Pathway to Tomorrow by Sheila Claydon Read Free Book Online Page B

back. It was quite obvious she didn’t consider this a date.  And if the frown on her face was anything to go by she didn’t want to be here one little bit either.  Feeling his good intentions begin to ebb away, Marcus waited for her to notice him. When she did, she approached him without a smile.
    He slid off the bar stool and stood up.  “We’d better order straight away or you won’t have time to eat.  What would you like?”
    “Just an orange juice please.  And a cheese sandwich.”
    Last of the big spenders! Why didn’t it surprise him? He placed their order and then nodded towards a nearby table.  “Let’s sit over there.”
    Looking as if she was about to be sick, she followed him, sat down in the chair opposite and immediately went on the attack. “Tell me what you’ve promised.  Tell me what you said to Izzie. I need to know before I see her.”
    He shook his head, trying not to notice the soft swell of her breasts as she unzipped her shapeless fleece.  Up until then he wouldn’t have considered an emerald green T-shirt with some sort of official logo on the pocket to be one of fashion’s great come-ons, but on Jodie it looked spectacular.
    “Stop worrying. There’s nothing to tell at the moment except what you already know, which is that your sister has a wonderful voice. I’m not about to spirit her away on a tour or anything.  If she’s serious about her singing then she has a lot to learn, and I can’t even start thinking about it until the builders have completed my studio.”
    “You are going to help her then?”
    “Maybe…but not before she’s taken her exams. After that we’ll take it one step at a time, and not without discussing it with you.”
    Seeing the tension drain out of her face he knew he’d said the right thing.  Now was not the time to tell her how exciting Izzie’s voice was, how much it had thrilled the musician in him, and how, with the right advice and support, she had it in her to make it on the international music scene. One step at a time was what he was going to have to take with Jodie too.
    For a fleeting moment he wondered how he had gotten himself so involved until another look at Jodie’s face told him what he had been resisting until now.  He wanted to get to know her better. She intrigued him as much as she attracted him. He wanted to find the real Jodie, the one who occasionally peeped out from behind her tough exterior in the trace of a dimpled smile or a flash of humor; and if he was going to be totally honest with himself, he also wanted to undo her glossy plait and run his fingers through her hair.
    The barmaid interrupted his thoughts by bringing plates of sandwiches to the table.   After asking for a second beer, he started eating. Jodie took a bite from one of her sandwiches and then began to push crumbs of cheese around her plate.
    “I don’t mean to be so negative,” she said. “My head knows she has to grow up and choose her own path but my heart doesn’t seem to be listening. Every time I think of her out in the world on her own I get frightened. I keep remembering how she was after the accident and I know I couldn’t bear for her to go through it again.”
    Surprised by the emotion in her voice, Marcus looked directly into her eyes, her green T-shirt, blue-black hair and tantalizing curves all forgotten.  She met his gaze and he could see the fear there. He knew it wasn’t a rational fear. Whatever it was, it was connected to the past, to the pieces she had left out of her story. He added find out what really happened to his Jodie ‘to do’ list.  Right now though, all he wanted to do was take away the tormented expression in her pitch-dark eyes. He thrust his hand into the pocket of his jeans and brought out a key.
    “This is for you.  I almost forgot.”
    Jodie stared at it. Hope began to bloom deep inside her.  “Is it what I think it is?”
    “The key to the gate, yes.  I decided if you could trust me with Izzie