Sarim's Scent Read Online Free

seems you missed your connecter bus.”
    “How?”
    “Well, you were supposed to take Bus 2220 that goes non-stop to Virginia.”
    Dread filled her. “What can I do?”
    The clerk gave her a sympathetic look.
    “There is one bus leaving to go back to Boston in about an hour. You can take that and start your trip again tomorrow morning.”
    “There are no other buses going south today?” Panic made her voice squeaky.
    He gave her a sad smile.
    “No, miss. We did have another bus heading toward Virginia, but it hasn’t arrived yet and we close in an hour, after the Boston bus leaves.”
    She thanked the clerk for his assistance and turned dejectedly, heading back to the bus to get her luggage, frustration causing her eyes to tear up. She would have to go back and start over. Or should she ? Maybe God was trying to tell her something.
    “Could you spare some change?”
    Victoria practically skidded to a halt outside the Black Hound Bus Station. She’d missed her connection to Virginia. A tear escaped down her cheek. Wiping her face, she sighed and reached into her pocket for some spare change. When she raised her head again, she found herself staring directly into the homeless man’s intense eyes. Strangely, his eyes seemed familiar. She opened her mouth to ask him if she knew him when a feeling of calmness engulfed her. All of the weariness and frustration left her body. Her hand uncoiled and the coins dropped out of her hands and hit the sidewalk loudly, causing her to snap out of the trance. As she bent down to pick up the change, he whispered in a voice deep and melodious voice, “Do not give up on finding the past. You will find the answers you seek.”
    When she looked up, the homeless man was gone. “Bus 1117 to Virginia will be boarding in fifteen minutes.” The words over the intercom startled her. Before she knew what she was doing, Victoria found herself exchanging her ticket to Boston and heading back to Virginia on Bus 1117.
    Victoria leaned back in the uncomfortable seat. Instead of being scared by the odd experience, she was strangely soothed. And she had the homeless man to thank. His words played over and over again in her mind. Do not give up on finding the past. You will find the answers you seek . Could he know she was seeking her father? She shook her head. Impossible, still . . .
    A baby’s loud cry brought her back to the present. She stared down at the small blue notebook in her lap. Toward the end of her mother’s life, her mother had become frantic, trying to tell her every little detail about her father. By that point, Victoria had already determined her father would pay for her mother’s over-burdened life and suffering. She began writing down everything her mother said about him, deciding every detail would help her someday find him. Surprisingly, her mother took this as a sign of acceptance on Victoria’s part and relaxed when she began to talk about him. Victoria read over the notes she’d taken.
    Samuel is tall, a little over six feet with caramel complexion. Close haircut. Black hair and eyes an intense shade of brown.
    The search would have been easier if a photo of Samuel had existed. Her mom had an answer for that.
    “Samuel refused to let me take pictures of him, claiming he wasn’t photogenic. I always wondered if he was hiding from the law.”
    Victoria scowled, remembering how animated her mother became when she talked about the bastard. “Sometimes his eyes were shining and loving. But other times they were cold and ripped through me.”
    Victoria shook her head and started reading again. Full lips, high cheekbones, and a mole beside his mouth. It amazed Victoria how her mother could remember every detail about the man who had broken her heart. She scowled. Her father must have had her mother hypnotized to inspire loyalty of that nature. She’d dated, but after a couple years, she couldn’t recall even minor details. Then again, she’d never been in love.
    She