Angel's Dance Read Free Page B

tentatively.
    “ Grant?” she called out as
she walked in. She froze for a moment, feeling very lost. If she
hadn’t watched Grant walk in moments before, she would have sworn
she was in the wrong house. Everything had changed, especially the
feeling in the house.
    The last time she had been here this
place had felt empty and was barely decorated. Now there was a
hide-a-bed and TV in the middle of the living room and a screen
separated Grant’s bedroom from the rest of the house. She looked at
the TV and saw a gaming console and a collection of games and
movies. Clear was trying to process the changes, and what they
could possibly mean, when a tiny movement on the landing caught her
eye.
    A small girl stood at the bottom of
the landing staring at her. Grant walked out of one of the rooms
upstairs, saying something over his shoulder and she looked up in
confusion, wondering if this was a vision. Grant stopped and looked
down at her and the little girl.
    “ Clear? I.. I thought you
were waiting in the car?”
    Two boys and an older girl followed
Grant out of the room and the feelings of adoration slammed into
Clear. She was overwhelmed and stood there with her mouth hanging
open. Who were these kids and why did they have such strong
feelings for Grant?
    The teenage girl looked at Clear. “Who
is that?” she asked Grant, scrunching up her face in obvious
displeasure.
    “ Ah… um… this is Clear…
a.. friend who is going to help me find my daughter.”
    The little girl on the landing looked
from Grant to Clear and her face crumpled “You mean this isn’t your
daughter? I thought you wouldn’t have to go away!” she
wailed.
    Grant flew down the stairs and scooped
her up. “Aw honey, I don’t want to leave you guys, but I have to do
this. I promise, I’ll be back as soon as possible.” He looked at
Clear meaningfully over the little girl’s head. The teen was right
behind him in a flash.
    “ Everything will be fine,”
she promised Grant. She reached in to take the little girl who was
clinging fiercely to Grant’s neck. He shook his head
gently.
    “ I still need to pack. I
can take her for now Alice.” He walked off toward his room and
Gloria and the oldest boy followed. The boy was lugging a suit
case. “Put that on the bed, Tony.”
    Tony picked up the thread of the
conversation that Clear had apparently interrupted. He was talking
about a track meet that was coming up. Clear could hear Grant
responding with real interest. The youngest boy toddled into the
room and chimed in periodically with comments that did not seem to
have anything to do with the conversation.
    “ You cannot take that!”
Alice gasped and Clear could hear her snatch something up. “That
looks awful on you! Here, take this one instead.”
    Grant chuckled. Clear couldn’t believe
how adroit Grant was at giving each child attention while in the
midst of all the chaos. Clear suddenly focused on what was being
said as the mood shifted. Jeffy had just spoken.
    Grant cleared his throat and spoke a
little more quietly, “Yes… She is the lady I told you about. Alice,
can you grab my shaving kit?”
    Alice responded, “Here. She looks a
lot younger than I imagined.” Clear could practically picture the
sneer on her face.
    “ Come on. I told you she
was a kid.”
    “ Yeah, but you didn’t tell
us how hot she was!” This came from the teen boy, Tony, Clear
thought. She could feel herself blush.
    “ Come on, man… not cool,”
Grant muttered. This caused Clear to blush even more. She suddenly
felt a presence at her side. She glanced over and there was another
kid. This was a girl, probably eight or nine years old. She looked
like she had just started to reach up to touch Clear.
    “ Are you the lady who
helped Grant catch that bad guy?” The little girl asked
tentatively. Clear felt herself blush even more. What had he told
these kids? She nodded. The young girl burst into tears and hugged
Clear fervently. “Thank you!” She