Read Online Home to Harmony by Dawn Atkins - Free Book Online

time, resting her forehead on the unmoving door. Hopeless.
    Then she noticed guitar music coming from downstairs. It had to be Marcus. Surely he wouldn’t refuse to talk to her. She’d be careful not to chase him off by flirting too much.
    She found him on the top step of the side porch and sat close by, bracing her back against a post.
    He shot her a quick smile, taking her in with his eyes, while still playing. “David all right?”
    “I have no idea. He won’t let me in, he won’t answer me, he won’t talk.” She kicked off her athletic shoes and pressed her toes into the warm wood, worn smooth by passing years and feet.
    “He knows you care. He might need privacy to think.”
    “When I was his age, I’d have given anything for Aurora to come to me to talk through a quarrel.” She shrugged. “So you’re saying it’s a good thing I didn’t use a battering ram on his door?”
    “Very wise move.”
    She sighed. “Meanwhile, I picked a fight with Aurora.”
    “One step forward…” He lifted an eyebrow.
    “Two steps back? Thank you Dr. Folk Wisdom. I keep trying to not let her hurt my feelings, but I can’t seem to resist.” She glanced at him, but he was focusing on his guitar, playing the Beatles’ song “Blackbird.”
    “That sounds so nice,” she said, breathing out. “Wish you’d been there when I was talking to her. What’s that saying? Music hath charm to soothe the savage…daughter?”
    He laughed his low, masculine laugh and sexual desire washed through her. Jeez, all the man had to do was laugh to turn her on. Get over it.
    “I definitely need to be more Zen.” She crossed her legs, hands upturned on her knees in a lotus pose, eyes closed.
    “Sorry. I don’t see that happening.” When she opened her eyes, his were teasing and twinkling. More lust washed through her. What would Marcus be like in bed? Quiet or noisy? Fire or ice? Gentle or rough?
    Stop that this minute.
    “You’re probably right. I’m so not Zen.” She broke the gaze and dropped her pose. “David’s problem is Brigitte. And it’s my fault they even met. I nagged him into this writer’s club and there she was, too old, too smart, and David hung on her every word.” She scratched the bites on her neck, then the one on her shin.
    Marcus kept playing.
    “You know what she told me once? She doesn’t wear underwear because it blocks the root chakra. Can you believe that?” Marcus laughed.
    “You wouldn’t find it so funny if you were the parent.”
    “Perhaps not. No.”
    “Do you think David might run away?” The thought sent a jolt of fear through her.
    Marcus stopped playing. “He seems to be exploring the power he wields in your relationship.”
    “By scaring the crap out of me?”
    “Typically, an outburst like the one in the kitchen re-lieves the tension, especially if the parent doesn’t escalate the stressors.”
    “You mean if I keep my mouth shut?”
    He just smiled.
    “Okay, I’ll try not to overreact. Any more advice? And, please, no folk sayings. I’m serious.”
    “A couple of things, I guess. When he erupts, acknowledge the emotion he’s displaying without criticism. You seem angry…. You sound hurt… . I can hear how upset you are…. Once he feels heard, he’ll calm down and handle the problem more reasonably.”
    “That makes sense…until I’m in the middle of it with him. He pushes all my buttons.”
    “That’s because he installed them,” he said.
    “I thought we agreed no more folk wisdom tonight.”
    “Sorry. Also, you might try not engaging over every poorly chosen word in an argument. If you can take a moment to catch your breath, you’ll be less likely to exacerbate the conflict.”
    “Easier said than done.”
    “If it were easy, there would be no psychiatrists.”
    “Ah, so this is job security for you?” She smiled.
    “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know or do, Christine. Trust your instincts and you’ll be fine.”
    She liked