"Ed Howdershelt - Anne" - читать интересную книгу автора (Howdershelt Ed)

rope and dragged it along the flap. The pile exploded as Kelly launched
himself after the rope. Boxes tumbled everywhere. Kelly thought he'd done
something terrible and zipped under the couch.
"Hey, Kelly, it's okay," I said, reaching down to waggle the rope near the
couch.
Kelly looked out from under the couch as if fearing a trap. A hand on my
shoulder nearly startled me under the couch with Kelly. Anne leaned down to
ruffle Kelly's cheek, telling him in a soft voice that things were okay.
Her face was very close to mine. I saw the lovely lines of her face and
neck from a distance of about six inches. Her fragrance and voice surrounded
me as the moment seemed to stretch on. Skin, hair, soft voice, lashes, lips.
Her shirt gaped open a little bit at this angle and she wore nothing under
it. I tore my eyes away, afraid she'd see me staring into her blouse. I looked
again at her face.
"Um..." I said, unable to say much else and unable to look away. She
turned to face me at that very close range. I tried to clear my throat. She
looked up at me. Her eyes met mine as they had before, and I fell into them
again.
Time stopped, or maybe just my own brain activity. Kelly came out to see
what was going on, making little questioning sounds and rubbing against us. We
drew apart, but I could still feel her closeness.
We stared into each others' eyes for a long moment. Anne's face seemed to
soften and her lips seemed to be a bit swollen. I suddenly ached to touch her.
My hand went to her cheek and traced the line of her face.
The doorbell chimed. I helped Anne to her feet; she went to the door while
I went to the kitchen, where I busied myself making another pot of coffee as
an excuse not to have to turn around. Womens' voices came from the front room;
a few minutes of conversation and then goodbyes and the door closed.
Someone who would be missed, I guessed. Anne came in with a small box of
chocolates and put them on the counter. She opened the box and offered it to
me, then took one herself. The moments ticked by as she regarded me
thoughtfully. I munched my chocolate and leaned on the counter in an attempt
to appear unruffled.
"About what you said earlier," said Anne, "You must have put every bit of
yourself on the line to tell me that. I was absolutely amazed to hear it and
amazed that you could say it. It must have taken a great deal of courage, Ed."
Courage..? I kept my mouth shut. I didn't even nod. It hadn't seemed all
that courageous to me. I had just told her what was on my mind as concisely as
possible, but I wasn't about to correct her impression of my courageousness.
You could say I was afraid to.
"I'm considering something," she said. "That farm is not in the best of
condition. I'll need help fixing things just to be able to get settled
properly. Do you think you can handle some basic carpentry and cleaning or
painting everything in sight out there? Not as a volunteer, either. Money for
work."
I mentally fumbled to catch up with her change of subjects. Work on her
farm?
"Sure, but how would I get out there? It's about forty miles to Mesquite,
and I don't have a car to match my driver's license yet."
"If it's okay with your parents, you can stay out there. There are four