The Air Singer (The Cantors) by K. Huber Page A

across the table and took Tally’s hand. The warmth of his skin radiated against hers. She closed her fingers around his. Looking into his eyes, she could see a pleading that contradicted his seemingly unflappable confidence. He had been her hero twice and had earned the right to be heard.
    “Okay.”
    Roland took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to begin. He’d been training for this his entire adult life. He’d had this conversation in his mind at least a hundred times, yet sitting across from the woman that had been the center of his world for over a year, he was at a loss for words. He decided to just start at the beginning and let the conversation develop on its own.
    “ Tally…”
    Two plates of fresh multigrain pancakes clattered against the table and Tally took her hand back to avoid being smashed by the tray of condiments and syrup. “Here’s your pancakes hon’. Do you need anything else?”
    “No thank you. We’re fine.” Roland tried to hide his annoyance at the interruption.
    “Oh honey, your cup’s almost empty! Here, let me get that for you.” Leaning across the table in front of Roland, the waitress’ collar opened to expose the cleavage she had hoped would tempt him.
    He pulled away from the view and could hear Tally snickering. “Thank you, I think we are good now.”
    Roland shook his head at Tally’s amusement. Her eyes were alive with laughter as a cocky smile formed across her face.
    “You just holler if you need anything else honey.” The waitress gave a wink and left to check on the other customers.
    “You were saying?” Tally grabbed the syrup and began drowning her pancakes.
    Even with all of his training, her uncanny ability to read the energy and intentions of others amazed him. “How did you do it?”
    Tally set the syrup dispenser down and began separating her breakfast into bite size pieces. “I see the color of the energy around a person and occasionally if I’m close enough, I will catch a thought or two.” 
    She popped a bite of pancakes into her mouth . She didn’t realize how hungry she was until the syrup coated fluffy treat hit her tongue. After swallowing, she took a sip of her coffee and saw that Roland was gazing at her with those ice blue eyes. “So how did you know where I live?”
    “How much do you remember about last night? ” Roland poured a trifling amount of syrup on his plate.
    “I know that you saved me from Sean . Kate filled me in this morning. She also mentioned that you stayed the night on her sofa, but left before either of us was able to thank you.”
    “I didn’t leave . I just went to my truck and watched from outside.” Roland could see that Tally was getting a little uncomfortable so he explained, “I knew that Sean might try something again and he probably knew where both you and Kate live. I wanted him to think I left, in case he was watching.”
    Tally practiced her poker face while her heart did flips in her chest. He didn’t leave her. She knew that after the last twenty-four hours it should bother her that a man she had known less than a week was watching her, but for some reason it comforted her.
    “So you followed me and Kat e back to my place?”
    “No. ” Roland took a sip of coffee, “I followed Sean and his friend.”
    “They were at Kate’s?”
    “I’m not sure when they arrived, but when you and Kate pulled out this morning, the black sedan that Sean tried to shove you into last night stayed about two cars behind.” He stabbed another bite of pancake. “They waited about twenty minutes after Kate left you at your apartment before they went in.”
    Tally was in the middle of chewin g a mouthful of syrupy goodness when she realized that her hero had a chink in his armor. Forcing herself to swallow the large mass, she met Roland’s eyes.
    “You watched them go into my apartment when you knew I was alone ? They were in there, waiting for me to come out of my bedroom, and you didn’t come in until