Free Dancing on Dew by Leah Atwood Page B

response. “I believe she would have. Love is love, no matter where it was found.”
    He squeezed shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thank you.”
    They still hadn’t accomplished much. They’d shared parts of their hearts and wounds, but they hadn’t gotten to the answers.
    “What do you want a second chance of? Friendship? Romance?” She swallowed, not wanting to say the next part, but knowing she had to. “I can’t have a friendship with you, not without something more. We have too much of a history, and it wouldn’t work.”
    “I agree, and that’s why I gave you the abrupt dismissal the day you came out.” Once again he reached for her, this time allowing his palm to settle on her cheek. “I was wrong, but the resurgence of feelings scared me and I didn’t handle it well.”
    “No, you didn’t,” she couldn’t help saying.
    “If you want to run and hide, I wouldn’t blame you. You’ve always been the better person.” His fingers moved, subtly rubbing her cheek. “Even that day in the mercantile, I knew you didn’t want to help, but you did anyway. Your heart’s always in the right place.”
    “Why does it have to be so complicated?” Fresh tears sprung from confusion.
    “I don’t know why our lives have played out like this, but maybe we had to be broken before we could be put back together, this time stronger.”
    “Love shouldn’t be this difficult.”
    “Is this love?” he asked, his voice low and husky.
    Her hand covered his. “I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. Even after you left, I never stopped. When I heard you had married, I forced the feeling aside, but the only way to do that was to close my heart completely to love.”
    “You deserve so much more.” His eyes, full of remorse, darkened.
    “I deserve love. I want to love and be loved. One without the other isn’t fair to either person.” Emboldened, she met his gaze. “Did you really love me back then, Joseph? Because how could you have left me if you did?”
    “I did love you, Sissy. I do love you.” His head lowered, nearing her lips.
    She’d never wanted a kiss so badly, but she backed away, breaking all physical contact. Tucking her bottom lip under her top, she watched in dismay as the pain of rejection covered his face. “We can’t do this now, not yet.”
    “There’s still hope?” He breathed in deeply and held the air in his lungs.
    “Yes.” She looked in the direction they’d come from. “I need time to sort all of this in my mind, and before anything can happen with us, I have to speak with Barry. It wouldn’t be proper otherwise.”
    “You’re right.” Flicking a glance to their food, he asked, “Would you like me to repack all this?”
    “No, you paid a small fortune for it.” A smile succeeded in parting her lips. “But for the next hour, we eat and enjoy our meal. No talk of anything serious.”
    His cheeks hinted to a pink shade. “I’m sorry for all the gossip that’s surely making its rounds as we speak.”
    “We’ll survive.”
    He arched a brow and looked at her with an odd expression.
    Only then did she realize what she’d said. Not, “I’ll survive” but “ We’ll survive”.
    On the cusp of having all she’d ever wanted, the future both terrified and thrilled her.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    In the early morning hours, Joseph checked on Gloria, who still slept peacefully in her bed. He tucked the blankets around her shoulders. Even with it being late-July, a light chill permeated the air. Once the sun rose, the warmth would come, but for now, he’d ensure his daughter remained comfortable in her sleep.
    He tiptoed out of her room, then went outside and sat on the porch steps. If not for Gloria, he’d saddle a horse and go for a ride—that’s when he did his best thinking—but he wasn’t going to leave her alone.
    Three weeks had passed since the Independence Day celebration. He hadn’t spoken with Sissy since then, not in private