Chapter 67

He was quiet for a second, contemplating my question. Then he said, “I’m not sure I know how to answer that.”

“Of course you do.”

“No, I don’t.” He shook his head, kept smiling, and said something about putting me down, which I agreed to (boo-hoo for me). Then he added, “You’re the guy who lives in the sealed-off attic.”

My heart thumped with chaos from almost dying. I nodded and replied, “The one and only.”

“You’re the book critic.”

“And writer. I’m Micah Berk.”

“Yeah, Miss Kitty told me that.” He checked out my looks, which entailed bright blue eyes, a slim body, five-ten frame, and thick black hair with a sweeping wave over my eyes.

“And you are?” I sounded snobby, above him, but really didn’t mean to.

“Tucker Martini. Everyone calls me Tuck.”

We shook hands.

“Your last name is the alcoholic beverage?” I asked, curious of him, and unable to remove my stare from his solid frame.

“Better that than Tucker Meth or Tucker Ebola, right?” he joked.