More Than You Know by Jo Goodman

Author:Jo Goodman [Goodman, Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780821765692
Publisher: Kensington Pub. Corp.
Published: 2000-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

* * * *Claire did not know what would happen when she saw Rand again. She was tense at first, wary of the panic that had seized her the day before, but as he strolled with her on deck, it seemed the only thing she had to fear was the memory itself.

Rand noticed her guarded responses and hesitation, but he wisely chose to ignore them. He directed the conversation to inconsequential matters, sharing stories about David and Shelby until Claire was laughing easily. It was only when he mentioned Bria that she sobered.

Claire turned at the rail and touched Rand's forearm. She lifted her face toward him, a question in her expression. “What happened to Bria?” she asked. “Please don't ask me what I mean or pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. I know that something happened to Bria during the war, something terrible, I think, and that no one ever talks about it now."

"There's a reason for that,” he said tersely, some of the pleasure of the evening sinking with the sun. “It's no one's business."

Claire did not take offense. She was not no one in his life. He might have never said in so many words that he loved her, but she knew she was not no one. “You rarely mention Bria when you tell stories about growing up."

"That's because she was so much younger. A year is about all that separated David, Shelby, and me. Bree came along much later. She was more like a pet than a sister."

Claire smiled. “Does she know you felt that way?"

"Probably. We didn't exactly keep it a secret.” Rand rested one hip on the rail. He braced an arm behind his back to steady him. “It didn't stop her from dogging our steps. She would do most anything to spend time outdoors with us instead of in the house. About the only thing she liked to do there was play the piano."

"Did she?” asked Claire. “I had no idea. I never heard her play once at Henley. I even asked her about the music room. She said it was for show."

Rand winced. He could imagine Bria saying that very thing. “That's true now. At one time she and Father played almost every evening after dinner. It was his talent she inherited for music, not my mother's. She loved it, though. Considered it Bria's one true feminine accomplishment."

"Yes, that would seem important to Elizabeth."

"It was.” He paused. A strand of hair had tumbled free of Claire's combs. He watched it flutter against the corner of her mouth. When she lifted her hand to move it aside, he stopped her and did the thing himself. “Bree was eleven when the war started ... fifteen by the time the fighting ended. She died sometime in between."

"Oh, Rand ... surely not."

"You wanted to know.” He changed his position and crossed his legs. Cerberus rode high in the water, her speed steady. The onset of nightfall was changing the color of the sea as fast as the sky.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.