Read Online The Forgiving Hour by Robin Lee Hatcher - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Robin Lee Hatcher
Ads: Link
introduce a topic of interest to him, failing miserably each time. Mostly, he grunted and frowned in response, his expression growing darker with each passing mile.
It frightened her, seeing him this way
Many things frightened her. She was afraid her parents would learn that she’d become physically intimate with a man outside of marriage. She was afraid Dave didn’t love her, despite all the times she’d told herself he must or he wouldn’t keep coming to see her. She was afraid he would tire of her because she was young and made so many mistakes. She was afraid because he refused to talk about himself beyond the very basics. She was afraid when he didn’t come to see her, and she was afraid, when he did, that he only came for sex. She longed for him to call her sometimes, just to talk, just to say he missed her. He never did. He hadn’t even given her his phone number; when she looked for it in the telephone directory, she’d discovered it was unlisted.
Just yesterday, Patti had said, “Say what you want, Sara. I don’t trust him. There’s just something—”
Sara hadn’t let her friend finish. She didn’t want to hear anything negative about Dave. She had to believe in his love for her, in their future together. If she didn’t, if she let doubts creep in, if …
“How’d you like to go to Portland with me for a couple of days?” he asked, breaking into her agitated thoughts.
“Portland?”
“Yeah, there’s some business opportunities over there I want to look into.”
“Are you thinking of moving?” Alarm tightened her gut.
“Maybe.” For a fleeting moment he met her gaze, then looked back at the winding road. “Think about it. We could have a couple nights in a nice hotel, just the two of us.” He grinned, and it was clear what he was imagining. “No roommates. No phone calls. No interruptions.”
Is that the only reason you want me along, Dave?
She couldn’t speak the question aloud. To do so would be to admit her secret doubts.
“How about it?”
“I’ve got a job lined up for the summer,” she answered at last, “but it doesn’t start until the fifth of June. I suppose I could go before that. Just for a couple of days.”
“That’s my girl.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “It’ll be good for us both. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a little vacation. I’ll bet you could too.”
His girl. He’d called her his girl. Surely that meant her doubts were baseless, that he cared, that he loved her as much as she loved him — even if he didn’t say so.
She smiled, her heart lifting. Of course that was what it meant. She had nothing to fear. Nothing at all.
Claire wandered through the house, feeling listless, aimless, and empty. She wanted to do something to take her mind off Dave and her suspicions, but nothing she tried worked. A woman’s instinct told her he’d gone to see his lover after his fight with their son.
She paused at the living room window and stared through the glass at the front yard. Sunlight filtered through lacy branches of the curly willow tree, causing a crisscross pattern of shadows to flutter over the lawn. At each of the front corners of the yard were huge lilac bushes. A warm spell in March had caused them to bloom early in the season. Now the purple blossoms were gone, and all that was left was green. She wished she could still cut a fresh bouquet and fill the house with their scent.
She remembered the spring she’d planted the lilacs. They’d been hardly more than twigs. Mike, a toddler at the time, had sat nearby, wiggling his toes in the grass and laughing as the green blades tickled the bottoms of his feet.
That was the same day Dave had brought home the new truck. New to them anyway. Claire had baked a cake to celebrate that milestone in their lives. Success and prosperity had seemed just around the corner. How perfect her little world had been. How inviolable.
Like a jag of lightning
It frightened her, seeing him this way
Many things frightened her. She was afraid her parents would learn that she’d become physically intimate with a man outside of marriage. She was afraid Dave didn’t love her, despite all the times she’d told herself he must or he wouldn’t keep coming to see her. She was afraid he would tire of her because she was young and made so many mistakes. She was afraid because he refused to talk about himself beyond the very basics. She was afraid when he didn’t come to see her, and she was afraid, when he did, that he only came for sex. She longed for him to call her sometimes, just to talk, just to say he missed her. He never did. He hadn’t even given her his phone number; when she looked for it in the telephone directory, she’d discovered it was unlisted.
Just yesterday, Patti had said, “Say what you want, Sara. I don’t trust him. There’s just something—”
Sara hadn’t let her friend finish. She didn’t want to hear anything negative about Dave. She had to believe in his love for her, in their future together. If she didn’t, if she let doubts creep in, if …
“How’d you like to go to Portland with me for a couple of days?” he asked, breaking into her agitated thoughts.
“Portland?”
“Yeah, there’s some business opportunities over there I want to look into.”
“Are you thinking of moving?” Alarm tightened her gut.
“Maybe.” For a fleeting moment he met her gaze, then looked back at the winding road. “Think about it. We could have a couple nights in a nice hotel, just the two of us.” He grinned, and it was clear what he was imagining. “No roommates. No phone calls. No interruptions.”
Is that the only reason you want me along, Dave?
She couldn’t speak the question aloud. To do so would be to admit her secret doubts.
“How about it?”
“I’ve got a job lined up for the summer,” she answered at last, “but it doesn’t start until the fifth of June. I suppose I could go before that. Just for a couple of days.”
“That’s my girl.” He placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “It’ll be good for us both. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a little vacation. I’ll bet you could too.”
His girl. He’d called her his girl. Surely that meant her doubts were baseless, that he cared, that he loved her as much as she loved him — even if he didn’t say so.
She smiled, her heart lifting. Of course that was what it meant. She had nothing to fear. Nothing at all.
Claire wandered through the house, feeling listless, aimless, and empty. She wanted to do something to take her mind off Dave and her suspicions, but nothing she tried worked. A woman’s instinct told her he’d gone to see his lover after his fight with their son.
She paused at the living room window and stared through the glass at the front yard. Sunlight filtered through lacy branches of the curly willow tree, causing a crisscross pattern of shadows to flutter over the lawn. At each of the front corners of the yard were huge lilac bushes. A warm spell in March had caused them to bloom early in the season. Now the purple blossoms were gone, and all that was left was green. She wished she could still cut a fresh bouquet and fill the house with their scent.
She remembered the spring she’d planted the lilacs. They’d been hardly more than twigs. Mike, a toddler at the time, had sat nearby, wiggling his toes in the grass and laughing as the green blades tickled the bottoms of his feet.
That was the same day Dave had brought home the new truck. New to them anyway. Claire had baked a cake to celebrate that milestone in their lives. Success and prosperity had seemed just around the corner. How perfect her little world had been. How inviolable.
Like a jag of lightning
Similar Books
