Feather Light (Knead Me) Read Free Page A

horrible to begin with, and walking several blocks without an aid would be a bit problematic for him. He still didn’t believe he needed the aid of a white cane or a guide dog, although it was recommended by his doctor. Parker could still get by with his limited vision. All he needed was good lighting, and he could pretty much get around on his own. Also, Webster, Cork, and the two assistants he’d hired for the two other branches made sure he had everything he needed at his fingertips.
    The smoggy air hit him as soon as he emerged from the air-conditioned building. As much as Parker hated the weather in LA, this was his home. Everything about the city was familiar, and he took comfort in that knowledge. Blindness was not an easy disease to deal with. He’d had to make some adjustments to his lifestyle and use adaptive measures to compensate for his lack of vision, but so far, he’d been coping rather well.
    Parker saw the shape of a familiar car parked near the curb, exactly twelve steps from the building. He slid into the cool comfort of the front passenger seat. Soon after, they joined the already congested traffic as they made their way to the 405 Freeway.
    “Hey, bro, can we drop by Gelson’s first?” Parker reclined back in the seat and adjusted his sunglasses.
    “Hot date tonight?” Cork’s deep voice inquired. Parker’s brother asked very few questions, but the one he did ask was one Parker wanted to avoid answering.
    “Um . . . just hanging out.” It was a nice, evasive answer—not giving away too much, but offering just enough without sounding trite.
    “Fair enough.”
    Cork drove in silence, and Parker let the quiet relax him. His mind wandered back to his newest client, Madame Baba. There was something odd about the woman that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. After a shy start where she’d given him three-word answers, she had broken down on his table and confessed her unhappiness. Parker had no idea what she did for a living, her status in life, or what her problems were, and he wasn’t about to pry. If there was one important thing he had learned from this business, it was to let his clients do the talking. 
    He was the listener they needed or, better yet, the more affordable shrink. Parker often encountered clients who were willing to tell him their life story with very little encouragement. Most of them didn’t come to sleep; they came so they could talk without having to deal with the stigma of seeing a head doctor. All Parker had to do was ask the right questions, and they’d take the cue.
    Madame Baba had been the same. She’d babbled on and on about what others expected from her, and even though the circumstances she’d cited were vague, he’d begun to draw a mental picture of this intriguing woman in his mind. She had to be one of those rich women who had no idea what to do with their life—bored, unhappy, and lost.
    “We’re right in front of Gelson’s. Do you want me to go in with you?” Cork broke into Parker’s thoughts, and he opened his eyes. Open or not, it didn’t do him any good. He chuckled at the thought.
    Cork’s shirt rustled against the leather seat, and Parker knew his brother had turned to look at him, probably wondering what the hell he was laughing at. “I’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I’m done.”
    He got out of the car with measured steps, using daylight as his guide to find the entrance of the grocery store. It helped that he’d been there more times than he could count. Everyone knew him, and there wouldn’t be a problem locating the things he needed. Parker grabbed a basket by the front entrance and proceeded to his first stop, the dairy section. He chose a can of whipped cream and placed it in the basket before moving on to the fruit section, where he picked up some fresh strawberries and bananas.
    Afterward, he went to the deli, where his preordered dinner was already waiting for him.
    “Here you go. Pasta with sundried tomatoes