HEAT Vol. 2 (Master Chefs: HEAT Series #2) by Kailin Gow Read Free Book Online

his face told me he already knew what the source of the noise
was, but after a few more steps, I began to suspect…
    “Is
that…?”
    The
bushes on either side of us grew shorter and more sparse until the vastness of
the English Channel was upon us. 
    “I’ve
been in France for so long.  I’ve been at the convent almost all my life, and
in Paris for the past year, but I’d never...  I’ve never seen this.”
    “I
thought you might like it.”
    The
wind came to us, bringing with it the moisture and saltiness of the sea.  It
whipped through our hair and brought a chill to my heated skin.
    “It’s
beautiful, Bobby.”  I turned to him.  “You’ve brought me from one place where I
felt safe and protected, where I knew the love of God and you’ve brought me to
a place of beauty and proximity to God that I never would have imagined.”
    We
reached the beach and Bobby took my hand and guided me down to where the ocean
swept the sand.  I kicked off my heavy shoes – the only ones I had brought –
peeled off my socks and shoved them inside my shoes.  Bobby copied me then
followed me out to the water as I chased the outgoing waves.
    The
sand was cold, chilled by the frigid spring waters that had yet to be warmed by
the sun, but that didn’t stop us from wading through waves.
    “This
is perfect, Bobby,” I said as walked at his side.  I reached for his hand and
leaned heavily into him, comforted by his strength and aroused by the hardness
of his body.  “These past months… they’ve been horrible.”
    “Tell
me about it.  When I heard you’d left the institute, I panicked.  Some people
said you’d been gone only a few days while others swore they’d seen you leave
weeks ago.  I was sure I’d never make it out here in time.”
    We
walked on, lost in our thoughts, but fiercely together as the cliffs bordering
the beach grew taller and taller.  There was almost something magical in the
majesty of it all.
    “It’s
funny, but I feel closer to God here than I would have thought possible.  When
you took me away from the convent… I don’t know… I thought I’d feel an
emptiness or some guilt, like I’d turned my back on someone who counted on me,
but this….”
    We
reached a strange rock formation that stood on the beach.  “Isn’t that the
strangest thing,” I said.  “It’s almost like a statue that’s been sculpted by
the hand of God.”
    He
smiled.  “I guess you could say that.  It’s the falaises aux vaches noires . 
Look back there at the cliffs.”
    Eroded
into large and sharp black teeth that jutted down to the water, the formations
were strange, but beautiful.
    Impressed,
I looked up at Bobby.  The breeze blew back his hair and I was charmed by him
all over again.  “For an American who’s spent all his time studying the
culinary arts and…”  I stopped myself before mentioning the girls he’d dated. 
I didn’t want to go down that road again.  “You certainly seem to know quite a
bit about the area.”
    “It’s
payback time.  You guided me around Paris and taught me so much.  You know, I
still go to that market you brought me to, at least once a week.  I love the
fresh produce and it certainly adds to the dishes I make, but the truth is that
I always see you when I go there.  I can almost feel you.  I guess it was my
way of being with you without being with you.”
    At
the base of the towering rock sculptures, I stopped and turned to him.  “You
know, I almost don’t recognize the young hot-headed guy who first ran into me. 
It’s as if you’ve aged five years in the past months.”
    He
shrugged.  “I guess I was a bit childish when I first came out here.  I’d like
to blame my mother for that… she did coddle me a bit too much, but, well, I
guess I just needed to grow up.  The time I spent hiking across Europe gave me plenty of time to think.  It also pushed me to be far more resourceful than
I’d ever had to be.”
    “Well…” 
I put