Page 50 of That Time in Venice
Chapter18
Anika’s eyesflewopen.
A strange bed. A strange room.Alone.
Her pupils adjusted to the darkness and her memorycameback.
Reed.
She moaned softly and stretched. Wherewashe?
The slightly ajar bedroom door indicated he was out in the hall. He was talking in a low voice. Quietly, she slipped from the bed and pulled on his shirt. Padding across the carpeted floor, she peered through the opening and saw Reed on thephone.
“Are you having a good time?” he whispered. He waited, head bowed, listening attentively. “I’m glad to hear you’re having fun with your cousins.” He listened again. “Yes, I miss you very much. I’m coming to get you tomorrow, okay? Oh, I don’t have to rush?” He laughed softly. “You really are having agoodtime.”
A few minutes passed as he listened to what Anika imagined must be quite a story about the day Brielle had. His only comments were the occasional “Mhmm,” and “Ohreally?”
Anika felt like an intruder on this intimate moment, but she couldn’t walk away. Their bond was a joy towitness.
“All right, sweetheart. Give the phone back to cousin Ryan and go to bed. It’s late. I love you, too. Yes, we can go to the park tomorrow, but you have to go to sleep now. I’ll see you in themorning.”
Anika scurried across the bedroom on tiptoe, tossed the shirt back on the floor, and slid under thecovers.
When Reed returned to the room and eased onto the bed, she reached for him. “Everythingokay?”
“Yeah. I was talking to Brielle for a bit. Did Iwakeyou?”
“No, I was alreadyawake.”
Reed turned his face into her neck and flung one muscular arm across her waist. She closed her arms around him and welcomed the comfortable weight of his body as it rested half on top of hers. She was wide awake now and so was he. They lay there quietly, simply listening to each otherbreathe.
“Tell me something I don’t know about you,”Anikasaid.
“Something you don’t know about me. Hmm…what do you want to know?” His warm breath brushed hercollarbone.
She absentmindedly played with his soft hair. “Tell me about your dad. You never talk about him. What doeshedo?”
Reed laughed. “My father does whatever he wants. Right now he’s in California housesitting for some rich businessman who travels all the time. He lives in the guy’s guesthouse with a girlfriend younger than I am. He’s got room and board, so he doesn’t need anything else. He’s always behaved the same way myentirelife.”
“You don’t behavelikethat.”
“I used to.” Reed rolled onto his back and folded an arm beneath his head. He stared up at the ceiling. “I got tired of the insecurity of the life I’d lived with my father. That’s why I majored in accounting. I wanted to do something that offered stability and permanence. Well, that’s not completely true.” He laughed again, this time in a self-deprecating manner. “I also sucked at everything else. I’m a terrible writer and can’t spell for shit. My academic advisor steered me towardsaccounting.”
Running a fingertip along his shoulder, Anika asked, “Did your father exhibit the same tendency to be irresponsible when your mother wasalive?”
“Not as bad. My mother was the responsible one for sure, a nurse. She always held a job, but my dad was a dreamer. The occasional odd job was enough for him. I’m not sure what she saw in him, to be honest. He’s so different from everyone else in his family. I think maybe he just hated farm life in Oklahoma and wanted to get away from the structure and demands he grew up under. My mom, on the other hand…” He paused, a frown developed on his face. “I think she wanted to punish her strict parents, and marrying my father was an act ofrebellion.”
“How’d she die?” Anna askedgently.
A muscle in his jaw moved. “An idiot shot up the hospital where she worked, killing her and two patients. She wasn’t even supposed to be at work that day. She’d taken someone else’s shift to make extra money.” His voice had become devoid ofemotion.
“I’m sorry.” Anika rested her head on his shoulder, offering what little comfort she could. She smoothed her hand over his chest, gliding her fingers through the silky hairs sprinkled across historso.
“Mmmm. That feelsgood,babe.”
They were quiet for a while. The lull in the conversation allowed them to simply be—to just enjoy each other’scompany.
“What about you? Tell me about yourfamily.”
