Read Natural Selection for Free Online Page B

his heart sink. As a result, he reverted to his usual defensiveness and let his ego take over.
    “A thank you would be nice.”
    “Thank you,” she snapped. “Now, what are you doing here?”
    He should have sped away. No matter how pathetic it was, he should have driven away as fast as he possibly could have. It would have been far better than the anger he was being subjected to now.
    “Horses are not the only animals that hold my interest. You know as well as anyone that I enjoy charitable organizations , and I like to look in on them from time to time.”
    “Is that what I was?” He watched while her brows scrunched together. “A charity?”
    “Hardly.” He wanted to say much more but could not. Kasper memorized the pebbles she kicked beneath her feet.
    “You hate dogs, ” she said.
    “But not you.” He took a step closer , slightly amazed that she did not turn away or go running back inside. “Never you.”
    “You could have fooled me.” As Emilia looked back up , he could see the anger there, as fresh and clear as the day itself.
    “You must know it was for the best.” How many times had Aasif told him the exact same thing? That Emilia had only offered him affection in return for his money and probably did not care for him at all?
    “I’ m not talking about this,” she replied. “Not here.”
    “B- but you will?” he asked, much more pathetically than he wanted to. “Speak to me, I mean?”
    Emilia stopped mid-turn , and when she saw the upstairs window; she thought she saw the blinds move but couldn’t be sure.
    “Will you talk to me , Emilia, allow me explain myself?”
    He was sure she heard the desperation in his voice but didn’t know how to hide it and was not sure he wanted to. There were few times he saw Emilia Ward lose her temper, but when he did, he knew she was prone to hold a grudge. And like many times before, Mrs. Levkin was right; Kasper would be incapable of living without her.
    “Sure ,” she replied. “I’ll talk to you.” Glancing back at the window, she smiled wryly, her expression transforming to something devious and wry.
    “ What ?” If he’d any skin showing, she would have seen him pale.
    She shrugged. “Yeah. It’s way too hot out here, and you said you wanted to see where your money was going.”
    He clenched his fists at his sides. Of course he had walked into that one— of course . “Ah, yes, I did, didn’t I?”
    “Besides, everyone wants to meet the man who saved this place.”
    People? She wanted him to meet people? Just how angry was sh e, anyway? He wanted to inquire more about her feelings, but she had already turned, leaving him with an ultimatum: either she wouldn’t see him, or he would have to be exposed to the world.
    His underbelly exposed, Kasper followed her w ordlessly, accepting his fate with each step and the beating of his malfunctioning heart. If he had hurt her, then perhaps his humiliation would resolve her anger—or at least begin the process. Even as he told himself this, he could not make himself stop shaking, couldn’t prevent the dizziness that overwhelmed him when his lungs began to stop working.
    He snapped out of it when he heard the bell against the door ring, signifying that he had, in fact, followed her straight into hell.
    The cool of the artificial air helped significantly, as did the fact that there was no one in the lobby that he could see immediately with the knowledge that they could see him. When his senses began to register, Kasper began to regret not having given the place more money. The place smelled of canine, though he had expected that. But he had not expected the quality of everything else to be quite as poor as it was. Holes in the walls had been plastered and caked over time and time again; windows were cracked; and only every other light bulb in the ceiling appeared to be working. He recognized mold on the ceiling and was both grateful and amazed that the air conditioning worked.
    “Th-t his is