Page 49 of Kiss the Dawn
“Great, but why are you giving it to me?”
He looks momentarily thrown, then laughs awkwardly.
“Wait, you want to go through them now?”
“Gosh no! I just…Damn it, I’m tired, that’s all. I’ll put them back in my room in my desk drawer for when we need them. When Orina comes back, we can go over them.”
I set the folder on the coffee table. “You’re acting weird.”
“Am I?”
I widen my eyes and nod. “Yes.”
His shoulders slump, and he flops onto the sofabeside me. “I guess my recent brush with death, and now Haiden’s news, has made me acutely aware of my mortality.”
“And you want me to know where the notes are in case…” Bloody hell. “No. Nothing like that is going to happen to you ever again.” I mean it. Because I’m not letting him out of my sight.
He shoots me a smile that’s too weary for my liking. “I started research into entities that can be trapped in mundane objects. It’s in the folder too, although I haven’t gotten far. I don’t think it means you harm, though. I don’t think it’s evil. I think…I think you can trust it.”
My scalp prickles. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“So if you see it again, then try to talk to it. Find out what or who it is and what he wants.”
“I will, and then we can figure this out together.”
He slips his hand into mine and smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and dread blooms in my belly once more. “Edwin…is everything okay?”
He gives me a stern look. “No. It is not. Because our tea is getting cold once again.” He hands me a cup, and I accept it, unable to shake the feeling that there’s something he wants to say but isn’t telling me.
“Edwin, if there was something wrong, you would tell me, right?”
He gulps his tea and rolls his eyes. “Like I’d ever be able to keep a secret from you.”
I stare at him through narrow eyes for a beat, and herolls his eyes again and hands me the packet of cookies. “Have some chocolate chip cookies and drink your tea.”
Maybe Iamimagining things.
“You wanna watch the last two episodes ofGhost Charmers?” he asks.
Ghost Charmersis our favorite show, and it isn’t something we can watch in Old Town due to there being no TV reception, but Edwin managed to get the last three seasons of the show on tape from Central City. We’re almost done, and then we’ll need to get our hands on the next season.
He picks up the tape and wiggles his brows, and I’m overcome with a rush of love for this man.
More than ever.
More than a friendship love.
His eyes flare as if he sees it, and I drop my gaze quickly because this is strange and new, and I need a moment.
The sound of the tape being inserted into the player tells me it’s safe to look up.
The moment has passed.
The lights dim, and Edwin joins me on the sofa with the remote control. He grabs a throw and places it over our laps.
“Ready?” he asks, his eyes offering safety in the gloom.
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
