Read Online Unbreak my Heart by I. R. Johannesen - Free Book Online

die?” she sobbed, spilling hot little tears onto his shoulder.
    Crank felt like his heart was about to explode. Holding Willow in his arms felt just like holding Ellie when he would pick her up to comfort her or tuck her into bed at night. “I don’t know Sweetheart,” he said, wiping a tear from her cheek with the back of his finger. “Sometimes bad things happen to good people.”
    Willow put an arm around Crank’s neck and hugged him. “Sometimes you look sad too Crank,” she said soothingly. “Did something bad happen to someone that you loved too?”
    A s Crank nodded, a stray tear rolled down his own cheek. “Yes Sweetheart it did. But life must go on and we have to find a way to be happy.”
    She smiled and arched her blond brows. “You mean like asking you to come for a walk to the lake with us this afternoon?”
    Crank’s heart lurched. “Does that make you happy?”
    She nodded her head. “Aha, and it makes Mama happy too, that’s why she bought herself some new clothes today; to impress you.”
    This time his heart started hammering. “Did your mama say that she likes me?”
    She nodded her head. “Aha, last night after you went home, and there’s something else.”
    Crank’s heart was now beating like a jackhammer. “What else?” he asked nervously.
    “I’ve been watching the way she looks at you,” she explained.
    Crank felt a tightening in his chest. “The way she looks at me? What do you mean Sweetheart?”
    Willow g iggled. “She looks at you the same way she used to look at my Daddy.”

Chapter ten
     
    As Crank and Clare set out toward the lake from Clare’s cabin, Willow slipped in between them and grabbed a hand of each. “Is it far Crank?” she asked.
    “Not too far,” he replied happily. “And when we get there I have a special surprise for you and your Mama.”
    “What is it?” she asked excitedly ; her blue eyes almost popping with curiosity. “Please tell me!”
    “If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise,” he reminded her, “but I have a feeling you are gonna like it.”
    As they meandered their way along the well-used trail Clare couldn’t help but admire the picturesque beauty of the forest. “This place is truly amazing,” she exclaimed dreamily, craning her neck to look up at the towering cypress trees, draped with layers of Spanish moss, giving them an eerie, other-worldly appearance. For some reason the whole world looked perfect this afternoon and her heart sang as she drank in the beauty of the magnificent birds that soared in the sky above them and the wildflowers and ferns that filled the forest floor between the tall trees. Even the scent of the forest smelt sweeter than it had yesterday when she was broken down on the shoulder of the road.
    Suddenly she felt Willow’s hand break free from her grasp. “Crank, is that the lake ahead?” her daughter squealed, pointing excitedly as she spotted the water about twenty yards in front of them.”
    She watched with a lump in her throat as h e looked down at her daughter’s beaming face. “It sure is, Sweetheart.”
    Willow looked up pleadingly at her , breaking her trance. “Mama is it okay if I run ahead to the lake? I promise to be real careful and not go near the water!”
    Clare looked up at Crank. “What do you think Crank? Is it safe for her to go ahead?”
    Crank stopped and knelt down so he could talk to Willow eye-to-eye. “Do you promise to stay in view until we reach you?”
    Willow gave him a slow exaggerated nod. “I promise!”
    “Then I guess it’s okay for you to run ahead if it’s okay with your mom?”
    “Okay,” Clare said, rolling her eyes, “but be careful by the water until we get there.”
    “Thank you M ama, thank you Crank,” Willow said excitedly. “I will.”
    Before running off she grabbed her mother’s hand again and guided it over to Crank’s. “Here Mama you can hold Crank’s hand while I’m gone. He won’t mind.” She pushed their hands together