Along the Broken Road Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Your paycheck is secure. You don’t have to worry about it.”
    Ian’s gaze dropped. That wasn’t what he meant. “I just meant all the work,” he mumbled. When he looked back up, her eyes had softened too, if only marginally. Standing face-to-face with her, he wasn’t sure if he should apologize or just go on into the toolshed. When he started to move, she stopped him by placing a hand on his chest.
    Ian swallowed, followed her gaze down to the place on his shirt where her fingertips touched a spot just below his collarbone. Could she feel his heartbeat quicken? He hoped not. After a few more moments, Charlee dropped her hand.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “I assumed you were referring to the cost of a place like this. I realize a twenty-five-year-old woman running a money pit of a business and having no other means of income is an unusual sight. My mother bought me the property before she died. There was a trust set up by my grandparents. It became available to me after I finished college. It funds the retreat.”
    Ian took a step closer to her. “Charlee, it’s none of my business. I didn’t mean for you to explain.”
    A smile tilted one side of her face. “It’s okay. I’m your livelihood now; you have a right to know.” A gentleness framed her eyes that, to him, looked perfectly right on her. A softness that hinted at the real Charlee McKinley, a woman who wasn’t constantly fighting a money pit and trying to keep quirky artists in line.
    His study of her intensified. “Is it worth it?”
    Charlee looked out over the grounds and he could easily see two conflicting emotions running the gamut in her mind; they both played across her smooth face. “It is. But—”
    “But?”
    She sighed. “It’s hard too. I didn’t expect it to be quite so challenging. Almost four years in, I don’t know. I thought it would get easier.”
    “Yeah, I know what you mean.” He’d thought that too, about being deployed. Thought one day he’d wake up and it would all just fall into place. But he’d never fully acclimated. Every day was too different from the last. And yet, sometimes it felt like they were all the same. It was such a weird, conflicting blend of feelings.
    “But I love it.” Her words were final and held more determination than passion. “It’s all I ever dreamed of.” Charlee’s fingertips disappeared into the pockets of her jean shorts.
    Ian watched the nostalgia appear, first in her gaze, then in the tilt of her head, finally, on her lips.
    “My mother was an artist,” she whispered. “When she got sick, we’d spend hours drawing together. All my best memories of her are wrapped around art. Besides, if I didn’t do this, I don’t know what I’d do.”
    He wouldn’t push the fact that not knowing what else to do wasn’t a viable reason to continue something that had run its course. “I had a commanding officer who used to tell me that fear of the unknown was the second most powerful force on the planet.” With that, Ian tucked into the toolshed and began gathering tools.
    He was aware, shockingly aware, of Charlee still standing at the door chewing on his words. Atop a small cabinet, he found a tool belt. He placed it low on his hips and adjusted the strap. “Fits,” he said.
    She stepped into the shed and for a moment he thought he saw a tear in her eye, but it must have been the dust he’d kicked up inside the small metal building, trapped by the movement of air. She retrieved a hammer from the counter. “Here you go.” No, there was something there, a mistiness, a glassiness. He tried to meet her gaze, but she dropped her eyes, hooding them with long, dark, half-moon lashes. The air around him actually felt thicker.
    He stepped back and raised his arms. “How do I look?”
    “Fine, soldier. Just fine.” Slowly, she turned and walked toward the door. Once there, Charlee paused. “That was my dad’s tool belt. Take good care of it.”
    Something in Ian’s heart