Entwined (The Recovery Series Book 2) by JC Harroway

Author:JC Harroway [Harroway, JC]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises Pty Ltd Australia
Published: 2016-12-31T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

JESS cast a cursory glance over the spectacular view of the valley below her, its snaking river widening as it reached the sea. Slanting her gaze sideways, she filled her vision with the man next to her, his strong scruff-covered jaw and impossibly long eyelashes far more fascinating than any view she’d ever seen.

She was sixteen again. Watching him stride into her maths class and improving quadratic equations by two hundred per cent. The wind gusted lifting her curls and the pages of the sketchbook he’d abandoned when she sat beside him. Jess caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar face among the pages filled with Morgan’s confident pencil strokes.

She pulled the book onto her lap, flipping through the sketch-filled pages. Her mind whirled as page after page flashed before her disbelieving eyes.

It was her. Her face drawn from every angle. Over and over. The tilt of her nose, the slope of her shoulder, the riot of her hair captured again and again. Some of the sketches were little more than hasty outlines, but some showed incredible details, right down to the freckles covering her nose and the tiny chickenpox scar she bore on her left temple.

She glanced at Morgan, but he was lost to the view, his arms resting on his bent knees and his head propped back against the lichen-covered ruins.

Jess scanned the pages for a date. Did these drawings date back to when they’d been together or had Morgan drawn them from memory? She hadn’t changed her naturally curly hairstyle in five years, so it was hard to tell, but the sketches carried a maturity she suspected came from years of honed talent. Had part of her remained here with him, all these years? She’d definitely taken part of him to London. But she’d always assumed he hadn’t cared—spent years hating herself for her inability to completely let him go. Perhaps he’d struggled to let go and move on as much as she had.

Her mind raced. Morgan’s confession, while shocking, washed away years of frustration and confusion over Carol’s dismissive behaviour and hateful taunts. She’d spent years torturing herself for her part, if any, in her father’s death, but seen in the light of Carol’s likely guilt, so much clicked into place. Jess’s shoulders lightened, as if she hadn’t known how much her guilt over her father’s sudden death had pinned her down.

But what to do with this information? It changed nothing. Except if she ever saw Carol again, she’d get a well-deserved tongue-lashing. But Jess planned to leave tomorrow, no matter what.

So many secrets. So much pain.

The futility of the wasted years pressed down on Jess until she felt part of the harsh windblown landscape. She’d prised some long forgotten part of her open with Morgan this weekend and that terrified her. But slamming the lid closed and walking away now? Equally terrifying.

Locating a page containing four tiny images of her from different angles, she leaned over and slid the sketchbook onto Morgan’s lap. ‘When did you draw these?’ She stuttered, emotion obliterating the end of the last word.

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