Read Galin for Free Online Page A

again, she’d have to move
out, find something cheaper, maybe in some part of town she didn’t want to be
in during the day, much less at night. Now that too was put on hold. Stiffening
her spine, she looked over at the man only to discover He was gone. Dusty sat
there for several more minutes before she moved into the house. It was time to
get things done. Sunday was her only day off and she didn’t think she’d get any
sleep anyway.
    ~~~
    Galin watched the boy sleep. It was well past
noon and the aunt had gone out several minutes ago, but had knocked on the door
to tell Kip she was leaving. Galin had wanted to tell her not to wake the boy
but she’d left before he was disturbed.
    He looked down at the scar on Kip’s leg and
felt a new kind of fear. When he’d summoned Benny to the house it had been for
him to look at the wound, but Kip had refused to let him near him. Galin had
finally suggested that Kip was exhausted and had him go to bed. Lily had
confirmed what he had already thought. Kip had been marked.
    “What will happen to him now?” He knew that
Michael was nearby and didn’t even bother reaching for him when he asked. “I’m
worried for him. I cannot leave him now that Markum has come here. I won’t let anything
else happen to him. It’s bad enough that his aunt ignores him so much.”
    “You think that she ignores him, Galin?” He
nodded. “Hmm. I have not known her well, but I think that she loves the boy and
worries for him. The way she talked to Benny about him last evening makes me
think she would kill for the child. He is much loved, my good friend. But the
boy has to let it in before you can see it, I think.”
    “She treats him poorly. He is locked in here
all day when he isn’t at school. Did you know that he eats candy bars rather
than a balanced meal? Why isn’t she making him come out to have something good
to eat with her? She certainly eats well.” Galin had no idea if she ate or not,
but he was upset that he’d not been there for Kip when Markum had come for him.
“What sort of person is she? No better than his mother, I think. And that is
sad to me.”
    “I think perhaps you are forgetting that
there are two sides to every story. Mayhap you are only hearing the one that
Kip wants you to know. Have you met Dusty as yet? She is a very lonely woman
who is trying her best to make this work. And at great expense to herself. Dusty
has given up so much to give this boy a home, a roof over his head, and food
that he chooses not to eat. She will wear out soon if he does not give in.” Galin
glanced at the bed and wondered why he’d taken such a dislike to someone he’d
never met. “You should encourage him to meet her halfway. The woman is hurting
as well.”
    “She does what she will and leaves him to his
own devices all day and night. What can she be doing that would take her from
home so much?” Michael said nothing but Galin didn’t care. “I should think she would
be here with him. Making sure that he knows he isn’t alone. Had I the ability,
I would speak to him all the time, tell him that I love him and am here for
him. What has she done?”
    Michael said nothing as he moved about the
room. It was clean now, or at least in better shape than it had been the first
day. And his clothing was now hanging on hangers instead of lying about. When Michael
stopped at the desk and looked at the computer, Galin flushed. He could not
discourage the boy from looking at some of the sites he’d been looking at.
    “He is curious about sex, which is
understandable. Perhaps you could guide him in a more…safe part of his education.
All lovemaking does not involve paddles or whips.” Galin said nothing, thinking
that he’d never seen such pictures in his life and didn’t know why his body had
responded like it had when he’d seen them. But he had been telling Kip to go to
other sites, ones that talked of love and romance.
    “I have something I wish for you to do.” Galin,
happy