The sound of a car door opening and closing changed her mind. Swinging a leg over the side of the bed, she knew she couldn’t see the driveway from her bedroom, so she sleepily navigated the stairs at a pace guaranteed to not trip her up. The knock at the door put any further doubt aside that who was on the opposite side was lost. Glancing at the downstairs grandfather clock, she once again verified the time for her confused mind.
Opening the interior door, she felt her stomach plummet, and every sense come fully awake.
“Ryker, what are you doing here? At 1 a.m. in the morning.”
“Sorry,” he glanced absently at his watch. “I just…I just drove.”
She opened the screen porch, attempting to settle her shaking hands. “Come inside,” she said as the cold further unnerved her overstimulated body.
He stepped inside, and she was made aware, not for the first time, of the significant difference in height. It didn’t help that she was in stocking feet, and he in cowboy boots with a heel.
“I hate to sound ungrateful to see you, but I thought we settled everything the other day.”
“We didn’t really settle anything,” he said. “I just didn’t think I should follow you, so I let you walk away.”
“Okay? And now?” She was trying to be patient, but the urge to slap him and then kiss him was messing with her equilibrium. She needed answers, and she needed them now.
He exhaled and looked up at her, “I think I’m in love with you…scratch that, I’m in love with you. And it scares the shit out of me. You are Bryce’s fiancé, and…”
“Bryce is dead.”
“I know…but…”
“I love you too, but I still don’t understand why you are in my doorway obviously discombobulated at one in the morning,” she said, patiently holding his eyes.
He slowly extended his hand, and she noticed he held an envelope. She could feel the tempo of her heart skip, and then race.
He slowly extended his hand, and she noticed he held an envelope. She could feel the tempo of her heart skip, and then race.
Excerpt from Moving to Forever by Angelica Kate
"This anthology consists of twelve wonderful stories with the inherent theme of love and war contained in them. Out of the twelve authors, Uvi Poznansky is the only one that I was familiar with previously. So, in addition to becoming acquainted with new authors in this set, my 'to be read' pile has grown considerably. That is not a bad thing with the wind chill of a minus 10 as I write this review!!"
Lovely.
ReplyDeleteLovely it is! Thank you Sarah :)
Delete