Swallow (Kindred Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

family and I’d have been lost without you these last three months.”
    It was obvious he was trying to deflect her worry by the way he squirmed. “Everyone grieves in different ways,” he said, taking her hand away from his face.
    “Do you want to stay tonight? I’ll cook and we can watch a movie or something?”
    “You cook now?”
    Raising a shoulder, she took her turn to look away. “I’m trying my best… I’m learning. I’ll never be a substitute for Art, but if I was to feed Brodie nothing but microwave meals he’d be worse off than he is.”
    Laughing, Tuck pushed out his chair and stood up. “Thanks for the offer, but I have things to do, places to be, you know?”
    She didn’t know whether to believe that or not, but she didn’t push him. She got up and pushed in her chair “It wouldn’t hurt you to go home for a little TLC from your lady… Why don’t you tell her what happened?”
    Tuck was already shaking his head and took his jacket from the back of his chair. “Kade isn’t a part of this part of my life. It wouldn’t do either of us any good to upset her.”
    That he wanted to protect the woman he loved was admirable. But if Kadie was as strong as Zara imagined Tuck’s woman would need to be, she wasn’t made of glass and probably wouldn’t appreciate being shut out when Tuck was so obviously dealing with distress. “Compartmentalizing your life like that is the quickest way to drive her away.”
    “She’s put up with me for years,” he said. “She knows what the script is. Besides, I like her the way she is: innocent of all of… this.” He looked around the room as though it was the first time he was seeing the place. Then as quickly as it appeared, the expression vanished and he smiled at her. “Call me if you need anything, ok? Anytime. I’ll be here as soon as I can.”
    “Thank you,” she said, bowing her head to let him kiss the top of it. He stroked her back and looked into her eyes once more before he disappeared from the room and the house.
    After Tuck was gone, she took the time to return an email to Art’s sister, Bess, and go over everything Tuck had taught her about the system. He’d been teaching her during his frequent visits, though he never stayed and she had no idea where he went when he left here. Brodie and Art had told her not to ask too many questions and she stuck to that out of respect for them all.
    She had tidied up in the kitchen when she arrived because she’d had groceries to put away. Keeping this house stocked was more important to her than looking after her own apartment. If Brodie decided he wanted something to eat then she was going to make sure he had a choice. Sometimes he came downstairs to grab something, but she had never seen it happen, she only knew it did because things disappeared.
    As much as she was loathed to admit it, she had been guilty of checking the trash to see what he was up to. She did it because she cared. She did all of this because she cared. Love was not just about the good times. Brodie was facing the greatest trauma he ever would in his life. By losing the uncle he’d idolized since birth, he’d lost his mentor, his roommate, and his best friend.
    Cooking had been her idea of hell, but she’d started giving it a go in an effort to reach Brodie. It hadn’t worked. But he ate what she put down, though not in front of her. He ate alone… just like he did almost everything else.
    The steak she’d cooked was resting, so she went over to the plate of salad she’d arranged and was about to pick it up from the lower portion of the central island in the kitchen when something startled her. It wasn’t a sound or a touch, it was just a prickle on the back of her neck, and sure enough, when she spun around Brodie was there, just inside the kitchen door.
    “I was about to bring up your food,” she said.
    Bringing a finger up to his lips, he indicated she should be quiet, though he himself didn’t make a noise either.