Amanda Lance [Endangered Hear Natural Selection (epub)

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.After all, what were the odds that this benefactor would have the same name as one of her favorite composers?Chapter 2GenerosityEmilia waited until she was safely back in her apartment before calling him.She could give herself points for that much self-control, right? An A for effort? Emilia had even made sure Tut had a good jog around the block and a belly full of his beef-flavored cereal before she began her timely stare down with the phone.While she had stopped calling him after the first few weeks of no response, resigning herself to the fact that he no longer wanted her, this was something altogether different.If Kasper had made this donation, then he had to have known the shelter was in trouble, right? At the very least had to say thank you, didn’t she? But if he had done this, then what did that mean? Was he spying on her again?They had stopped communicating with each other so soon after leaving New York, and other than making sure she had arrived safety and settled in properly, she hadn’t heard from him.Was this Kasper’s way of signifying that he wanted to communicate with her again? Of trying to let her know that he was sorry?After biting her nails down to nubs, she dredged up the courage to take the phone off the hook, only to put it back down again.What if it was just a silly coincidence and she looked like a pathetic little girl trying to call him again? Emilia sighed and wrung her hands.Just when she thought she was genuinely beginning to get over him, why did this have to happen?During those first few weeks, how many times did she have a dream about him or hear a song that reminded her of him, only to have it ruin any chance of a good day? That phase in her heartbreak had ended, however, and she was living her life the best way she knew how.Hell, she had left the state, started a new job, was going to a different school, and had a place of her own for the first time.Emilia was doing everything she had to do to achieve her goal of becoming a veterinarian and being an independent person.Yet, still it seemed, she couldn’t shake him out of her head and heart.Emilia knew that even if he hadn’t been the one to make this donation, the mere possibility of him doing so would set her recovery back significantly.This was ridiculous! How was she supposed to be a self-sufficient woman when in the pit of her soul she was still obsessing about Kasper, lusting after him? She took her finger out of her mouth and snapped it.She would make herself call him no matter how lame it made her seem—how feeble.She picked up the phone again and pretended like she didn’t notice her jittery legs as she dialed the numbers.It rang and rang but no one picked it up.***Kasper stared at the phone on the wall.After he was confident that she had reached New York safely and Frankford had assured him of the safety of her neighborhood, he’d had it disconnected—no longer capable of avoiding the temptation that was its constant ringing and the voice he knew would be on the other end.He had even gone so far as to make Mrs.Levkin apply a password to her cellular phone so he would not be tempted.While it was unlikely, he was always aware of the possibility that his angel would persist in her kind worries and call Mrs.Levkin when he did not respond to her calls.And like many other times, he threatened to fire her for taking any of the young woman’s calls.It was the first time he meant it.Perhaps, however, if there was some good to come out of his perpetual misery, it was his music.Like many artists that would come before and after him, his work was fueled by sorrow.Every note he wrote was clairvoyant and vigorous, and when they were transferred from paper to instrument, Iram Manor briefly came back to life like a corpse being resuscitated.Heaving a sigh, he put the violin back in its case.Kasper played so often now that his fingers no longer bled from the torn calluses, but the increased exercise hurt the joints in his knuckles.Kasper, however, did not mind the pain.On the contrary, he rather liked it, the constant reminder that his body was slowly working its way toward disintegration.“What is this check for?”Kasper reached for his glass of bourbon and took a long, deep sip.“Doesn’t anyone around here knock anymore?”Despite the fact that he wasn’t looking at Mrs.Levkin, he could still feel her eyes rolling while she knocked on the wall closest to her.“There.Satisfied now?”He took another sip.If Emilia were here, she would have laughed at the woman’s snarkiness.Kasper closed his eyes and tried picturing it in his mind.It was so clear to him it almost made him smile.“Kasper? Kasper?”He huffed and took another drink.As quickly as the image had entered his mind, it left him, and he felt more alone than ever.“Why are you bothering me again?”Kasper turned as she put her reading glasses on, her eyes widening as she read something alarming to her.“What is this $20,000 deduction in your checking for? It isn’t enough for the kinds of cars you like, and you wouldn’t waste time picking out new appliances.Are you getting a new piano?”“It is just a charity.” He sat down and took the last gulp from his glass.“A charity…”From the corner of his eye, Kasper watched Mrs.Levkin remove her glasses, her little mind putting the pieces together.Oh, how he wished that she would just leave him alone, how they all would just leave him alone to wither away in peace! If they did, he might just fade faster, die sooner.“You’ve never donated more than $10,000 to any charity before.”Kasper closed his eyes and let his head fall back [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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