The Chase, Amber Riel [best english books to read txt] 📗

matter how young or old the guy is if he does or has any of the good qualities that I mentioned then he is considered a man…. See you could have a forty-five year old man take his wife or girlfriend for advantage but he’s still considered to be a boy…. Whereas you could have a four year old boy treat a little girl with respect and he’s still considered to be a man…. In my book, that’s how you can tell the different between a man who doesn’t really care about women to a man who does care about women…. Although, I’m still not sure about Lainie having a boyfriend at her age,” he spoke loudly for Lainie to start cracking up in the back seat.

          “Whatever, Uncle Louis.”

          Louis shook his head.  “I can’t believe that.  Boys are nothing but trouble for girls.”

          “So your trouble for me?” I asked with a smile on my face as I looked at him.

          He laughed.  “I meant for girls Lainie’s age…. Believe me, I’m not trouble for you…. Although for a girl, you’re enough trouble for me…. I had to fight one guy for you and punch another guy because of you…. You’re the one whose trouble but I think I like that.”

          I kind of smacked him for his comment out of playfulness.

          “Hey, don’t beat up the driver.”  He turned off of the interstate and on to a road which led to some hotels and restaurants.  “Okay…. Like I said earlier I’m going to bring us somewhere nice to eat so we can feast and I think that I’ll go ahead and get us a hotel to stay at again for the night as well…. Then hopefully tomorrow night or maybe the next morning we should be pulling up to where we need to be…. That means you’ll get to see your parents soon, Lainie.”

          “Really?” she asked with hidden excitement.

          “Really,” Louis replied.  He looked at me with a worried look.  “But we still have to figure out who broke into their house and who burnt down there mansion,” he spoke to where only I could hear, “so even when we get to Ron and Annie…. We’re not completely out of the woods.  Okay?”

          I nodded.

          He parked the car in a parking lot next to a small little inn.  It wasn’t really much to look at, at least not on the outside.  It looked like it was old and even though it wasn’t falling apart it should did seem like it would start eventually.  It didn’t seem as nice as the others had but I figured that it was better than nothing.

          “You and Lainie stay here I’ll go get the key to the room and then we’ll go eat.”  He unbuckled then leaned over and kissed me.  “Please stay away from any creepy strange men while I’m gone,” he whispered as he smiled at me, “I’m tried and I really don’t feel like fighting anyone right now.”

          I smiled as he started to climb out of the car.  “Don’t worry I’ll do my best.”

          He laughed then closed the door and walked away from the car.

          “You two need to get married,” Lainie replied from the back.

          I looked at her and shook my head with a smile.  “Why do you say that?”

          “Because you two keep kissing and I figured that was something that only people do when they’re married.”

          I kind of grinned at Lainie’s words.  “No…. It’s hard to explain but when you’re older you’ll understand.”

          “That’s another thing everything I ask a question why do adults tell me that I’ll understand when I’m older?  What do I have to wait for to know what you mean?”

          “You’re so full of questions for one so young, aren’t you?”

          Lainie didn’t answer.  She just gave me a look that meant I shouldn’t have answered her questions with a question.

          I couldn’t help but laugh at her expression.  It was cute to see.

          Louis walked back and opened the door.

          “That was quick,” I told him.

          “Yep…. The guy gave me a room for cheap because this place is old and barely anyone ever comes here because of the big name hotels,” Louis replied.

          “Oh.”        

          “You two hungry?”

          “Yea,” Lainie replied.

          “I know I am,” I answered.

          “Good.”

 

          The feast was filling and I didn’t have dessert because my stomach would have me running into the restroom covering my mouth.  Louis and Lainie had some though.  They each had some cookies and ice cream.  “Are you sure you don’t want any dessert, Sam?” Louis asked, trying to entice me with a chocolate chip cookie which he held up in front of my mouth.

          “I’m sure,” I replied with a smile as I kind of moved my head away from the dessert.

          “Oh come on,” he said in a soft flirty voice as he stood up and walked behind my chair.  He kept the cookie up in my face as he wrapped his arms around the chair and me.  He kind of squatted down sticking his head over the back of the chair so he could see my face.

          I kind of laughed as I moved my head in the opposite direction.

          “Just one little bite.”

          “No I told you I’m full.  I had enough to eat.”

          “Come on just one little bite.”

          I turned my head back to see him with part of my eyes and I noticed that his expression was kind of like a puppy and he had his lower lip sticking out.  His beautiful eyes stared at me with a begging twinkle in his eyes.

          “Please?  For me?”

          I smiled and rolled my eyes.  “Fine, one little bite,” I sighed.

          “Good,” he replied as he stepped away from me with a wide smile on his face.  He handed the cookie to me and to please him I took a bite.

          “Happy now?” I asked.

