Read Smoke and Mirrors - Hollywood Knights One for Free Online

didn’t appear to change any;
she still seemed content and peaceful.  My own mood took a
turn for the worse, though, and I excused myself to shower off the
salt and the sand, hoping to at least keep my grumpiness from
rubbing off on Elizabeth.
    By the time we’d both gotten cleaned up and into bed,
I was feeling better, and Elizabeth still seemed okay, too. 
It had been a good day, and I refused to let the past —mine or
hers— destroy it. 
    Moving-on day , I reminded
myself. 
    But while I slept that night, I dreamed, and when I
dreamed, I dreamed of the past.
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
    Elizabeth woke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next
morning, but thanks to unpleasant dreams, I was exhausted and had
to force myself out of the übercomfortable bed.  By mutual
agreement, we skipped breakfast in the hotel in favor of a place I
knew that had awesome pastries and even better coffee. 
    The coffee helped a little, and some good music on
the satellite radio helped even more.  I felt alert enough to
drive, at least long enough to get us out of Jacksonville and onto
the freeway.
    “I know you well enough to know you’ve done the
research, so what do you think, Em?” I asked.  “I-10 through
Texas?”
    “Fuck no.  Have you ever driven I-10 from here
to Texas?  Or through west Texas?”
    “Can’t say as I have,” I admitted between sips of
coffee.
    “Well, I have.  It’s boring.”
    “How boring?”
    “More boring than a subtitled art film about
accountants watching paint dry.”
    That surprised a laugh out of me, and I ended up
spraying the steering wheel, dash, and windshield with mocha
latte.  Elizabeth handed me a napkin, and I wiped my face
before I told her, “Dylan would so not like that accountant
remark.”
    “She’d love it.  She’s all about the
stereotyping of her chosen occupation.”  She paused and then
added, “One of her chosen occupations now, I guess.”
    “She didn’t exactly choose motherhood,” I pointed
out.  “It kind of chose her.”
    “True.”
    “Speaking of which...I don’t think there is any
tactful way to address this.”
    “Oh, God,” Elizabeth said, setting her coffee in the
cupholder and crossing her arms across her chest.  “This can’t
be good.”
    I fumbled my sunglasses out of the console and slid
them on.  “It’s just...I saw something.”
    “Shit.”
    “The future is constantly in motion.  All I
really see are probabilities, and sometimes I misread what I
see.  It’s very inexact.”
    “Okay.”
    “And I love you like a sister.”
    “Just spit it out!”
    I sighed and changed lanes.  “Okay.”  I
tried to think of a decent way to word what was on my mind but
ended up settling for, “If you don’t want to spend nine months
wondering who the dad is, you might want to
be really careful.”
    Elizabeth was quiet for a long time.  When it
was safe, I chanced a glance her direction.  She looked
pensive. 
    “Duly noted.”  There was another long span of
silence, and then she said, “Thanks.”
    “I’m sorry if I freaked you out.”
    “It’s okay,” she said, but she turned up the radio
loud enough that conversation was no longer an option.
    A couple of songs later, she started singing along,
and I figured she was okay again.  I didn’t want to rush her,
though, just in case.  Besides, there is nothing at all wrong
with spending some time just driving and singing along with the
radio.
    Once we got out of Jacksonville, I found a service
station and pulled in to fuel up.  I was pulling the gas cap
off when Elizabeth popped out of the car, purse in hand, and asked
if I wanted anything.  I handed her some money, which she
didn’t want to take, and gave her a list.
    “Bottle of water.  RC if they have it, Pepsi if
they don’t.  Munchos.  Butter rum Lifesavers.  And
whatever gum they have that isn’t grape, watermelon, or mint.”
    Elizabeth grinned.  “You’re worse than I am,”
she said before turning and all but