Free Abra Cadaver by Christine DePetrillo Page A

are you doing? She ignored the part of her brain that kept her from doing the completely irrational.
    “A ride?” his eyebrows rose, a new light in his eyes.
    She glanced toward the windows in her bedroom. Outside, the sun painted pink streaks across the darkening sky. “It’s evening. You can go out.”
    He followed her gaze. “I can. Where do you want to go?”
    “It’s not that I want to go anywhere, but my mother called. I foolishly left my purse at the beach house. Figured if you were up for a ride, we could go. I mean, I can’t…you know…”
    “Introduce me to them.” Keane dropped his gaze to his bare feet. “I understand. I’m not easy to explain.” He slid his hands into his jeans pockets and used his toe to fiddle with the fringe on the throw rug by her bed.
    “Although,” she began, “if I did introduce you to my mother, she may quit trying to set me up with random lifeguards.” She put the T-shirt and sweatpants back into her closet. A hot bath alone no longer sounded satisfying.
    “Random lifeguards?” Keane sat on the edge of her bed and put his socks and boots on.
    “She’s apparently been interviewing them for me. Met one this weekend.” She threw up her hands.
    “And?” He tugged on the end of her shirt as she passed, stopping her in front of him.
    “And what?”
    “Did you like him?” A muscle twitched in his jaw as he waited for her to reply.
    “Luke was nice, but…I don’t know.” She shrugged and studied Keane’s hand gripping her shirt.
    “Not what you had in mind?” He let the fabric slip from his fingers and stood. He was super close again, super tall, and she fought back urges that scared her.
    “Not exactly. I don’t know what I have in mind anymore.” Liar. You know exactly what you have in mind. She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
    “I know what I have in mind,” Keane whispered, “but I shouldn’t want it. Can’t want it.”
    His eyes burned into hers. “You’re right,” she said. “It would never work. Couldn’t work.” She shook her head. “You in for a ride or what?”
    “I’m in.”
    “Great. Meet me at the car in ten minutes.”
    She left her bedroom before she changed her mind. If she stopped to think about it, she would undoubtedly realize that inviting Keane to drive with her to her parents’ beach house was one of the dumbest things she had done in a long time.

Chapter Nine
    Keane was waiting by the car in seven minutes, not ten. He couldn’t be sure, but he had a strange feeling that he was happy. The emotion was foreign to him, or at the very least, long forgotten, but his stomach no longer ached, Holly was home, and she’d actually invited him to go to her parents’ house with her. Sure, he wouldn’t be getting out of the car. Wouldn’t be walking her to the door, her hand in his, and meeting the lovely people who created her. Driving for a few hours in the tight confines of her small car, however, still sounded perfect.
    “And it’s all you can do anyway,” he told himself. He wouldn’t allow himself to have…feelings for Holly. He wouldn’t allow her to end up like Melinda.
    He glanced up at the dark sky and found the almost full moon peering down at him. Its soft, pearly light was his version of sunshine. It didn’t warm his face, but something about the moon made him feel less alone in the world. As if something was keeping watch over him.
    Holly came down the front steps wearing sandals and a light summer dress that had red flowers on it. Her hair was loose and spilling around her bare shoulders like a copper mane, and a denim jacket hung over her arm. He had the desire to rewind her approach and watch it again and again. When she smiled at him, he wanted to pause time altogether.
    “You want me to drive?” he asked.
    “You don’t mind?” She stopped and leaned on the trunk of the car.
    He shook his head. “Figure you’ve driven the route more times than you care to this weekend. I can have a go