The Unearthed: Book One, The Eddie McCloskey Series Read Online Free Page A

it for her. He ran a hand up and down her back, just the way she liked. She looked past his shoulder and saw the calendar on the fridge. It reminded her.
    “You know what I figured out the other day?”
    “What’s that?”
    “In two days, it’ll have been three years to the date.”
    “Three years since what?”
    She started to answer, but then she heard: “Gross! Are you guys making out?”
    Talia pulled away from Jackie and saw Billy standing in the entrance to the kitchen again. He was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, having already changed out of his school outfit.
    “Trust me, son. You’re going to like this a whole lot someday.” Jackie leaned in to try and kiss her, but she playfully resisted him. She knew that would only make him more excited for later.
    “You guys are gross,” Billy repeated before walking into the family room and plopping down on the sofa.
    “So, three years what?” Jackie moved in closer again, his hand on her side.
    She shooed him away. She whispered into his ear, “Later.”
    “Later you’ll tell me, or later you’ll…”
    She shook her head. “Oh, it was nothing. Me being a silly woman is all.” She moved to the pot in the sink to attend to the spaghetti. The water was jumping now, so she turned down the heat.
    “You’re not getting out of it that easily,” Jackie said. He reached around and held her tight, nibbling on her ear.
    “Stop, that tickles.”
    “Tell me and I’ll stop.”
    “If you don’t stop, you’re not getting lucky later.”
    “You and I both know that’s not true.”
    “You better stop,” she said, but she was giggling.
    “Tell me.”             
    “Stop—”
    The phone hanging on the wall by the fridge rang and Talia jumped.
    Jackie stopped what he was doing.
    Talia watched the phone. It rang twice and stopped.
    She watched Jackie walk over to check the caller ID.
    “Well?” she asked.
    He shook his head. “Nothing.”

Five
     
    Ti m drove them to Breen’s, one of the more recent big chain restaurants to appear in town. It was an upscale sports bar, every wall filled with enormous flat-screen TVs. The place was split in two, a restaurant to one side and a huge bar on the other. Past the bar, there was a patio area where the smokers had been quarantined.
    Tim spotted Michelle immediately on the far side of the bar. She was wearing a black top and looking sexy. As Tim snaked his way through the burgeoning crowd, he could see the rest of her outfit: black stretch pants that were tight but not too tight against her tiny figure. She stood in her typical pose, one forearm shooting straight into the air, a mixed drink in hand. Probably a whiskey sour. When she saw him, she put her drink on the bar next to an untouched pint of Guinness.
    Michelle gave him a lusty smile and stepped away from the bar to give him a hug.
    “Hey there,” Tim gave her a quick kiss on the lips. He didn’t much like public displays of affection. She kept one arm around him, squeezing his side.
    “Hey, Eddie,” she said.
    “Hey, Michelle.”
    Tim watched as she disengaged herself and went over to Eddie. Eddie reached his hand out, but Michelle had gone in for the hug, so the two shared an awkward moment. They quickly embraced, and Michelle gave Eddie a kiss on the cheek.
    “I got you your favorite, Tim.” She pointed to the Guinness.
    “Thanks, babe.” Though it was awkward because she hadn’t ordered anything for Eddie.
    Michelle picked up on it. “I’m sorry, Ed. You’ve never told me what your favorite drink is, so I didn’t know what to get.”
    “No big.” Eddie put one foot on the rail and faced the bar.
    “How did it go today?” Michelle asked.
    “Good. We were over there for almost two hours.”
    Eddie half-turned his head. “We got a lot of juice.”
    Michelle smiled. “I was asking about the cemetery.”
    “Oh,” Tim said. “Good.”
    Eddie said nothing. He seemed to be more interested in the skirts across the bar.
    “How