The Battle Within Read Free Page B

inky night sky. Franklin and April walked hand in hand from the restaurant to the parking lot.
    He’d been on edge throughout the entire dinner. Probably more nervous than he’d been the night he’d proposed. Although this time there wasn’t going to be a proposal, they needed to have a serious talk.
    It wasn’t easy for Franklin to open up to many people, but even after everything they’d been through, he still trusted April.
    She knew him. She really knew almost everything there was to know about him including his fears and crazy hang-ups. That gave him a certain amount of…comfort.
    April was the first person besides Jason that he opened up to. In spite of all the darkness that surrounded him, April still loved him. Yes, she’d left him, but unlike his mother, she came back. So, he owed it to her to be honest. Or, as honest as he could be.
    Franklin opened her door; lovingly she smiled as she slid inside. He went around to his side, opened the door and got in too.
    Hesitantly, April touched his arm, “It felt almost like old times in there right?”
    He graced her with an all too rarely seen smile, “It was…nice.”
    “Maybe we could…go back to your place for a while.” There was no mistaking the look in her eyes or the meaning behind it. They hadn’t been intimate since reconnecting and exploring the possibility of a reconciliation. April was pretty conservative, so this was going to be the closest she’d ever come to initiating intimacy between them.
    He missed how uninhibited he’d been with…NO. Franklin would not allow his mind to drift to her. He’d made his decision, and it was best for both of them. But, every now and then, she still crept into his thoughts.
    Franklin gripped the steering wheel as he pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed toward the ocean. His palms were damp, “Actually, I was hoping we could take a little drive over to the beach. Maybe we could get out, walk…and talk.”
    What he needed to say would affect the direction of their relationship. In this moment, his anxiety was similar to the morning he’d discovered his mother had left and was never coming back.
    The disappointment was evident in her eyes. But, before they went any further, they had to talk.
    April unsuccessfully tried to hide the sting of rejection, “The beach? That’s different. You were never much for going to the beach. Is that something you did with her ?”
    He looked straight ahead not quite sure how to respond. They had never actually discussed Sandy and April most assuredly wouldn’t like the truth.
    They weren’t going to discuss her tonight either. Franklin had tucked his feelings for Sandy into a safe place deep within his heart, and that’s where she was going to stay.
    Instead, he took a different approach, “You were right about so many things. One of them being my ability or inability to focus on anything other than business. While, I’m still a work in the process, I’ve learned that sitting on the sand, listening to the waves gently roll ashore in the quiet of the night is a great place to think…and relax.”
    April was starting to feel a bit uneasy and wondered just how serious his relationship had been with Sandra Catchings?
    She’d noticed changes in him ever since she’d come back into his life some were subtle, but others were more pronounced.
    Maybe Sandra had meant more to him than he was willing to admit, and that’s what he wanted to discuss. April was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. She didn’t miss the fact that Franklin never actually answered her question. However, she would let it go…for now.
    Another thought occurred to her. What if that wasn’t it all? Had he found out the real reason she’d broken off their engagement? Impossible. However, there was always the possibility.
    Both of them were deep in thought as they drove along in silence until arriving at the beach.
    April’s anxiousness caused her to blurt out her thoughts,