A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance Book 2) by Keira Andrews Read Free Book Online

ahead.
    “What?” David followed Isaac’s gaze, and his heart skipped a beat. “Oh.”
    Talking and laughing, two men approached, their hands clasped between them. They passed by an old woman sweeping the steps of her blue house, and she didn’t even look at them.
    Striding through the world, the men were oblivious to anyone else. One had a mustache, and they both looked older than Aaron. David couldn’t stop staring at how their fingers were threaded together tightly, their arms swaying as they strolled along.
    “Wow,” Isaac whispered.
    They’d stopped in their tracks, and as the men approached, David realized he and Isaac were staring. He nudged Isaac and started walking again, his head down and cheeks flaming. A mess of emotion coursed through him—shock, embarrassment, envy, and even fear.
    Fortunately the men didn’t seem to notice Isaac and David’s attention, and as they passed by, they chattered on. David couldn’t help but stop to look over his shoulder after them, and Isaac did the same. The men walked by more people as they went, and not one gave them a second glance.
    Was it really okay to hold hands right on the street in front of everyone ? It was hard to believe, even after what he’d just seen. Isaac’s hands were stuffed into the pockets of his too-big blue jacket he’d borrowed from Aaron. He scuffed the toe of his black boot on the concrete as he watched the men, who grew distant as the street stretched up a hill.
    “Can you believe that? They were just…in front of everyone!” Isaac still whispered.
    “And no one seemed to mind. I never thought I’d see anything like that.”
    “Can you imagine what they’d say in Zebulon?” Isaac asked.
    David surely could, and the shiver that ran through him was icy. He nodded, and then walked on toward the yellow awning on the corner. “Come on, we’re almost there.” He wanted to hold Isaac’s hand, but he didn’t have the nerve yet. As they went up the hill, his thighs burned pleasantly. After so long on buses, it was nice to be moving again.
    White plastic buckets filled with fresh flowers lined the sidewalk and wooden crates outside the store. David skimmed a finger over a daisy petal, unable to resist. A bell rung as they pulled open the glass door to the market. It was small, and like the buildings, everything was squeezed together on the shelves, using every available inch.
    “ Hola .” The older woman behind the counter was plump, and her dark hair was graying. On a little television set, she was watching some kind of show where people wore a lot of makeup and spoke what sounded like Spanish.
    He and Isaac smiled at her and explored a narrow aisle. The cans and boxes were bright reds, blues, and greens. At the back of the store was a counter selling something called a burrito, which David thought he might have had at Taco Bell—although the smell of beef and cheese and onions here promised a tastier meal.
    “There’s the bread,” Isaac said, coming around the end of the aisle to the side of the store with fresh food in refrigerated cases, and plastic bins filled with varieties of rolls. Isaac glanced at the yellow paper. “He said it’s called a baguette.”
    “Long and thin, right?” David eyed the bins. “I don’t see anything like that. Oh wait—there, sticking out of that basket.”
    The woman at the counter rang up their purchase, one eye still on the TV, and smiled as she passed Isaac the change. The baguette was in a paper bag, but since it stuck out so much, David held it to his chest to make sure the bread didn’t tip out.
    Outside, they turned right and retraced their steps toward the townhouse, going downhill this time. Beside him, Isaac laughed. “What?” David asked, already smiling even though he had no idea what had tickled Isaac.
    “Is it silly to feel proud that we just went out by ourselves in the city and did our task?”
    “Don’t speak too soon—we aren’t back yet. We could still get lost.