Fearless Summer by Mary K. Tilghman

Author:Mary K. Tilghman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Published: 2022-07-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Charlotte

I was almost at the north end of the island when the pounding of footsteps grew louder and closer. I was used to running alone in the early morning hours so the sound made me uncomfortable. I picked up speed.

“Slow down, Charlotte.” The sound of Henry’s voice made me stop in my tracks.

I turned and glared at him. “You scared me.”

He caught up, huffing and puffing. “I did? Sorry.”

I tried hard not to stare but couldn’t help admiring the taper of his waist, the bulge of his upper arms, the curve of his tanned calves. “Were you chasing me?”

“No.” He glanced away. I know from our long history he always did that when he didn’t want to admit something.

“Yes, you were.” I continued up the road, at a slightly slower pace. I didn’t want to get ahead of Henry. “Want to tell me why?”

“I saw you and wanted to catch up. Isn’t it okay to want to jog with a pretty lady?”

For the second time, he stopped me dead in my tracks. “This is Charlotte you’re talking to. You live at the other side of the island. You don’t jog up here without a reason when you’ve got lots of flat roads to jog on down your way.”

“All right. I haven’t seen you since the Fourth. I missed you. I figured you’d talk to me if I jogged along.”

To be honest, I thought about him a lot the past few days. The way we sat together watching the fireworks, his daughter in my lap. I couldn’t miss how he glanced at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Jane’s advice about forgiveness seemed to resonate as electricity buzzed between us.

It was so different from those years long ago, but there was something still there that drew me to him, and clearly drew him to me.

I wondered then and I wondered now: what would it be like to kiss him?

No, I shouldn’t even think such a thing. My very being yearned for him, but my soul still said no. So I let him jog along beside me, our feet pounding the pavement in unison, our breath slightly out of tempo.

This man wasn’t the boy I used to know. Older, he had new laugh lines around his eyes and a hint of sorrow in his face. Maybe I was attracted to him because he wasn’t the same Henry.

I picked up speed, and he kept up. Not much farther before I’d have to turn around. Why was he here? “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“I…you… How are you enjoying your time on the island? Good to be back home?”

I nodded, still certain he was leading up to something. “I suppose. Everything seems pretty much the same. But then again, so much has changed. All the kids we knew have grown up and have their own kids now.” I didn’t say, though I thought it—Everybody but me.

“I guess time marches on,” he said, not quite breathless.

We matched our strides as the main part of town appeared down the street.

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