Friend Me Read Online Free Page B

glare of lights from a convenience store near her home where they spilled out onto the parking lot on a young man who was pumping gasoline. She wondered absently why her hands felt so dry, then went inside the store and bought a tube of hand lotion. As she walked the final few blocks to her home, she rubbed the lotion into her skin.
    Her eyes surveyed the dark sky. It was such a pleasant, pretty night.

CHAPTER THREE
    Unfulfilled
    Four Years Later
    A September mist fell across the fields and the evening fog glittered on the Taurus’s windshield. Scott Douglas leaned forward toward the glass. There were always deer, raccoons, or something just waiting by the side of the road to jump out and cause an accident.
    I’m late again. What is Rachel going to think?
    A quick glance at the car clock: 8:03. Maybe the kids would still be up, but for the third time this week he had missed dinner. A pair of green eyes winked luminous in the darkness on the side of the road.
    The houses were familiar now. The blue glow of their wall-sized television screens poured out of the windows to diffuse in the darkness. Ahead, the blue and white reflectors on his mailbox caught the beams of his headlights. Home .
    Scott turned the car into the driveway, the sound of the gravel popping under his tires as they bit into the surface. He pressed the button clipped to his visor and the garage door began to lift and spill bright light out onto the drive.
    Home. Finally .
    He walked into the dark kitchen. Tapping sounds were coming from the living room. The sound of a keyboard. “Rachel? Are you in there?”
    Rachel swiveled in her chair and smiled at her husband. “Oh, you’re home already. I thought you’d be later.” She stood to face him. “I put the kids to bed about fifteen minutes ago. We didn’t know when you’d get here.”
    â€œI got tired and left early. I’ll go in a little early tomorrow and finish up before everyone gets there.” He half-smiled and turned his head toward the stairway. “I really wanted to see Scotty and Angela before they went to bed. Is Scotty excited about his birthday?”
    â€œOh, yeah. He’s super excited. It’s all he can talk about. Mom and Dad are coming up, you remember.”
    â€œDid you already tell me that? Where’s my head? But yes, that’s great. I’ll be there if I don’t get stuck at work.”
    â€œDo you want something to eat? We got pizza from The Great Santini tonight after I took the kids to the mall. Scotty needed some things for preschool.”
    Scott tried not to show his disappointment. He missed some real home cooking, but he tried not to blame Rachel. She was probably doing her best. She never knew when he’d be home anymore, and that made it hard for her to plan any nice meals. Plus, she had the kids to take care of, and probably a million other things. Somehow his mother had always managed to have a hot dinner on the table, though.
    He worked too much. That was for sure. Four years at Castle Investments had taught him one thing—that work was never done. If he worked sixteen hours a day he still wouldn’t be able to keep up with all his accounts. He managed retirement portfolios for serious people, and they expected him to be on top ofevery market trend and shift twenty-four hours a day. Sometimes it seemed like the harder he worked, the more he had left to do at the end of the day and he was wearing out.
    â€œSure, pizza’s fine.” The resignation in his voice must have been apparent, because Rachel set her jaw as she walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light switch.
    â€œI mean it, Rachel. Pizza’s fine. I’m just tired tonight.”
    â€¢Â Â â€¢Â Â â€¢
    RACHEL’S EYES NARROWED , her body stiffened. “You know what, Scott? I’m sorry. I’m sorry all I have is pizza. I’m sure your mother would have done better.”
    She turned