Callahan's Fate Read Online Free Page A

tightened his hold on her hand.   “C’mon, doll, then let’s ride the ferry out
and back, then we’ll do some grocery shopping.   How are you fixed for a kitchen at your place?”
    “It’s basic—two burners, a microwave,
and a mini-fridge,” she said.   Raine made a quick mental assessment of her pots and pans,
then inventoried the seasonings she kept on hand.   “I don’t have a table, but we can make do
with chairs.”
    “Or we can go to my place,” he
said.   “I’ve got a four burner apartment-sized
gas stove with an oven, full-size refrigerator, and plenty of room.   The kitchen’s the bigger of the two rooms.   We can stop at the supermarket on Eighth
Avenue.”
    Raine opened her
mouth to protest, then reconsidered.   She struggled to keep her small studio from
being cluttered, and she didn’t want to make a bad impression.   “All right,” she said.   “After the ferry ride back, we’ll go to the
store.”
    This time, the Staten Island Ferry felt
like an old friend.   Earlier, she’d been
caught up in every detail of the boat and the unfamiliar experience of riding a
huge boat across New York Harbor.   Now Raine leaned against the rail, supported by Callahan’s rock-hard
arm, and gawked.   She pulled out her cell
phone to snap photos of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, a sailboat moving
across the water with grace, and a shot of the Manhattan skyline behind.   She chattered without any shyness as the
attraction between them increased.   It
shifted into something else, too—the beginnings of a friendship and maybe
more.   The unpleasant moments at lunch
had somehow brought them closer instead of destroying whatever beginning they
were making together.
    The wind shifted and the temperature
dropped on the return journey.   The sun
faded behind a bank of clouds, and by the time they reached the Whitehall
terminal again, the day had turned cloudy.    Raine shivered, wishing she’d brought along a
sweater to wear over her long-sleeved blouse.   Callahan cradled her closer.   “Are
you cold?”
    She nodded. “Yes, a little bit.   Aren’t you?”
    He laughed. “ Naw ,
I’m used to being out in all weather.   Winters are cold in New York, this is nothing.”
    At the terminal, he insisted on buying
her a lightweight jacket from one of the shops and trimming the tags from it
with a pocket knife on his key chain.   “There,” he said. “Better?”
    Raine snuggled into
it, appreciating the soft sweatshirt material. “Yes, thank you.”
    Her hair had become mussed, so she
pulled out a brush and ponytail band from her purse. “Let me go fix my hair,”
she said.
    In the ladies room, Raine almost laughed at her windblown hair.   I look happy, though, she thought as she
tamed her tresses into a simple ‘do.   When she emerged to find Callahan waiting for her, trying to look
nonchalant and failing, her heart did a triple flip.   She walked forward to meet him and he
surprised her with a quick kiss.   She
glanced up at him and he grinned.
    “I missed you, doll,” he said.
    She rested her head against his shoulder
for a moment, savoring the solid feel of his body, and inhaling his man-scent
with pleasure. “Let’s go home,” she said.
    And they did.
     

Chapter Three
     
    By the time they crossed the plaza from
the Staten Island Ferry to the subway entrance, a light rain had begun to
fall.   Callahan did his best to shield Raine and tugged the hood of her new jacket over her hair
as she protested, laughing.   They had to
wait a few minutes for a train, and the cars were full due to both the weather
and the time.   Late Saturday afternoon
was a popular time to travel.   If he’d
been alone, he probably would have griped with silent exasperation, but with Raine at his side, the mundane had become an adventure.
    With standing room only for the first
few stops, Cal held onto a strap and let Raine clutch
the pole.   By the time they reached Thirty-Fourth
Street