Read Online Simmer by Kaitlyn Davis - Free Book Online Page A

present, since I won't be able to see you three
weeks from now on the actual day."
    Kira bit her lip to keep from smiling so
widely her cheeks hurt. She tried to blink away the slight pools of
water welling in her eyes. Framed, in her hands, was a blown up
version of the photo in her locket. Tristan had a skill for
recreating people's faces in his artwork and she stared at the
drawings, amazed because it looked exactly like the photograph. She
was a baby with unruly curls in the middle of a fit of giggles
while she stared at her mother. Her father, freckle faced and
openly displaying his love, looked out towards her. And, finally,
Kira's mother, with the secret smile she had witnessed on her
grandmother's face just that afternoon, watched on. In the bigger
size, and especially with the muted color tones Tristan had added,
Kira almost sensed that her parents were really gazing out of the
picture. It almost seemed like they were watching over her.
    Engraved at the bottom of the frame, Kira saw
the words 'Love Will Prevail' in cursive. She hugged the whole
thing to her chest with her free hand. That phrase, which was
engraved on the wedding ring hanging around her neck, had once
belonged to her parents. Kira liked to think it belonged to her
now.
    "I met my grandparents today," she said
softly, after realizing she hadn't said anything for a few
minutes.
    Kira heard him release a slow breath. He did
that when he was thinking and trying to understand her feelings.
"Are you alright? How'd it happen?"
    Kira told him about the Council and about her
grandfather. She described the argument they had gotten into, the
test she was issued, and finally playing with the children. She
didn't want to mention Luke to him. The two of them always seemed
to butt heads, and there was no reason for Tristan to worry about
Luke trying something because Kira would never let it happen.
    "I think it actually went well," Tristan
said.
    "What?" Kira laughed into the receiver. How
could that meeting possibly be described as a good one?
    "Look at it this way, the two of you fought,
right?" Kira nodded. Somehow, Tristan sensed it and kept talking.
"Well, you only really fight with the people you love. If he didn't
care at all, he wouldn't have been emotional. The fight shows he
was a little nervous about seeing you and that he lost
control."
    "I guess," Kira said dubiously.
    "Come on, think of all the people you've
fought with."
    Kira took a moment — her mom, her dad,
Tristan at times and definitely Luke. "I see your point. I just...I
want them to like me. I don't want to be the thing that got their
daughter killed."
    "Kira," Tristan sighed and spoke in a soft
voice. "I promise you that they don't think that."
    "You didn't see the look in his eyes or the
way he said he didn't want to regret the decision." It was like he
had the weight of the entire world on his shoulders, Kira thought
and remembered the dark clouds she had seen in the old man's
eyes.
    "I didn't have to. You can weasel your way
into anyone's heart, trust me. Besides, it sounds like your grandma
is rooting for you."
    Kira thought back to the tiny smile that had
played on her grandmother's lips. "Yeah, you're right," she said in
a slightly stronger voice.
    "I know," Tristan said with a playfully smug
voice. "Haven't you realized by now that I'm always right?"
    "How could I forget?" Kira mocked.
    "Don't feel too badly," he continued joking,
"you're still young and naive. In twenty years, you might be able
to start proving me wrong."
    "That long, huh?" Kira rolled her eyes,
wishing he were lying beside her so she could punch his arm
lightly.
    "Eh, fifteen if you're lucky." He chuckled.
She loved hearing the deep rumble of his laughter.
    "Let's play a game," Kira said and rolled
over in the bed, using her foot to push the duffle bag out of her
way.
    "Which one?" Tristan asked. They were used to
this routine by now. When Kira had been in the hospital, there were
very few activities she could