Ray of Light Read Free

everyone else’s drama.
    â€œWhat kind of farming do you do?”
    He shrugged, not really wanting to talk about taking care of livestock or walking behind a plow. It all sounded boring and dirty—the exact opposite of life where they were. Here on the beach, everything felt bright and new and clean.
    After another second of looking at him expectantly, her warm expression cooled as she got to her feet. “I see. Well, I should probably go inside now.”
    â€œSo soon?”
    Bending down, she shook out the bright turquoise beach towel, then folded it in her arms. “I don’t like my Regina to wake up without me being around.”
    â€œWell, it was nice to meet you, Amanda. Maybe we’ll see each other around this week.”
    â€œI imagine we will,” she said. “We are neighbors, after all.”
    Side by side, they walked back to their units, Amanda carrying her towel and empty mug of coffee, Roman empty-handed.
    It was obvious to him that she was in no hurry to get to know him.
    He wondered if that was because she was still mourning her husband. Or if she simply wasn’t interested in him.
    Well, he couldn’t blame her. Roman realized that he had terribly little to offer. He was reasonably attractive, but not much more than that. He was reserved by nature, and a lifetime of standing on the sidelines and keeping to himself meant there were few bright spots in his life. In his anxiousness to remain calm and collected, he let much of life pass him by.
    Back in Berlin, he’d been proud of that fact. Unlike the rest of his family, he’d had little pain, no secrets, and nothing to be embarrassed about.
    But now his lack of excitement made him feel curiously flat. One-dimensional instead of three. As if he’d simply existed instead of lived.
    It wasn’t a good realization. Not at all.
    Â 
    Amanda didn’t find it difficult to say goodbye to Roman Keim. Though he was lightly tanned and fit, had handsome features and attractive brown eyes, she found him to be too reserved.
    She could understand a man’s need for privacy, but not about such things as his occupation or his family.
    Roman had reacted to her questions as if she were attempting to learn all his secrets. She definitely hadn’t cared to know his secrets or his problems.
    After all, she had plenty of her own to worry about.
    In her twenty-five years, she’d had more than her share of hardships. She’d been scarred by her husband’s failing fight with cancer, and before that, she’d married against her parents’ wishes. They’d wanted her to wait to marry.
    She’d insisted on marrying at nineteen.
    They’d wanted her to live near them in Pennsylvania. She’d wanted to live with Wesley near his family in Florida.
    And after Wesley’s death, she’d gone her own way again. Instead of succumbing to her parents’ demands and moving back to Intercourse to live with them, Amanda had chosen to live in the little house she and Wesley had bought with every last bit of their savings.
    Now she was working hard to make the mortgage payments and take care of Regina. Her life was busy, with few moments for regret. Instead, she was surrounded by her daughter’s joy. And, if, in the middle of the night, when the chores were done and Regina was asleep, she felt lonely and depressed? Well, that was her concern. Not anyone else’s.
    She had nothing in common with a man who had little to say for himself other than he worked on his family’s farm.
    Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out the quart of strawberries she’d bought at the market, and bit into the plumpest, juiciest one she could find.
    The sweet taste exploded in her mouth, and she savored the flavors.
    And couldn’t help but contrast that zing with Roman’s curiously bland manner. She wondered why he’d even agreed to walk over with his cousin to say hello.
    After shaking out her