Read Online Affairs & Atonements by Clarissa Cartharn - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Clarissa Cartharn
Ads: Link
me.”
Something snapped inside him. “You don’t know the damn you’re talking about! You have no idea what you put me through. And if you’re not careful, I’ll gladly put you through the same just so you know how I felt all these years.”
She breathed heavily, her eyes locked angrily with his. “Isn’t that the old Ashton I know? Vengeful and mean. You sounded too good to be true. I’m glad I don’t have to beat myself over deceiving you anymore. You just reminded me why I ran from you in the first place.”
He clenched his fists, holding himself back from tugging her against him. She riled him to his core; one moment seducing him with her little ways and the next, provoking every inch of him.
She bowed her head down, palming her forehead tiredly. “Please, Ashton, let’s stop. Let’s stop pretending to be so cool about this. I know you would want nothing more than to pay me back for what I’d done to you. And I- I just want to get on with my life with my son.” She raised her eyes, tears replacing the anger she once carried in them. “It would be best if you ate your meals in the lodge like the rest of the guests. Ash could join you there.”
She pushed past him, trying not to touch him as best as she could.
He stood there in the middle of the now empty kitchen, staring after her in a speechless daze. His feet moved slightly, on the verge of following her. He didn’t understand why he did that. Perhaps, it was a habit he had acquired over eleven years. Whatever it was, it was time he stopped.
*****
“Do you like it here?” he asked the boy as he bounced about in the field of wild grass and flowers.
“Yeah.”
“And what about your friends? Do you get to see them often?”
“I meet them in school. It’s enough,” said JR as he peered into a dead tree-trunk. “Hey, Dad, look at this. A baby squirrel.”
He walked up to him and peered alongside him. “Oh yes, it is. It’s an orphaned baby. His mother probably lost or abandoned the poor thing.”
“Or something could have happened to the mother?” JR said, his eyes wallowing with sympathy for the tiny creature nestled in a corner of the trunk.
“Yes, that too.” Ashton nodded. He noticed its pink skin and lack of hair, its head tucked into its body and its eyes tightly shut. “It can’t be more than a week old.”
“Can we take it home?”
“Let’s hang about a little longer.” He pursed his lips in deep thought. “Its mother might return to fetch it. And it does have a better chance of surviving if it’s with its mother.”
The breeze rustled through the forest, growing steadily. After almost thirty minutes of waiting, he grew restless and concerned about the strong winds that were now wildly swaying the tree branches above them.
“We should go now, JR,” he said, studying the trees about them. “The weather’s getting rougher.”
“This is normal, Dad.” The boy dismissed, jumping from one dead log to another. “It gets worse than this, believe me. And sometimes it even calms down.”
“I do believe you, son. But I’m not too keen on finding out just yet.”
“What about the baby squirrel? We can’t leave him out here like this in this weather!” the boy begged. “Let’s take it back home with us and Nan could help me feed it. She’s good with animals.”
“Ummm, okay.” He couldn’t leave the animal exposed in this manner either. It had no chance of surviving on its own. It was still blind and utterly dependent on nurturing. “But let me pick it up, alright?”
JR nodded as his father pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. He daintily gathered the infant and wrapped its tiny body in the hanky.
“Okay, got him all nice and warm,” Ashton announced proudly. “Now, let’s get him home so we can feed him.”
Inside the musty storage room, they found an old box which they took with them back to the kitchen.
“Ask Nan for an old soft fabric, and a heating pad or an electric
Something snapped inside him. “You don’t know the damn you’re talking about! You have no idea what you put me through. And if you’re not careful, I’ll gladly put you through the same just so you know how I felt all these years.”
She breathed heavily, her eyes locked angrily with his. “Isn’t that the old Ashton I know? Vengeful and mean. You sounded too good to be true. I’m glad I don’t have to beat myself over deceiving you anymore. You just reminded me why I ran from you in the first place.”
He clenched his fists, holding himself back from tugging her against him. She riled him to his core; one moment seducing him with her little ways and the next, provoking every inch of him.
She bowed her head down, palming her forehead tiredly. “Please, Ashton, let’s stop. Let’s stop pretending to be so cool about this. I know you would want nothing more than to pay me back for what I’d done to you. And I- I just want to get on with my life with my son.” She raised her eyes, tears replacing the anger she once carried in them. “It would be best if you ate your meals in the lodge like the rest of the guests. Ash could join you there.”
She pushed past him, trying not to touch him as best as she could.
He stood there in the middle of the now empty kitchen, staring after her in a speechless daze. His feet moved slightly, on the verge of following her. He didn’t understand why he did that. Perhaps, it was a habit he had acquired over eleven years. Whatever it was, it was time he stopped.
*****
“Do you like it here?” he asked the boy as he bounced about in the field of wild grass and flowers.
“Yeah.”
“And what about your friends? Do you get to see them often?”
“I meet them in school. It’s enough,” said JR as he peered into a dead tree-trunk. “Hey, Dad, look at this. A baby squirrel.”
He walked up to him and peered alongside him. “Oh yes, it is. It’s an orphaned baby. His mother probably lost or abandoned the poor thing.”
“Or something could have happened to the mother?” JR said, his eyes wallowing with sympathy for the tiny creature nestled in a corner of the trunk.
“Yes, that too.” Ashton nodded. He noticed its pink skin and lack of hair, its head tucked into its body and its eyes tightly shut. “It can’t be more than a week old.”
“Can we take it home?”
“Let’s hang about a little longer.” He pursed his lips in deep thought. “Its mother might return to fetch it. And it does have a better chance of surviving if it’s with its mother.”
The breeze rustled through the forest, growing steadily. After almost thirty minutes of waiting, he grew restless and concerned about the strong winds that were now wildly swaying the tree branches above them.
“We should go now, JR,” he said, studying the trees about them. “The weather’s getting rougher.”
“This is normal, Dad.” The boy dismissed, jumping from one dead log to another. “It gets worse than this, believe me. And sometimes it even calms down.”
“I do believe you, son. But I’m not too keen on finding out just yet.”
“What about the baby squirrel? We can’t leave him out here like this in this weather!” the boy begged. “Let’s take it back home with us and Nan could help me feed it. She’s good with animals.”
“Ummm, okay.” He couldn’t leave the animal exposed in this manner either. It had no chance of surviving on its own. It was still blind and utterly dependent on nurturing. “But let me pick it up, alright?”
JR nodded as his father pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. He daintily gathered the infant and wrapped its tiny body in the hanky.
“Okay, got him all nice and warm,” Ashton announced proudly. “Now, let’s get him home so we can feed him.”
Inside the musty storage room, they found an old box which they took with them back to the kitchen.
“Ask Nan for an old soft fabric, and a heating pad or an electric
Similar Books
