Read Big Sky Eyes for Free Online

about him spoke of a quiet and serious strength,
yet she swore she detected a sadness masquerading as determined disinterest.
She found herself wondering what events in his life made him the man he was.
She filled two bowls with steaming apple cobbler and headed toward him to mend
the damage she’d created. He looked up at her when she stood by his side. There
was no hostility, only curiosity in his face.
    “What’s that?” he asked, nodding toward her hands. She
reached a bowl down to him.
    “A peace offering,” she said meekly. He raised his eyebrows
slightly.
    “Is there not peace between us?” he asked, somewhat
confusedly.
    It was her turn to be confused. “Well…I…” she stammered. “I
thought you were still mad at me for that day with Sass.”
    “Why would you think that?”
    She was stunned.
    “Well…you haven’t really spoken to me since, not that I
would blame you. What I said was rude and unforgiveable, but you embarrassed me
and scolded me like a child!”
    He said nothing for a long moment, but his mouth curved up
at the corners in that soft smile that made her knees weak. He finally
chuckled, relaxing his head further into his hands.
    “Have you been stewing over this for the past week?” he
laughed. “God, girl, please tell me you believe my skin is thicker than that!”
    “But...” she stuttered , her eyes
going as wide as her cheeks were red. “Even you said you stew! If you’re not
mad, why have you been ignoring me?”
    “I haven’t been ignoring you, Mackenna. I’ve been busy. We
all have.”
    She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Had she really
worked nothing up into something? She huffed a few times in embarrassed
amazement while Brent continued to chuckle. She thrust the bowl toward him.
    “Take this thing out of my hands before I’m tempted to dump
it on your head!”
    He laughed, a deep rumbling sound, and reached up to grab
her wrist. He tugged her down to the ground to sit beside him then took the
bowl from her.
    “Wow,” he said through bites. “I had no idea how hard you
are on yourself. I’ll have to keep that in mind for future fuel.”
    “Oh, shut up,” she said.
    “Careful. Don’t say something that’ll make you feel bad
later.”
    She laughed. “Well, I’m glad that you’re not mad at me, but
even still I want to apologize for what I said. It’s not like me to sling
insults.”
    “You said nothing insulting. You stood up for yourself and you
made some good points. I respect that,” he returned. “I need to apologize for
calling you stupid.”
    “Yes, you do,” she agreed. “But you calling me stupid is
nothing compared to me calling you a depressing stick in the mud with no
personality.”
    His spoon stopped in mid-air, halfway to his mouth and his
smile faded into a straight line. He looked squarely at her.
    “When did you say that?” he asked.
    “What do you mean when did I say that?” she replied
uneasily. “You were standing right behind me and Kelly when I said it.”
    He stared at the cobbler in his bowl and then harrumphed.
    “Well, I’ll be damned,” he mused. “No wonder you’ve been all
tied up in knots.”
    Mackenna finally understood and cursed herself. “You mean
you didn’t hear me?” she asked, horrified.
    He looked at her and with more smile in his eyes than his mouth, slowly shook his head without a word. She groaned
and dropped her face into her hands.
    “Oh man!” she said, her voice garbled through her sweaty
palms. “I really know how to screw things up, don’t I?”
    Brent laughed softly to himself before he asked, “Is that
really what you think of me?”
    “NO!” Her head shot up as she said it. “That’s why I’ve been
feeling horrible about it. I could have sworn you heard me and it’s been eating
me up.”
    “Why?” he laughed. “If that’s what you feel, why would you
regret it?”
    “Because it’s mean-spirited and juvenile
and…and not at all what I feel. I was just mad at