Read Online On Wings of Magic by Kay Hooper - Free Book Online

innocent. A man with chinks in his armor.
    It was late in the afternoon when Kendall left the orphanage, thanking Father Thomas and receiving his assurances that she was welcome anytime.
    Instead of walking directly back to the hotel, Kendall wandered slowly along a path until she came to the rocky cliffs on the north end of the island. She picked her way carefully, recognizing the area from her brief flight over the island in the small plane that had brought her from Nassau. Moving south, she reached a point where she could see the hotel in the distance, and look down from the cliffs to the beginnings of the sandy beach she and Hawke had walked the night before.
    Kendall sat down a foot from the edge, decidingvaguely to watch the sunset. But her thoughts occupied her, thoughts she had pushed aside after lunch with Father Thomas.
    Hugging her knees, she listened to the roar of the surf and her thoughts. She had enjoyed the past fifteen years, the good times far outweighing the bad. But she felt … so weary. Not a physical weariness, but an emotional one. She had never known roots. The most stable thing in her life was her father’s love, and she had always lived with the knowledge that her father could be killed without warning.
    It had made each moment precious, perhaps explaining her need to travel with him. But she couldn’t cling to her father forever. She was independent physically and mentally—but emotionally, the child inside her had not yet learned to trust other relationships. The child clung to its father as the only solid thing in a painful world.
    Kendall knew herself. And she knew that it was time for her to let go of her father. His life was not hers. Her life was … what? Undiscovered, as yet.
    It was a peculiar moment. She felt almost reborn. And scared. So scared. But several things were clear to her. She would no longer pretend—with anyone. The useful and easily assumed dumb blonde was gone forever. Hawke had been right; she was cheating herself, and others, by presenting a bland appearance to the world.
    It was astonishingly clear to her. She wasn’t quite sure why. But instinct told her that it had a great deal to do with Hawke. It was one subject she wanted to shy away from, but Kendall forced herself to face it.
    Because that was clear too. Hawke was important in her life. A man she had known just over twenty-fourhours. She still intended to fight any physical relationship, but her reasons were different now. Before, she had wanted to avoid any relationship. Cut and dried. But now she knew that that was impossible. She was drawn to him mentally as well as physically. The relationship—however it could be defined—existed.
    But Kendall would not commit herself. Not yet. If she had seen too much to be innocent, then she had also seen how brief and uncertain life really was. It was not a pessimistic thought, but a calm understanding. If she gave her body, she would give her heart. And she would be very, very sure. Love was too precious to waste.
    All at once she was vividly aware of the roar of the surf, the sun hanging low in a burning sky, the smell of the salty sea crashing against the rocks below her. And a new sense told her that he was coming. She wondered dimly at the sensation and what it indicated.
    “Kendall?” His voice was quiet, almost hushed, as though the weight of her thoughts had touched him. He sat down beside her. “I was worried about you.”
    “You have no right to worry.” Immediately, she wished that she could recall the shrewish words, but he seemed undisturbed.
    “No, I suppose not. Still—I was worried. You shouldn’t wander around on these cliffs.”
    Kendall rested her chin on her knees and stared out at the dying sun. “I’ve climbed mountains in Europe.” It wasn’t a boastful statement. Just a statement.
    “Really? Did you enjoy it?” He was serious, not mocking.
    Kendall flicked a glance at him, and felt a glimmer of humor lighten her somber mood.