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

the sudden frown on Crank’s face and felt confused. He had seemed in good spirits when they had left her cabin for the lake and certainly seemed cheerful enough as they set out in the boat .She had been discreetly watching his enthralled facial features for the past half hour as he effortlessly rowed them around the lake and gave them a commentary about some of the fauna they had encountered, such as the majestic Peregrine Falcon, which had briefly circled overhead to check them out, and the very cheeky pair of Alligator Snapping Turtles which had briefly followed their boat.
    Clar e had also been discreetly admiring his powerful biceps as he stroked the oars, and imagined what it would be like to feel his lips on hers and how it would feel to be held in those powerful arms.
    “Is anything wrong Crank?” she asked, rousing him out of his reverie.
    “Please forgive me for frowning,” he apologised, forcing a smile. “I guess I’m just a little worried about my brother-in-law, Eli,” he lied, deciding not to tell her about his own tragic family losses and the guilt he was enduring for feeling happy for the first time since their deaths. He glanced down at his watch. “It’s getting late and I still have to drive in to Marshall to pick up my nephews. I’d better start rowing us back toward the jetty or I’ll be late picking them up.”
    ***
    During the walk back to Clare’s cabin, Crank noticed that Clare was unusually quiet. “Clare, can we talk?” he asked, a minute or so after Willow had let go of their hands and announced that she was running ahead to wait for them on her mother’s porch. This time she had not linked their hands together as she had done on the way to the lake, and now, as they walked side by side, the silence and awkwardness between them was almost uncomfortable and deafening.
    “To be honest Crank, I can’t quite figure you out,” Clare said sadly, breaking the silence. “One minute you’re warm and open and friendly and the next minute you’re cool and moody and withdrawn. To tell you the truth it’s doing my head in. It feels like one minute you want to spend time with us and the next minute you don’t. I wish you could make up your mind.”
    Crank reached down and took her hand in his. Without speaking, he lifted it to his lips and kissed it gently. “I’m attracted to you Clare,” he said softly. “I have been since I first laid eyes on you yesterday, and it’s scaring the hell out of me.” He put a finger under her chin and gently lifted her gaze to meet his. “Clare, I’m 35 years old yet whenever I’m near you my pulse starts racing and my heart starts pounding like a lovesick teenager.”
    Clare felt her heart skip a beat. “I’ve been feeling the same way about you too,” she admitted. “But every time I look at you and my body reacts, I feel guilty, as if I’m cheating on Clay.” On impulse, she lifted up onto her tippy-toes and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips.
    “What’s that for?” he drawled.
    Clare grinned. “No particular reason. It’s just that I’ve been wanting to do that since you tried to kiss me earlier on our way to the lake.”
    Crank ’s lips were still tingling from the unexpected kiss and his heart was hammering uncontrollably, but the guilt that he was experiencing earlier lessened despite the intimacy of the moment and he smiled at the irony. “I guess I owe you an explanation for my hot and cold behaviour,” he said, leading her by the hand to the shade of a large nearby Cypress. “I lost my wife, Georgia, and my six-year-old daughter, Ellie, in an automobile accident in Austin just over six years ago,” he confided. “Today in the boat when you asked me if something was wrong, I lied. I wasn’t thinking about my brother-in-law, I was feeling guilty for feeling truly happy for the first time in six years and for enjoying you and Willow’s company. Pathetic, isn’t it?”
    Clare gently took his other hand as well. “Oh my