Read Online September Canvas by Gun Brooke - Free Book Online Page A

gotten me. Stuck in a media circus doing news stories about everything from juggling poodles to the best freaking treatment for athlete’s foot.” Faythe gestured emphatically.
    Deanna laughed, surprised. She hadn’t expected to find humor in Faythe’s words, and certainly not in her own. “Juggling poodles?”
    “Yup. Three of them. All were true divas.”
    “They demanded champagne in their dressing room?” Deanna couldn’t stop her silly smile.
    “How did you know?”
    Faythe grinned back, and suddenly Deanna could breathe again.
    “Here, let me help you.” Faythe pulled on the opposite side of the canoe and together they dragged it farther up and turned it upside down. “Ah. There.”
    Deanna brushed a few wet leaves off her jeans and pushed the hair out of her eyes. “Thanks.”
    “You’re welcome.” Faythe lifted her hand, palm up, to Deanna, who took it hesitantly. “Want to catch a movie, perhaps later in the week?”
    Deanna could hardly reply. The sensation of Faythe’s soft, slender hand in hers drowned out everything else. It wasn’t the first time they had touched. When she’d held Faythe in a firm grip as she saved her from the water, she hadn’t felt this bittersweet tenderness. Shaken, Deanna gently pulled her hand back. “All right. Absolutely. Why not?” She didn’t think about her words. She just wanted to escape these startling feelings and the innocent touch that caused them.
    “Tomorrow night? I can check which movies are showing. Or would you rather rent something? Aunt Nellie has pay-per-view.”
    “Sounds good. I mean, renting.” Deanna finally realized that going into town to the movies with Faythe would be impossible.
    “I think so too. At seven or thereabouts?”
    “Sounds good.”’
    “See you then.” Faythe stepped closer and hugged Deanna.
    “Thanks for taking me canoeing. Take care.”
    “You too,” Deanna managed. The unexpected full-body contact depleted all of her oxygen, and she stumbled backward. “Bye.”
    “Bye.” Faythe waved and headed toward her house.
    Deanna stood frozen, making sure Faythe was not about to say something more, then spun around and hurried to her cabin. She dumped the backpack on the kitchen table and continued into the bathroom, where she closed the door. She needed as many walls and doors between herself and the outside world as possible. Gasping, she studied her reflection, not recognizing the wild look in her eyes. Normally she kept a cool façade, her temper carefully subdued and controlled. Two years ago, she had let her temper flare, which cost her dearly. Nothing could take away that pain, and she had restrained herself since then, determined not to rock the boat again.
    Faythe was a variable Deanna hadn’t counted on. Although a woman of the world, well dressed, knowledgeable, and with a fantastic career already despite her youth, Faythe possessed a soft innocence, something genuinely good that drew Deanna in despite her best efforts to keep Faythe distant.
    That hadn’t worked, since Faythe had stepped right up and hugged her. Deanna leaned her forehead against the cool mirror. How was she supposed to keep someone as lovely as Faythe away? Every time Deanna tried to create some distance, either by being cold or dismissive, the pained expression in Faythe’s eyes wouldn’t let her follow through.
    “I may have to tell her the whole ugly story.” Deanna grimaced at her reflection, looking at herself cross-eyed since she was so close to the mirror. “Then again, she might be so stubborn that she’ll try to save me from myself.”
    Deanna stalked out of the bathroom and over to her work area.
    Tossing her jacket on a pile of books on a chair, she switched on the light, then opened her sketch pad and grabbed a charcoal pen. She drew a scene from memory, the canoe in the foreground and the lake framed with maple trees in the background. Before she knew it, a slender figure sat in the front of the canoe. With long