          His smile grew and he nodded as he took the cookie away from me.  “Yep.”  He finished off the cookie and went back to his seat.  “Now….”

          Riiing…. Riiing…. Riiing.

          “Hold on.”  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.  He placed it to his ear and answered it.  “Hello?” He listened for a moment.  “Did you--- What?” His expression become one of worry and panic as he listened to the words.  “No…. That’s horrible…. Thanks for the news, George…. Huh?  Really?  Interesting look I’ll take to you when more when we get back to hotel right now we’re at a restaurant and I might have some information about two of those guys but it’ll have to wait…. Can you hold till I can get to a place where there’s not a lot of people around?” He waited again and sighed.  “Alright.  I’ll talk to ya later then.”  He hung up the phone and placed it back into his pocket.

          “Is everything alright?” I asked, worried about him.

          He looked at me with a sad expression which meant whatever he had to tell me.  He didn’t need Lainie to hear it.  “I’ll tell you outside,” he replied.

          “How bad is it?”

          “On a scale from one to ten…. It’s a ten.”

          I kind of opened my mouth wondering what it was or could have been about.  My thoughts had jumped to Annie and Ron and I was really hoping that it didn’t have to deal with either of them.

          “I’m going to go ahead and pay.  Take Lainie outside…. Scratch that every time you’re left alone some strange man takes an interest in you so come with me both of you and stay in the crowd…. You don’t have to stick with me just stay close enough so that way I can see if anyone strange shows up…. Got it?”

          I nodded.  I didn’t think that questioning him would have been a good thing to do seeing that he was right about strange men who have been taking a strange liking to me.  I wasn’t going to like the idea of leaving Louis after this when I had to go home back to America.

 

          “Lainie,” Louis told the child, “go ahead over to the car seeing its right where I can see it and it’s not too far away…. Okay?”

          “Okay, Uncle Louis.”  Lainie didn’t bother to stick around for another minute.  We watched her run to the car and stand there, waiting for us.

          Louis looked at me then turned his attention toward Lainie.  His expression was sad and even though he had looked at me long enough I had seen pain in his eyes.

          “What’s wrong?” I asked.

          “It’s Kathleen,” he replied.  “She had been fighting for a couple of days after the incident with the fire…. She died about an hour ago.”

          I covered my mouth with my hands as I began to cry.  I hadn’t known the woman for long but she was kind and the fact that she was gone just like that.  I could only imagine what Louis had been feeling or what Annie and Ron would be feeling when they found out.  Lainie was too young to understand so I could see why Louis didn’t want her around when he told me.

          “It’s okay, Sam.”  He took me in his arms and hugged.  “She’s in a better place now.”

          I buried my face in his shirt as I cried.  The tears just kept falling when I thought about her.  I wondered if she had been alone or if she had family there when she had left this world.

          “It’s okay.”  I had no idea how Louis was being so strong when the whole situation was one that made people feel so lost and weak.

          “What’s wrong, Auntie Samantha?” I heard Lainie’s little worried voice ask.  I figured she had noticed that I was crying and had to find out why.

          “She just got some sad news, Lainie,” Louis replied, staying strong.

          “What news?”

          I felt Louis’s chest puff up as he took a deep breath and swallowed.  “You know Miss Kathleen?”

          “Yea…. What about Miss Kathleen?”

          “She’s with God now,” Louis replied.

          “In heaven?”

          “Yes, Lainie, in heaven.”

          I managed to look down at Lainie and watched as her head moved up toward the sky.

          “You think she’s dancing with angels?”

          Louis kind of smiled.  “I bet she is.”

          I looked up at the sky as well.  Lainie may not have completely understood what had happened but her little words and questions made me smile a little.

          “Wow,” Lainie replied.  “If that’s a good thing, then why is Auntie Samantha crying about it?”

          Louis looked at me and then toward his attention toward Lainie.  “Because in a way it’s like Miss Kathleen moved and neither of us know when we’ll see her again.”

          “Oh…. Okay.”  Lainie looked up at me and kind of smiled.  “It’s okay, Auntie Samantha, she’s in heaven with God and dancing with angels.”

          More tears fell from my eyes because of Lainie’s innocence and her young mind which hadn’t been able to understand the point of death but I smiled because of her words.

          “We need to get back to the hotel…. I need to call George.”  Louis looked at me and placed both of his hands against my face, wiping the tears from my cheeks and my eyes.  “It’s okay, Sam.  It’s only a part of life.  People are born…. People live…. People die…. That’s how it works and hopefully our loved ones will be in Heaven with God, waiting for us to arrive.”

          I nodded.

          Louis leaned in and kissed me.  “Nine.”  He smiled and I couldn’t help but smile back.  “That should do you some good for now.”  He took my hand and walked me back to the car.  He unlocked the back door for Lainie, opened it, and helped her buckled up.  Once she was in he closed the car door and before