He pulled her free of the fence and held her against him until she was steady. “Pond is about fifty feet straight ahead,” he whispered in her ear, sending shocks of energy through her entire body. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
She crept along behind him with her fingers though his belt loops, fighting back giggles. “Are you kidding? I’ve waited ten years to do this. Are you going to chicken out on me?”
“Never!”
“Shhhhhh.” He chuckled and stopped, causing her to bump into him full-body from behind with an oof. “What the heck?” she whispered. “It’s like the blind leading the blind here.”
“I’m going to show you precisely how well I can see if you mash your breasts against me again.” He headed off once more with her in tow.
“Well, then, warn me before you stop.” A rustling came from somewhere on the right. “What was that?” she whispered, moving her grip to the belt loops nearest the front of his pants to get closer to him.
“Stopping,” he said, straightening from his tiptoe crouch.
Still holding him tight, she buried her face in the back of his shirt. “There’s something in the bushes or weeds to our right, and I’m scared it’s going to jump out at us.”
He cleared his throat. “Honey, there’s something in my pants, and if you don’t turn loose of where you’re holding me, it might jump out at us, too.”
“Oh.” She giggled and released him. “Sorry. I’m kind of excited.”
“Clearly, so am I.”
Though I am a little sad to see that we’re out of brothers. But now Chance can remain the epitome of Anderson brothers, without having to be on the lookout for usurpers… 😉
But really, he had the absolute best answers for Gen’s ubiquitous “What do you see?” question, so I don’t think he had any reason to feel threatened, even if he had a dozen more brothers hidden in the wings.
(Brief pause while I contemplate twelve more Anderson brothers. Hmmmmm.
Ahem. Anyway…)
Gen and Chance–such an adorable couple, and so clearly meant to be together. Darn those ten years they spent apart! Gen’s bucket list brings them back together, though (after “What do you see?” her second most uttered phrase is “I was fifteen!”–as in, when she made the list, because some of the things on it are a little dated. But it was adorable nonetheless and the perfect vehicle to bring them back together) that wasn’t at all how she intended it originally.
After just about every scene with the two of them in it, especially the “knock off a bucket list item” ones, my favorites were those where the brothers interacted with each other, especially Will and Chance. Love those Anderson boys! Did I mention that already? 😉
Ms. Clarke does a great job of showing us the world from the point of view of a person who is blind. It’s amazing all the new technology that is out there to assist these days, but equally amazing is how much Gen didn’t even need all of it so much of the time, since her other senses were able to give her so much extra information. It was so frustrating to see her family take so long to understand that she wasn’t a helpless, handicapped person who needed to be sheltered and protected from the world.
Good thing she had Chance in her corner!
Chance took a huge risk when he let her go toward the end–my heart practically stopped, and I wasn’t at all sure that what he was doing was a good idea. Kudos to Gen’s best friend Sherry, who makes an excellent point and helps Gen to see what she needs to do to get her life back on track.
Which leads us to a much deserved, and completely fantastic HEA. With the best answer ever for Gen’s “What do you see?” question.
(Even though there’s no more Anderson boys, I’d love to see Sherry get her own story–any woman who narrates porn for her blind friend totally deserves to be a heroine in her own right, IMHO. I’m not at all sure I’d be able to do it myself…)
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
Marissa Clarke lives in Texas, where everything is bigger, especially the mosquitoes.
When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, husband, and a Cairn Terrier named Annabel, who rules the house (and Marissa’s heart) with an iron paw.
Prior to attending University of Houston Law School, she received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Drama from the University of Houston. She has taught drama and playwriting in a large public high school and English in a private school.
Currently, she serves as Vice-President of Programming for the West Houston RWA Chapter, and is a founding member of Houston YA/MG Writers, and the QueryTracker.net Blog.
She loves to connect with readers, so follow/friend her on Facebook and, or shoot her an email from her “Contact” page.
Marissa also writes young adult novels for Penguin USA under the name Mary Lindsey. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Marissa Clarke’s conference, signing, & event schedule can be found here: APPEARANCES
Thank you for hosting CHANCE OF A LIFETIME