Read Twice Loved (copy2) for Free Online

the outline of Rye’s generous mouth, then he met his father’s inquisitive eyes and the mouth softened somewhat.
    “I’ve lost only one woman, lad, but y’ve lost two.”
    Again the mouth tensed, but this time with determination. “For the time bein’. But I mean t’ reduce that number by half.”
    “But she married the man. ”
    “Thinking me dead!”
    “Aye, as we all did, lad.”
    “But I’m not, and I’ll fight for her until I am.”
    “And what’s she got t’ say about it, then?”
    Rye thought of Laura’s kiss, followed by her careful withdrawal. “She’s still in shock, I think, seein’ me walk into the house that way. I think for a minute she believed I was a ghost.” Rye turned his stubborn jaw toward his father again. “But I showed her I wasn’t, by God!”
    Josiah chuckled silently, nodding his head as his son colored slightly beneath his tan. “Aye, lad, I’ll bet my buttons’ y’ did. But I see y’ve hauled y’r chest down here and set it on me floor as if y’ve come expectin’ to share me bunk.”
    “It’s Ship I’ve come t’ bunk with, not you, you old salt, so y’ can wipe the smirk off y’r briny face and have done with teasin’!”
    Josiah broke into an appreciative roar of laughter, the pipe in jeopardy, scarcely anchored between his yellowing teeth. At last he removed it. “Haven’t changed a bit, Rye, and it’s my guess y’r woman’s wonderin’ what t’ do with that spare husband of hers, eh? Well, stow y’r gear and welcome to y’. Ship and I are happy enough for y’r company. ’Tis been a quiet house f’r two years now. Even y’r sharp tongue will be welcome.” Again he pointed at Rye’s nose with his pipestem, and added, “Up to a point.” Their eyes met and they shared the moment of levity—an aging parent and the child who’d grown taller and stronger than himself.
    At the saltbox on the hill, Laura was still trembling from the shock of seeing Rye again, of kissing him. As soon as he disappeared down the path, none of it seemed real. But facing Dan made reality sweep back, along with the need to accept the bizarre truth and deal with it.
     
     
     
    ***
    At the door, Laura closed her eyes for a moment, pressed a hand to her fluttering stomach, then stepped inside.
    Dan sat at the table, but his elbows rested on either side of an untouched plate and his mouth was hidden behind interlaced fingers. His eyes followed her across the room, hazel eyes she’d known for as long as she’d had memory. Hazel eyes she now found difficult to meet.
    She stopped beside the trestle table, wondering what to say, and if the man who sat studying her so silently was still her husband. His eyes moved to her hands, and she realized her fingers were nervously toying with the waistband of her apron, so she dropped them quickly and took her place on the bench across from Dan. Her nerves felt as if they were made of spun glass. The room was painfully silent, all but for the constant sounds of the island: hammers, gulls, bell buoys, and the faraway breath of a steam whistle from the Albany packet as it pulled into Steamboat Wharf below.
    Suddenly Laura wilted, resting her elbows on either side of her own plate and burying her face in her palms. Several long, silent minutes passed before she raised her eyes to confront Dan again. He was absently toying with a spoon, pressing it firmly against the tabletop and cranking it around as if to screw it into the wood.
    When he realized she was watching, he stopped, and his well-groomed hand fell still. He sighed, cleared his throat, and said, “Well ...”
    Say something, she berated herself. But she didn’t know where to begin.
    Dan cleared his throat again and sat up straighter.
    “Where is Josh?” she asked quietly.
    “He finished and went out to play.”
    “You haven’t eaten anything,” she noted, eyeing his plate. “I ... I wasn’t very hungry.” His eyes refused to meet hers. “Dan ...” She reached to