour of Cadillac Mountain , so c'mon," she said, giving his blanket a bold yank. "Up." She turned and, with a graceful sweep of her hat, floated out of his room.
    Since he wasn't wearing pajama tops (the room had an enormous, unstoppable radiator), he wondered how she could be so sure he was wearing bottoms. He was, but a fat lot of good they did: He looked down and groaned.
    Ready. Willing. Able.
    Damn it. This was not what he had in mind. A woman — any woman, but especially this woman — was an unnecessary complication. Who could rest around a beautiful woman? A man had a — well, the only real word for it was an obligation — to pay strict, constant attention to a beautiful woman. Just in case. Because you never knew. You could get lucky. She said herself she'd tossed and turned.
    Damn it. This was not what he had in mind. A box of books and a stack of CDs was what he —
    "Lieutenant Wyler. Do you mind?"
    It was Meg Hazard. She'd pushed the door the rest of the way open and was standing in Allie's pool of sunlight with a clutch of new towels in her arms and an ironic, infuriating smile on her face.
    He yanked the blanket up to cover himself and instantly felt like an ass for doing it.
    "We don't leave our guns draped over the furniture around here," she went on to explain. "Would you mind putting that away?"
    "It isn't loaded," he said shortly.
    "I'm glad to hear it. Terry shoots at things all day long on his video screen; no one wants him graduating to the real thing."
    "I understand completely," Wyler said. What he didn't understand was why a closed door meant nothing to these people. "I'll move my things next door as soon as I can," he added to reassure her.
    "No hurry," she said offhandedly. He couldn't tell if she meant it or not. "Allie tells me you two are doing Bar Harbor ," she added.
    Allie. White dress. Big hat. Red lips. The vision returned, pushing out the reality of Meg in her workaday khakis, blue shirt, and mercilessly ironic smile.
    "You have a nice day, then."
    "Yeah," he muttered. "You too."
    She left