Breaking the Ice (14 page)
Authors: Shayne McClendon
“You’re welcome, Miss Rorie.”
“Vivien. My…my name is Vivien.”
“You’re welcome, Vivien.” The way her name sounded when he
said it was almost magical. It rolled off his tongue smooth and easy, as if
he’d used it a thousand times before. For the first time, she fully met his
gaze. “You have incredibly pretty blue eyes, Vivien.”
It was strange to think she could have reached thirty years
old and never had a man pay her such a compliment. It was something she’d
never really thought about until it happened. She worked as the inventory manager
for a large container company. Her work days were spent alone in her small
office, calculating warehouse supply, scheduling staff, logging deliveries, and
making orders.
She rarely talked to anyone. Men found her boring and women
found her odd. She was both but she didn’t
want
to be.
“I appreciate that.” The blush was worse. She could feel
it.
He looked at her and she wondered if he saw the
unattractive, lonely, frightened person she was or if maybe he saw that she
wanted
to be interesting, she
wished
she was pretty, and there were so many
things she
needed
to know, to experience, in her life before there came
a day when she simply didn’t see the point anymore.
“Vivien, would you like to go for a cup of coffee? It’s
going to take the guys another hour to finish up. There’s a little diner two
blocks away. We could walk if you wanted.”
“I…I would like coffee.”
Ten minutes later they sat across from one another in a
booth made for the big construction men that were most common here over the last
few months. Her side had a broken spring and she sank even lower. She must
have looked like a little girl compared to him. Hands clasped in her lap, the
knuckles probably white, she gave the waitress her order.
As the woman walked away, Jed slid from his booth and
gestured for her to stand. When she did, he gently nudged her into the booth
and sat where she’d been sitting.
“Now I feel like we can see one another more evenly.”
This time, when she smiled it was with her entire face.
“You’re very good at reading people, Jed.”
“I hope so, Vivien.” For almost an hour, he drew her out in
conversation. Eventually, he told her they should eat since it was getting
late. One hour turned into more than three. She couldn’t remember ever having
a conversation with another human being in all her life for three hours.
What most surprised her is what she told him.
How her mother had died giving birth. That her father had
despised her for surviving. The last attack that almost killed her and the
many foster homes she’d lived in until she graduated high school. There was no
other family, no friends. She hadn’t been to college but she took classes at
the local vocation
al school. She’d been at her job for ten years and most
people didn’t know her name. Some didn’t even know she worked there.
Jed listened and asked her questions to keep her talking.
“Why do you want to know about me?” She wasn’t trying to be
coy – she didn’t understand why anyone would give up their evening to spend it
with a stranger in such a way.
He leaned forward and crossed his arms on the table. “I
want to know because you garden. I want to know because you have a dozen
squirrel and bird feeders throughout your yard and there are two feral stray
cats you feed on your back porch.” One large hand reached out and untwined
hers, holding it gently.
“I want to know the woman who has death in her eyes but is
fighting with everything she has to surround herself with life, with beauty,
with positive things.”
She shook her head and he squeezed her hand. “A woman like
you is worth knowing, Vivien. I want to take my time and get to know you.”
A million things went through her head. All the reasons she
should tell him to run away from her, that she was too messed up, that he was
wasting his time and wouldn’t end up liking her anyway.
Instead, she looked at his eyes and he stared at hers. They
were steady and confident and kind and she wondered if maybe he could show her
how to take the death out of hers.
“Alright.”
For more hot, emotional reads by Shayne McClendon, check
out
The Great Outdoors
series.
The Great Outdoors –
Novella #1
Shayne McClendon
When the Harding twins book a group of ex-military men
on their deep-sea fishing charter, they never expect to find the two men in all
the world willing to understand them, prepared to love them through their
pasts.
Charter captain Dakota Harding has been damaged for
most of her life. She refuses to let down her guard and is only close to her
brothers as a result. When Gunner Cain steps on her boat with his friends he
manages to pierce that tough outer shell and cause a ripple effect throughout
her entire life.
Chaz Harding has made it his life's work to protect
his siblings and after a violent lesson in the evil men can do when faced with
someone different, he has withdrawn behind a wall of self-imposed isolation.
Shawn Clay shows him that some risks are worth taking and some loves are worth
fighting for...no matter how hard it can be.
The Great Outdoors –
Novella #2
Shayne McClendon
When Spencer meets
the woman of his dreams while delivering packages on his bike, he never
imagines himself becoming her muse. At 5'7" the last thing he thinks a
woman will consider is his looks.
Shania takes one look
at Spencer and her creative side assumes all control. Unable to stop sketching
him, painting him, sculpting him - she soon begins to see him as far more than
her artistic inspiration.
Love...
real love
...can
take you places you never thought to go.
The Great Outdoors –
Novella #3
Shayne McClendon
When Addison
Hauser gives her heart to her best friend at fifteen, she never expects him to
disappear with it. Working the ranch and caring for her alcoholic father
after tragedy strikes, she doesn’t have much time to dwell on the hole he left.
Twelve
years later, Mack returns to claim her and is reminded why bullies ran from his
best friend when she was seven. It isn’t going to be easy to get back in
her good graces.
He’s
willing to do the work…if he can just keep her from shooting him.
The Great Outdoors –
Novella #4
Shayne McClendon
When
Gina Kahfke takes Knox Simon’s survival course in the mountains of Montana, he
finds himself curious about her story. She says she’s a teacher from California
but some things just don’t add up. Then she rents the secluded cabin owned by
his best friend, forest ranger Wade Overly, and both men are openly shocked at
her plans to remain in complete isolation for two years – supposedly to write a
book.
The more
they get to know her, the more they want her, and when her secrets are
accidentally revealed, they wonder if they will ever have the chance to give
her the love she so desperately deserves.
Sometimes,
the best choice…is not to choose at all.
McClendon
Shayne McClendon is
an indie author who has received rave reviews for her premiere novel “
The Barter System
”. Other
projects recently released are “
In the
Service of Women
”, “
Yes to
Everything
”, “
Damaged
”,
“
Being Delightful
”, and “
The Hermit
” and many more.
Shayne believes love
crosses all boundaries, social castes, races, genders, and belief
systems. If you are lucky enough to find soul-deep love, you should fight
for it. She currently lives in Oklahoma wrangling teenagers, opening
doors for her pets, and running her content writing company. She dreams
of peace, quiet, travel, and always having plenty of coffee.
Shayne loves to hear
from her fans. You can contact her by email at
[email protected]
or stop by her
Good
Girl
Facebook page. Visit her web page
Always the Good Girl
and
subscribe for your free story!
All of Shayne
McClendon’s work is available on
Amazon
.
