In the Eye of the Storm Read Free Page A

would be most comfortable in so I just grabbed a variety.”  He looked nervously at her as if he were handing her a hand-grenade rather than pajamas.
    “That was very kind of you, thank you,” she said as she took the clothes from him and turned to place them on the bed.  Turning to wish him goodnight, Holly found him rooted to the spot staring at her.  They stood that way for countless minutes with only the ticking of an antique clock that was sitting on top of the dressing table before Holly finally whispered the words to him.  It had been a long night and having Stephen staring at her, had Holly feeling funny.  Surely it must be the exhaustion making her feel so…so…weird.  Him, too, she thought, because Stephen never stared at her.  Ever. 
    Stephen nodded and pivoted towards the door.  With a hand on the handle he began to walk out and close it behind him when he stopped.  Holly was still standing next to the bed.  “The fight was about you,” he said quietly and closed the door.  There was no malice in the statement, no accusation or blame; he was merely answering her earlier question.
    Holly wanted nothing more than to go after him and demand to know what exactly that meant.  Why would he fight with his two best friends about her?  She got along very well with both Will and Derek.  What could they possibly fight about?  But as much as her curiosity demanded to know, her sleep-deprived body won the battle of wills and forced her to change in to the t-shirt Stephen had given her.  Even though she had gone through her bedtime routine hours earlier, Holly felt the need to wash her face and brush her teeth one more time before taking on the task of moving the mountain of pillows so that she could crawl between the cool, silky sheets. 
    The whole time she moved about, her thoughts stayed focused on Stephen’s last words to her.  God how she hated to be left hanging like that!  Like it wasn’t enough that she had trudged all over the place for him tonight?  He had to go and drop a bomb like that and just leave?  She glanced at the door for what seemed like the tenth time and then resigned herself to the inevitable - Her answers would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
    Pulling back the plush comforter, she climbed in to the bed.  Snuggling in to the pillows and in to a comfortable position, her final thoughts were of the look of sadness on Stephen’s face as he had closed the door tonight.
    What had that been about?  The man who she had dealt with in the last hour was hardly the confident, powerful man she worked with every day.  What could have possibly happened tonight to cause such a drastic change in his demeanor? 
    If Holly could have stayed awake to analyze it anymore, she would have.  But the comfort of the bed and the extreme sleepiness took their toll.  She was unsure of the time before sleep claimed her. 
     

 
    Chapter Two
     
    The next morning Holly awoke well rested but slightly confused about her surroundings.  It did not take long, however, for it all to come back to her with blazing clarity and she groaned with remembrance.   Stephen.  The rain.  The fight.  The look.
    That stupid, sad look.
    Dammit.
    Stretching lazily, Holly looked over at the clock and gasped when she realized it was after ten.  She couldn’t even remember the last time she had slept in so late on a Saturday.  Well, that was usually because Stephen had her on the phone by eight a.m. with some sort of project idea that he had come up with the night before.  Honestly, didn’t the man’s brain ever rest?
    Apparently it had this morning because he hadn’t bothered her.  Okay, maybe his brain hadn’t rested but he was being polite enough to let her sleep in.  Was he even awake yet?  Holly kicked off the blankets and jumped at the sound of thunder as she padded her way to the bathroom.  In her exhaustion the night before, she had not taken in the opulence of it all – a marbled double