The Broken Lake by Shelena Shorts Read Free Book Online

heavy. I reached up to touch his face with my palm and he turned his cheek into it.
    “I just wanted to be with you. I wasn’t thinking about you worrying. I saw the paper and I—”
    “I don’t care about the paper. I care about you.”
    Yep. This is why I came.
I needed to see him, to see his genuine, loving expression that made me feel warm and fuzzy, but I was about to ruin the mood with some business to handle.
    “Yeah, me too,” I said. “Now can you tell me why in the blazin’ inferno you’re going in front of the media? Wait, don’t answer that. No, I mean, do answer that. What the—?”
    “Sophie.”
    He stepped closer to me, and I stepped around and to the side. He followed suit, and before I knew it, we were practically dancing around each other.
    “Stop it.”
    He smiled. “Well, if you’d stop running away from me, I wouldn’t need to chase you. Now come here.”
    “No, I don’t want you to distract me. I need to know what you’re thinking.”
    “Fine,” he said.
    “Fine?”
    “Yeah, fine.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    “It means if you’re going to be difficult, then I’m going to have to take you there by force.”
    I opened my mouth to speak and was shocked to see him lean over like he was going to tackle me—then swiftly put me over his shoulder.
    “Wes! What are you doing?”
    “I’m taking you to relax. Don’t worry, we’re not going far.”
    I wanted to demand that he put me down, but the words wouldn’t come out. My laughter betrayed me. Then I thought about taking my good hand and beating on his back, except I had seen damsels in distress do that in a zillion movies. I decided to let myself dangle instead. The view, upside down, was good enough for me to note we were headed to the basement.
    “I don’t want to play, Wes.”
    “We’re not playing any games.” He set me down.
    “Then what are we doing?” I shook my bangs out of my eyes as I stood upright.
    “We’re going to swim.”
    I turned my eyes toward the metal door with the small square window at the top then I looked back at him. Seeing him standing there so confident and relaxed, I couldn’t help but buy into it.
    “Okay. I’ll just go grab my bathing suit. Oh, wait. That’s right. I don’t have one.”
    “Sophie, I’m serious. That’s what I was planning to do before you came.” His adorable half smile returned.
    “Well, I came over to talk to you. I want to know what you’re going to do.” He traced his finger along my forehead to slide stray bangs away from my eyes. “Stop distracting me, Wes. I’ve been a wreck all morning about the article. Please.”
    “Which is why,” he interrupted, “you need to swim.”
    “Wes.”
    “Sophie.” He crossed his arms now. “I was planning to swim to clear my head, and would very much appreciate it if you joined me, because dancing around the foyer with you was not helping.” He tilted his head and brought in those dark eyelashes. “Please?”
    “I don’t have a suit.”
    “Yes, you do.”
    I looked down at myself. “No, I don’t.”
    He bit his lip, which was way unusual. “Remember when I told you that cars were the best way to keep memories alive?”
    “Yes,” I said slowly.
    “Well, they’re not the only things.”
    “Okay.” That word lingered even longer.
    “Lenny left some things at my house, and I’ve always kept them.”
    “Shut up.” I smacked his arm. “Let me see.”
    He smiled slightly and walked past me toward a basement door I hadn’t noticed before. I followed so closely that I almost bumped into his back as he paused to open the door.
    He turned, as if having second thoughts. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes, I’m sure. I need to relax. I want to swim, now come on.”
    He turned the knob, opening the door to a wine cellar. Only the space was filled with boxes. I shuddered a little because it gave me the impression of what a cold-case file room would look like. I stepped closer to him instinctively as