A Younger Man (Mount Faith Series: Book 7) by Brenda Barrett Read Free Book Online Page A

She bit into it anyway. It tasted so good she looked up at him in surprise. "Wow…the bread, the beef. Perfect. I haven't had beef in years."
    Vanley frowned. "Oops, I am sorry."
    Anita waved him off. “Don't be. First, I stopped eating red meat, then white meat, then no meat, but I have had chicken recently so I think I am in a confused stage right now."
    "Not quite vegetarian?" Vanley asked.
    "Something like that." Anita cleared her throat. Though they were discussing meat, the conversation was becoming too close to another aspect of her life.
    "Thanks, Vanley." She polished off the sandwich in record time and Vanley handed her a wine glass.
    "Wow, you went all out." Anita grinned.
    Vanley nodded. "Sparkling lemonade. Can't have a picnic without it."
    Anita laughed and sipped the liquid in her glass. "Tart, just the way I like it."
    She looked at Vanley's light brown eyes; they had a brown ring around them. She contemplated him closely. He was so handsome, and kind, and crazy about her. Oh, the irony of her situation.
    "I wish we could do this regularly," Vanley said pensively as he packed the wineglasses into the basket.
    Anita shook her head, "No, no, don't go there. The last time you went down this line of argument," Anita lowered her voice, "you asked me to marry you."
    "I was a little impulsive that day," Vanley grinned. "I was just offered my own church. I was thinking to myself that a man needs to share these things with the woman that he loves, so I practically ran over here and proposed. I had visions of us getting married that day and having children right away. I was really excited."
    "And I turned you down." Anita put down her glass and ran her fingers over the rim. "We can't ever get married."
    Vanley sighed. "The age thing is unfortunate but not that big a deal Anita. My mom was five years older than my Dad. There are several couples with a large age disparity and they are making it work. You can still have children at your age; we can have a couple decades together before you are in your dotage."
    "I can't have children," Anita said leaning back in her chair.
    "You are barren?" Vanley asked, looking at her sad expression. Her short thick lashes were veiling her eyes, but he had seen the flash of regret mixed with disappointment.
    "Yes, barren: a mule, stunted." Anita shrugged. "I came to grips with it years ago, but I know that is something that you would probably find insurmountable."
    "We can adopt," Vanley shrugged, "or get a surrogate. Millions of couples find ways to have children when they can't have them together. That isn't insurmountable. You mean that's the big secret that has you keeping me at arms length?"
    Anita looked up at him, a look of surprise on her face. She hadn't expected him to take her news so readily, even though it wasn't her big secret, but this was huge. "You need to think about it Vanley."
    "I never imagined that this would be the worst case scenario, so no, I don't need to sit and think about it, Anita." Vanley inclined his head. "I can't believe that this is the reason you have blown hot and cold with me for years."
    Anita sighed and closed her eyes. "It's not the only reason. I want us to just be friends."
    "No, you don't," Vanley leaned closer to the desk and stared at her, looking her squarely in her eyes. "I don't believe you. You say things like this with your mouth and then you do something else, like kissing me passionately like your life depends on it."
    "That was three years ago," Anita said, cutting eye contact with him.
    "And you compliment me all the time, and eat me up with your eyes like a starving woman in a desert, and you absolutely love it when I pursue you. You put on that indifferent mask that you think you wear so well, but you have a vulnerable look in your eyes all the time, even now. You want me. You like me, maybe a bit too much."
    Anita closed her eyes. Vanley had read her so well that she was afraid to look at him now.
    "What I can't understand,"