Dark City Roast blend wafted through the air.
“'Morning, Harry. Sorry about interrupting things last night.”
“Forget it.” Harry spread thePost Intelligencer out on the counter. He handed the sports section to Josh and then turned to the headlines.
Both men fell into a companionable silence as they munched cereal, drank coffee, and read the morning paper. The routine was a familiar one. They had observed it together ever since Josh had come to live with Harry at the age of twelve.
The pattern had altered when Josh had started college at the University of Washington. He could have continued to live at home with Harry and commute to the UW, but both of them had known that it was time for Josh to have his own place.
Nevertheless, the condominium was still home. Josh showed up at the front door during school vacations, some weekends, and not infrequently in the evenings if he happened to be at loose ends or wanted to talk about his studies. The unplanned appearances were rarely a problem. Harry was almost always home alone with his books. Last night had been an anomaly.
But Harry was no longer irritated by Josh's unannounced arrival the previous evening. To his quiet astonishment, he was feeling remarkably cheerful in spite of the fact that it had taken him much longer than usual to get to sleep. The prospect of tomorrow night glimmered on the horizon, casting a pleasant glow over the entire day.
Josh finished his first cup of coffee. He looked up from the sports page, a speculative gleam in his dark eyes. “Been a while since I've come home unexpectedly and found you making out with a date.”
“I was not making out with her.” Harry frowned over an article on inflation. “We were discussing business. I told you, Molly's a client.”
Josh helped himself to a second cup of coffee. “I got the feeling she's more than a client. You two been seeing each other long?”
“I've been doing some consulting work for her for about a month.”
“Consulting?”
“Right.” Harry turned the page.
“Help me out here, Cousin Harry.” Josh grinned. “I'm a little confused. Are you dating her or not?”
“Since when did you become so interested in my love life?”
“Since I discovered that you had one again. It's been over a year, if my calculations are correct. Congratulations.”
Harry said nothing.
“It's about time you started dating again.” Josh's tone grew serious. “You've been living like a monk since Olivia broke off the engagement.”
“How would you know? You aren't here most of the time these days.”
Josh waved his fork in a vaguely menacing manner. “Ve haf vays of knowing these things.”
Harry frowned. “What ways?”
“I recognize that box of condoms stashed in the bathroom cupboard. It's been there ever since you stopped seeing Olivia. The same number of little packets inside, too.”
“Hell, I don't believe this.” Harry sank his teeth into a slice of toast. “Talk about an invasion of privacy.”
“I worry about you, Harry. You have a tendency to brood.”
“I don't brood. I contemplate things for long periods of time. There's a difference.”
“Call it what you want.” Josh shoved bread into the toaster. “I know you better than you think.”
“That possibility makes my blood run cold.”
Josh's eyes widened innocently. “I only have your best interests at heart.”
“I'll console myself with that thought.”
“Molly Abberwick seems nice.”
“She is.”
“You got back here early last night after you took her home.”
“Yes.”
“Going to see her again soon?”
“As a matter of fact,” Harry said, “I'm taking her out to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Aha. Don't forget to move the box of condoms back into the drawer beside your bed.”
Harry refolded the paper with painstaking care. “Last night you said you wanted to talk to me. Is something wrong?”
The amusement vanished from Josh's eyes. “It's
“'Morning, Harry. Sorry about interrupting things last night.”
“Forget it.” Harry spread thePost Intelligencer out on the counter. He handed the sports section to Josh and then turned to the headlines.
Both men fell into a companionable silence as they munched cereal, drank coffee, and read the morning paper. The routine was a familiar one. They had observed it together ever since Josh had come to live with Harry at the age of twelve.
The pattern had altered when Josh had started college at the University of Washington. He could have continued to live at home with Harry and commute to the UW, but both of them had known that it was time for Josh to have his own place.
Nevertheless, the condominium was still home. Josh showed up at the front door during school vacations, some weekends, and not infrequently in the evenings if he happened to be at loose ends or wanted to talk about his studies. The unplanned appearances were rarely a problem. Harry was almost always home alone with his books. Last night had been an anomaly.
But Harry was no longer irritated by Josh's unannounced arrival the previous evening. To his quiet astonishment, he was feeling remarkably cheerful in spite of the fact that it had taken him much longer than usual to get to sleep. The prospect of tomorrow night glimmered on the horizon, casting a pleasant glow over the entire day.
Josh finished his first cup of coffee. He looked up from the sports page, a speculative gleam in his dark eyes. “Been a while since I've come home unexpectedly and found you making out with a date.”
“I was not making out with her.” Harry frowned over an article on inflation. “We were discussing business. I told you, Molly's a client.”
Josh helped himself to a second cup of coffee. “I got the feeling she's more than a client. You two been seeing each other long?”
“I've been doing some consulting work for her for about a month.”
“Consulting?”
“Right.” Harry turned the page.
“Help me out here, Cousin Harry.” Josh grinned. “I'm a little confused. Are you dating her or not?”
“Since when did you become so interested in my love life?”
“Since I discovered that you had one again. It's been over a year, if my calculations are correct. Congratulations.”
Harry said nothing.
“It's about time you started dating again.” Josh's tone grew serious. “You've been living like a monk since Olivia broke off the engagement.”
“How would you know? You aren't here most of the time these days.”
Josh waved his fork in a vaguely menacing manner. “Ve haf vays of knowing these things.”
Harry frowned. “What ways?”
“I recognize that box of condoms stashed in the bathroom cupboard. It's been there ever since you stopped seeing Olivia. The same number of little packets inside, too.”
“Hell, I don't believe this.” Harry sank his teeth into a slice of toast. “Talk about an invasion of privacy.”
“I worry about you, Harry. You have a tendency to brood.”
“I don't brood. I contemplate things for long periods of time. There's a difference.”
“Call it what you want.” Josh shoved bread into the toaster. “I know you better than you think.”
“That possibility makes my blood run cold.”
Josh's eyes widened innocently. “I only have your best interests at heart.”
“I'll console myself with that thought.”
“Molly Abberwick seems nice.”
“She is.”
“You got back here early last night after you took her home.”
“Yes.”
“Going to see her again soon?”
“As a matter of fact,” Harry said, “I'm taking her out to dinner tomorrow night.”
“Aha. Don't forget to move the box of condoms back into the drawer beside your bed.”
Harry refolded the paper with painstaking care. “Last night you said you wanted to talk to me. Is something wrong?”
The amusement vanished from Josh's eyes. “It's
Similar Books
The Funeral Singer
Linda Budzinski
Baby Talk
Mike Wells
Area 51: The Reply-2
Robert Doherty
Heir to Rowanlea
Sally James
The German
Lee Thomas
DarkHunger
Aminta Reily
The Devil's Own Desperado
Lynda J. Cox
Queen of Someday
Sherry Ficklin
A Love Rekindled (The Game of Love #1)
Sharon Cummin
The Ying on Triad
Kent Conwell