Free Unbreak my Heart by I. R. Johannesen Page A

agreed, smiling down at her. “What do you say, Clare? Would you and Willow like to accompany me to Marshall this evening?”
    Clare fiddled in her pocket for a key and slipped it into the keyhole of her front door. “Willow and I would love to, but only under one condition.”
    “And what’s that?” Crank asked curiously.
    Clare pushed open the front door. “That you let me shout the pizzas and soda. It’s the least I can do to repay you for replacing my radiator today.”
    Crank glimpsed down at his watch. “ It’s a deal. How ‘bout I head back to my cabin, grab a shower and get changed and then pick you both up around six? That should get us into Marshall in plenty of time to meet the boy’s bus at seven.”
    Clare looked down at her daughter and raised her brows. “I think us ladies can manage to get ourselves ready by six. What do you think Willow?”
    Willow giggled loudly. “Yeah Mama, we can do it!”
    As Clare stood at the cabin door waiting for Willow to drag the chair she had been sitting on back into place, Crank hovered by the edge of her porch, totally mesmerised by her incredible beauty.
    Clare shooed him with her hands like she would a stray cat. “Go on, scoot,” she said as Willow skipped past her into the cabin, “or we’ll be late picking up your nephews.”

Chapter eleven
     
    “Uncle Crank!” The twins called out in unison as they spotted him with Clare and Willow waiting on the footpath by the bus stop. “It’s so great to see you again.” Both boys gave him a brief hug before following the bus driver to the luggage compartment to fetch their luggage.
    When they returned with their bags Crank did the formal introductions. “Clare and Willow I would like to introduce you both to my nephews, Edward and Michael, ” pointing to each nephew in turn as he said their name.
    “Hi Clare . Hi Willow,” Edward piped up instantly, greeting Clare with a smile and a brief handshake.
    “Hi Clare . Hi Willow,” Michael added, stifling a yawn as he shook Clare’s hand.
    Willow looked up at their almost identical faces. “Wow you two look exactly the same! How will I tell you apart?”
    “That’s easy,” Michael replied, “I’m the smart one. Just ask me anything you need to know and I’ll tell ya; and if I don’t know the answer I’ll Google it.” He crouched down and shook Willow’s hand.
    “Really?” Willow asked wide mouthed, not too sure whether to believe him or not.”
    “He thinks he is,” Edward retorted, crouching down beside his brother to also shake her hand, “but it’s not true. It’s just that I like to use my brain for cooler things like sport and drawing cool tattoo art and making my friends laugh rather than filling it with useless information.”
    “You don’t call it useless information when you need my help to study,” Michael jibed, giving Edward a playful shove which made him land on his butt.
    Edward got to his feet and dusted off the back of his jeans. “Actually, Willow, there’s a much easier way to tell us apart,” he grinned, pulling Michael back up beside him and running his flattened palm from the top of his own head over to Michael’s and back again. “I’m taller than Michael by a quarter of an inch as you can plainly see.” He then pointed to the laptop case Michael was holding and the Hunger Games book tucked under his arm and rolled his eyes. “Besides, he will have his nose buried in that book or in his computer all day if Uncle Crank lets him get away with it.”
    Crank walked over and squeezed his way between his two nephews, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “Normally I would love to stand around and listen to your sibling rivalry until you run out of derogatory things to say to each other,” he drawled, “but tonight I am shouting us all to pizza and sodas for dinner so pick up your luggage and follow us to the car. I am starved.”
    “ Ahem.” Clare interrupted loudly, putting her hands on her hips and