Page 117 of Inferno

Manning tossed the ball to Magnum and winked at him. “No hard feelings.”

His brother flashed a relieved grin,thenscampered off to rejoin the others.

Manning turned to Taylor, so happy to see her that he could barely keep a goofy grin off his face. Swiping at his runny nose with his shirt sleeve, he asked her, “What’re you doing here, shorty?”

She smiled. “Well, for starters, I came to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Thanks.Same to you.Are you staying in town?”

“No, I’m going to Washington, D.C. to spend Thanksgiving with my mother. We’re leaving tonight.”

“Hey, that’s great, Taylor,” Manning said warmly. He knew how much she missed her mom, who’d given her the necklace with the violin charm that she wore every day. “I know she’ll be happy to see you and your little brother.”

Taylor beamed. “I think so, too.”

Now that he could see them better, Manning realized that her eyes were even prettier than he’d suspected. So was her face, for that matter. He also noticed that her shoulder-length hair had been cut into layers, and she’d replaced the camouflage army jacket with a fur-trimmed belted coat that she wore with dark jeans and flat brown suede boots.

“You look different,” Manning remarked.

Taylor chuckled wryly. “I know. My aunt took me shopping and to the hair salon yesterday. She said my mom would think Dad was neglecting me if I showed up looking like a ragamuffin. I guess I didn’t realize how bad my clothes might look to some people.”

Manning just smiled, wisely deciding not to touch that with a twenty-foot pole.

Taylor gestured across the large front yard, where the others had resumed playing football without him. “I see you’ve got some relatives in town, although the light-skinned one doesn’t look like any of you.”

“Quentin? Yeah, he’s not related. But he definitely belongs in the Wolf Pack.” Manning smiled. “I’ll introduce you to him and my cousins when they take a break. Come on. Let’s go sit on the porch before we get hit with the ball or something.”

Taylor giggled. “Good idea.”

As they started across the lawn together, Manning said conversationally, “We’re going on a ski trip for Thanksgiving. We’re leaving tonight, too.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful, Manning,” Taylor enthused.“How fun and exciting!Do you know how to ski?”

He laughed. “No. I’m from Atlanta, remember?”

She gave him an amused glance. “Meaning what? People from Atlanta can’t learn how to ski?”

“I guess some do. Not anyoneIknow, though.” He grinned. “Needless to say, we’ll all be sticking to the beginner slopes.”

Taylor chuckled as they climbed onto the porch and perched on the railing, their backs facing the front yard.

“I’m playing the violin again,” Taylor announced.

Manning shot her a surprised look.“Really?”

“Yeah.For the past two weeks now.” She smiled quietly. “I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed playing.”

“That’s awesome, Taylor,” Manning said warmly. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Manning. Will you come to my Christmas recital?”

“Of course.I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Struck by a sudden thought, he frowned. “I guess Henry will be there, too, since he’s probably the one who talked you into playing again, him being in the band and all.”

“Actually,” Taylor countered softly, “it was you.”

“Me?”

She nodded. “Do you remember the night I came over and we did our math homework in your kitchen?”