Free Abra Cadaver by Christine DePetrillo Page B

at it if you copilot.”
    “Okay. Thanks.” She pushed off the trunk and dumped her keys into his waiting palm. Her fingertips brushed along his flesh for the briefest of moments, but it was enough to awaken the longing inside him. Holly paused. Did she feel something too?
    He closed his hand around the keys and opened the passenger door. He motioned for her to get in. She hesitated for a moment as if she hadn’t expected the gesture. He knew it had been awhile since he’d driven anywhere with a lady voluntarily, but had the rules changed that much?
    After she got into the car, he walked to the driver side and slipped behind the wheel. They both sat there for a few, silent seconds before he put the key in the ignition. Their elbows accidentally touched, and they both quickly pulled their arms away from each other.
    “This is weird,” Holly said.
    “A little.” Keane gripped the steering wheel. “Would you rather go by yourself?” He closed his eyes as he waited for her response. Don’t change your mind. Please.
    “No.” She refolded her jacket on her lap. “I want you to come.”
    He nodded and started the car. He pulled out of the driveway and jetted down Holly’s street.
    “Whoa, there.” She slapped her hand to the dashboard in front of her.
    He slowed down. “Sorry, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in a car. I’m used to my bike and well…jumping, both of which involve high levels of speed.”
    “Well, it’s high levels of speed that almost got me killed once,” she said. “Let’s take it slow, okay?”
    Was she talking about more than driving? “Slow. Right.”
    She kept her hand on the dashboard as he eased off the accelerator. “What’s teleportation like?”
    “At first, it’s like when you sit too long on your leg and it falls asleep. You know, that tingly feeling?”
    “I hate that feeling.”
    “It only lasts for a few moments, but you feel it all over your body. Then it’s like being thrown from one place to another by a giant hand. One minute you’re here, the next, you’re there.”
    “It doesn’t hurt you, does it?” She eased her stranglehold on the dashboard as he leveled out closer to the posted speed limit.
    “No. It doesn’t hurt, but I do prefer more conventional means of travel.” He patted the steering wheel.
    On the ride, Keane told her a few tales of the things he’d seen over his centuries roaming the planet. The places, the people, the inventions. He focused on the good things living this long had allowed him to see. She listened and never once made him feel like he was a freak.
    “I’m sorry I haven’t done something important yet, so you can move along.” Her voice was small, almost shaky. Was she crying?
    He risked a glance at her and caught the quick swipe of her hand across her cheek. Without thinking, he reached over and squeezed her hand. “Don’t apologize, Holly.”
    “But you’re stuck with me, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do that’s so goddamned important.” She sniffled and cleared her throat. Some anger had woven itself into the sadness.
    “First of all, I wouldn’t exactly say I’m stuck with you. That word indicates that I’d rather be somewhere else. At the moment, that’s not the case.” He took his gaze off the empty road again to look at Holly, his hand still over hers in her lap. “Secondly, when the time is right for you to do what you’re meant to do, you’ll know. You’ll feel it. I’ll feel it.”
    “You’ll feel it?”
    “Yes. I get a sense right before I’m about to be released from my current save.” Why did that thought ruin his happy mood? Being released from Holly was not going to come with its usual relief.
    “Well, school starts in two weeks,” she said. “I’ll bet that’s where I’ll find something important to do. Teaching is the only thing I know how to do. That and digging graves, I guess.”
    Keane didn’t care for the somber atmosphere that had seeped into the vehicle. He