Read The Edge of Forever for Free Online Page A

care. Sitting next to Blake, even if no words were said, was the single most peaceful and fulfilling moment she had experienced in the past two years.

Chapter Five
     
    The storm had come Saturday night and lasted all through Sunday afternoon. Poppy had stayed inside the whole time, watching Blake keep the fire going. It was strange, but being around Blake didn’t require a lot of conversation. They could enjoy each other’s company without words getting in the way.
    The sun had already set, and aside from the desk lamp on the desk in the corner, the only illumination came from the fire. Poppy sat curled under a blanket with a book in her lap. Blake sat on the other side of the room at his desk working on paperwork. He had a pair of glasses on, and his hair was disheveled from the numerous times he ran his fingers through it. Poppy found it extremely hard to concentrate on anything when his big body was hunched over the desk and a look of concentration marred his face.
    The light from the lamp cast harsh shadows along his angular jaw. Blake still hadn’t shaved, and Poppy admitted, albeit only to herself , that it added a rugged, masculine quality to him. Although he only sat there, working on mundane things, there was no denying he was very comfortable in his skin, in his surroundings. It wasn’t just that he had lived in this environment for years. It was something deeper, something almost … peaceful.
    “You’re thinking too hard.” Blake lifted only his eyes to her and smiled. His glasses slid down his nose, and he watched her over the rims. He straightened and leaned back in his chair. The leather creaked from his weight and the movement. “Is there anything you want to talk about?” He took the glasses off and rubbed his eyes.
    “Nothing in particular.” Poppy set her book aside and wrapped the blanket tighter around her middle. “I was just thinking that you seem like you’re at peace. It’s nice, comforting in a way.” When he opened his eyes she swore she could see the green and brown mixed together. The shadows wrapped around him like a cloak. The way he glanced away made her wonder if the peace had all been an illusion.
    “Sometimes what you see isn’t always the truth, Poppy.”
    “No? Why do you say that?”
    He stood and cracked his back. Blake walked around the desk and sat on the couch across from her. The sound of the fire crackling pierced the sudden silence.
    He watched the fire, and she watched him. Blake laid his head against the back of the couch and turned to look at her. “Did you know I used to be a troublemaker?” He said then smiled.
    “Oh? I thought I knew everything there was to know about the Ellis boys.”
    Blake chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, I used to run my dad ragged. ‘Course I doubt you would remember any of it, and I sure as hell know my dad didn’t brag about all the shit I did. You and Jon were too little, and even if he realized what I did he was too enamored with you to notice anything else.” A faraway look crossed his face, but he quickly hid it. “He used to follow me around. It drove Dad nuts.” He rubbed his eyes again. “I hated Jon following me around, used to piss and moan about it, but Dad always told me that he looked up to me, that I had to set a good example.”
    Poppy wasn’t sure where Blake planned on going with this, but if it helped him then she would be that ear he needed. Lord knew she had unloaded enough of her shit on him over the years.
    “I hated all the rules my dad laid out, hated having little brother follow me around.” He looked at her again, and his pain was so strong that she felt her throat clog shut with it. “I wanted to do whatever I pleased. Yeah, I was a cocky little shit back in the day. I guess my point is I wish I could go back to the days where Jon hung on my coattails.” Blake leaned forward and placed his forearms on his thighs. For a long time he did nothing but let his head hang between his shoulders.