Carter Read Online Free Page A

said he certainly hoped so. “Good luck with that then. I hope you enjoy yourself a great deal.”
    “Oh, I will, and so will she.” He took off the second mattress and gave him three large bags of linens and stuff. “I’m going back for the rest if you’ll just let me put this here. I had more fun there than I’ve had at a mall since I was seventeen and little Ashely Heath worked there at the pretzel shop.”
    It took them nearly four hours to have the place set up. One of them had gotten a couch and love seat for them. There were televisions for all three bedrooms as well as the living room. Linyah showed up with her mom, and they set the kitchen up with the help of Mike and Jackson. By the time his mom returned with the little girls and a great many bags, Lana had come in with Hannah and enough food to feed an army.
    “This is just too much.” She looked around the apartment twice. “Mr. Lanning, I just thought you’d give us a place to stay for the night. And Mrs. Lanning…she said it was forever.”
    “Why can’t it be? I need…I’m not in a position to run this place on my own.” He had been thinking of ways to help them more. Not just for now but long term. “I have a full-time job that requires me to be out of town a lot. I’ve been…it’s been sitting here empty because I just didn’t have the time to look for someone to do this job. I’ll pay you too. And if you work for me, collecting rent and being the landlord, you can live here as long as you want.”
    “You don’t know me that well. For all you know, this could be a scam. I could be a mass murderer for all that you know about me.” He looked at Linyah, and she gave him the thumbs up. “I think you should really think about this. It’s a lot to give a stranger.”
    “We’re going to be fine, just fine.”
    ~~~
    Murph woke up, but felt fuzzy and out of sorts. She turned to her right and saw a hospital curtain that was so white it was blinding. Closing her eyes, she looked to the other side and saw a man who looked kinda familiar sitting in a chair.
    “Rider?” He looked at her but didn’t move. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you sit that way for very long. How long have you been sitting that way, anyway?”
    “Just a little while. I was sitting in that chair over there but fell out of it twice.” She smiled at him. “How are you, Murph? You look like shit, in case you didn’t know.”
    “Thanks, prick.” He stood up, and she had to marvel at how good he looked. “You’ve grown up. I guess you weren’t kidding when you told me you’d get better with age.”
    She moved on the bed and moaned at the pain before she could stop it. But she realized that she really didn’t care when it was Rider. He knew her better than anyone. When she remembered what had happened, she sat up a little too fast and cried out in pain.
    “Just lay still, will you?’ She tried to get away from him, and he pushed her back to the bed. “What is it? If you’re worried about someone getting you, no one—”
    “My son.” He looked at her and took a step back. “Yeah, who knew? But I have a son. He’s…seriously, how long have I been here? I have to get to him.”
    “You can’t move around that much. You’ve already started bleeding again.” He helped her lay back down. “Tell me where he is and I’ll go and get him for you. I’ll bring him back to you here.”
    “He won’t come to you. It’s our arrangement.” Murph tried to think what to do. She could leave, but how far would she get like this? But her son was her world.
    “Can you call him? Will he…I don’t know, come with me if you tell him it’s okay?” She shook her head. He would run and that would be bad for her. Finding him would be nearly impossible with all the things she’d taught him. “Murph, you’re married?”
    “No. His dad is out of the picture and wants nothing to do with him. It’s my dad. I never told him…no one knows I have him but a few