Awakening by Olivia Hayes Read Free Book Online Page B

to my left. I step towards the door, but it doesn't open. I can sense his presence, but I can't get through the door.
    "Hey Savannah, wanna do some fishing?" I hear from my left and turn again to look. Luke is sitting there on the swing. He looks just like I remember him from my childhood.
    "I can't, I'm here to see someone."
    "There's no one here but me," Luke says.
    I try the door again, with no luck. When I turn back towards Luke, he is gone and I am alone again on the porch.
    I woke to Tomcat kneading my back. When I opened my eyes, Anne Marie and Eva were still in their bed, and the sun was just peeking through the blinds. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, splashed some water on my face and threw on some old running shorts and a sports bra. Placing Mark's ring gently back in its box, I twisted my long blonde hair into a pony tail while I tried to remember where I left my running shoes. When I found them I walked out the front door to sit on the steps and put them on. The early summer air was warm, but the humidity hadn't completely set in yet, and I was thankful for that. In August I knew it would feel dense enough to cut with a knife.
    As I ran away from the house, down the long main drive, I noticed how foreboding the woods were. When we had arrived yesterday, they felt eerie as well , but now I felt as if something or someone was watching me. Something darted through the trees to my right, and I quickly looked in that direction to see a doe peeking out. Her ears twitched as she looked at me, and then she jumped back into the trees.
    Just a deer!
    Once on the main road, I made a left and ran another half mile or so, before I came to a driveway. Some unseen force compelled me to stop. As I stood there in the road, the hair on the back of my neck prickled and I had the feeling of being watched again. When I heard a horn honk I almost jumped out of my skin.
    "That's my driveway you're standing in," said a deep southern drawl. I stepped back to see a man in a big black four door truck.
    "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry," I said, taking a more few steps back so he could turn in.
    I was waiting for him to head further down the road when he stopped the truck in my path and got out. My breath caught in my throat. He was tall, well over six feet. His eyes were hidden by a pair of sun glasses, but I would have know him anywhere. 
    "I'm just going to check the mail," he said. "What're you doing out here anyway?" As he opened the mailbox and reached in to retrieve his mail, I noticed the way the muscles in his arms flexed.
    "I was just out for a run," I said softly, waiting for him to recognize me.
    He looked over at me and stopped abruptly, as if seeing me for the first time. He lifted the sunglasses off his face and stared at me wordlessly. His dark green eyes held me motionless. He walked a couple of steps towards me raising his hand to touch my cheek. Sparks flew, and I inhaled sharply.
    "Caroline," he said hesitantly, and then dropped his hand, searching my eyes.
    My skin was burning where he touched it, but I managed to nod slowly.
    "Hi Luke."
    He didn't say anything for a moment, almost as if he wasn't sure what to do next. Then he closed the distance between us and pulled me into a hug. My arms came around his waist on their own and I was struck by the once familiar feeling of belonging that coursed through me.
    "I heard about your grandmother. My condolences for your loss."
    "Thank you," I said against his chest.
    I felt a bead of sweat run between my breasts and suddenly realized how I must look. He pulled back from me to study my face.
    "You are so damn beautiful." He smiled brilliantly, and my God his lips looked kissable. I tried not to think about how they would feel on me, and realized I was staring at them. God, these hormones! I quickly cleared my throat, and tried to steer the conversation in another direction.
    " Wow. I'm not used to you saying anything nice to say to me."
    "Caroline, come on. We were such good