Free Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 1.3 - Riding Through Fire by Kate Sherwood Page B

doesn't wait to see if she's complying. "Jeff, do you want anything? I'm gonna take some of those grapes, I think."
    Jeff's far from hungry, but he'll play along. "Yeah, the grapes look good. Or the kiwis, but they'd be a pain to eat on the go…." He's pretty sure Evan will pick up on that, and he's not disappointed.
    "Oh, yeah, because you don't eat the skins! Crazy, right, Tat? Poor guy doesn't know that the skins are the best part!" Evan's enthusiasm is a little over the top, but Tatiana seems to be perking up. Evan picks up one of the furry fruits and takes a big bite, chewing the skin with the pulp, and Jeff overplays his disgust, knowing that Tat is watching. He suppresses his smile of victory when she slips off her chair and crosses to the fruit bowl, pulling a kiwi of her own out and taking a big bite.
"Yuck! It must be like eating a caterpillar." Jeff makes a face.
    Tat giggles. She's always been mercurial. "A yummy, delicious, fuzzy caterpillar!" She takes another bite, and Evan pops the rest of his kiwi into his mouth and picks up the entire fruit bowl. Tat laughs as she sees what her brother is doing. Her face is still wet from her tears, but apparently this episode, at least, is over.
    "We need it all, Tia. I'll bring the bowl back tonight - don't be surprised if it's empty." Tia smiles after them as Evan leads the parade out the door and to the car. "Back seat, Tat," he admonishes when she reaches for the passenger side door. "Jeff's coming, remember?" Jeff is more than willing to surrender shotgun if it keeps Tat from another meltdown, but apparently this time they're going to get off easy. She shifts to the back

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
    without protest, and Evan raises his eyebrows across the roof of the Cherokee; he seems as surprised as Jeff by the easy escape. Jeff has to admire the boy's tenacity, trying to enforce rules in the face of such emotional reactions. Jeff's pretty sure he would have given in and written the damn note for Tat to get into class late, and he absolutely wouldn't have argued for an age-based seating hierarchy in the car.
    Jeff remembers the long conversations he and Evan had struggled through about Tat, and what would be best for her after the accident. There was extended family that could have taken her in, people who were in more stable situations than Evan, but none of them were close, and Tat had said she wanted to stay with her brother. Evan had been overwhelmed with trying to figure out his new responsibilities at the family company, not to mention dealing with his own grief, but he'd felt that his greatest obligation was to his sister, and he'd agreed to assume guardianship. And he'd vowed to Jeff that he'd do his best to continue the job the same way his parents had begun it. Jeff needs to find a time to tell the kid how impressed he is with the way Evan's risen to the challenges that he's faced.
    And he should find a way to make sure that Evan's okay, he thinks as he shuts the passenger side door and Evan guides the car out towards the road. All this attention and worry about Tat shouldn't make anyone forget that Evan's had a huge loss, as well, and has turned his life practically upside down.
"You going out much?" Jeff hadn't really planned to ask the question, but now that he has, he's interested in the answer.
     
""Out? Like, at night?" Evan seems genuinely confused. "Yeah. Partying, or clubbing, or whatever you young folks call it these days."
     
Evan snorts. "Don't really have a lot of time for that, Jeff. Or energy, either. I've got a couple more important things going on, you know." "Still. You shouldn't … I don't know. You shouldn't have to give up

Riding Through Fire | Kate Sherwood
your whole life. You can still have fun, right?"
    And Jeff really shouldn't have started this in the car, especially not with Tatiana in the back seat, because the look Evan shoots him sends a shock straight to Jeff's groin. "You asking me out, Jeff?" The tone is