Free Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) by D.G. Torrens

to crack open that champagne?”
    “ Stand back, I have no idea how the champagne was handled before it reached the lodge!”
    The cork flew out of the bottle with a bang, Angelina almost jumped out of her skin and Joshua laughed while pouring them a large glass each. They sat down in front of the open fire, watching the burning flames and listening to the crackling wood. Joshua’s large arms were wrapped loosely around Angelina and she had never felt more complete in her entire life.
    “I thought we could take a long walk along the lake before I cooked us a meal this evening. How does that sound?”
    “ Just perfect, although I better hold off on the champagne until later or you will be carrying me around the lake!”
    They put on their walking boots and windbreakers before heading off out the door. Angelina felt like she was in a beautiful dream that she would wake up from at any moment. Joshua wrapped his large hand around Angelina's as they headed off.
    “So why were you in such a hurry to leave the Midlands?” asked Joshua curiously while they walked.
    “ Well, I wanted a fresh start, a new life, one free of sadness, depression and coldness. My parents separated when I was very young. My father walked out on my mother for another woman and this totally devastated my mother. It changed her beyond recognition; she had a complete breakdown and I was left to pick up the pieces, only the pieces never fit together quite the same. She became very depressed and took medication daily. She stopped caring about me and started to blame me for the demise of her marriage to my father; in the end, she just simply resented me. We barely spoke from one day to the next and that's how my life continued all through my school years and right through college. When I told her I had found a job and that it would mean me leaving our home town, she simply nodded expectantly. The day I left, she said goodbye without any emotion and didn't even look back. I think she was waiting for me to leave home. My mother never got over my father.”
    “ That is so sad, your mother must have been heartbroken. Although that does not excuse her behaviour towards you, Angelina. I am sorry you had such a lonely childhood. Have you been in contact with her since?”
    “ When I first moved up here, I would call her every week to tell her how I was getting on. But it was always a one way conversation; she would never ask me questions about my job or my life, she simply listened and then she would say, ‘That's nice, Angelina but I have to go now.’ And then she would ring off. Eventually she stopped answering the phone when I called and so, in time, I stopped calling her.”
    “ Moving to Kendal was the best thing I have ever done. I like my life here; I love the town, especially in the winter when there are not so many tourists about! Autumn is my favourite season. Anyway, enough about me, tell me about your family.”
    “ Sadly, my story is not a great one to share either. My father was an angry man, a strict man; he was never happy, drank way too much and then he would come home and take out his anger firstly on my mother and then me. My mother spent her whole life doing everything she could to please him, regardless of the fact I could suffer in the process. My childhood was not a happy place, so as soon as I finished college I decided to sign up to the British Army. It was both a way to escape my miserable home life and also start a new one of my own. So I guess we have more in common than maybe we first thought, hey? I make it a point to treat people how I wish to be treated myself.”
    Angelina listened intently as Joshua shared his story with her. She wanted to hold him and never let him go. Her hand gripped his tightly and she turned to him and smiled before saying, “We were meant to find each other, Joshua.” Smiling back at her, he scooped her up and then placed her gently down onto the cold crisp ground, his lips pressed down gently onto