Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three) by Rissa Blakeley Page B

thought, watching him dance around with Callie.
    When Cora and Elaina walked through the door, Cora stopped and glared at Gunther with a furrowed brow. Quinn went to her.
    “He only wants them to be happy. He adores them.” Quinn swallowed hard. “He wants nothing more than to be a father, but I can’t give that to him.”
    “I see that,” Cora said with an air of a broken heart. “Since we’ve all been together, he has shown them more fatherly love than Peter ever did. He wasn’t the hands-on type. I guess it just hurts seeing how affectionate he is, and they aren’t even his.”
    Quinn took Cora’s hand. “I want to thank you.”
    “Me?” Cora tilted her head in confusion. “Why?”
    “Gunther has had an extremely rough life. Up until a couple years ago, he endured a lot of physical and mental abuse. When I say a lot, I mean on a daily basis. He has come a long way. He spent many days and nights hating himself, thinking he wasn’t allowed to love or be loved.”
    “That’s so sad,” Cora said as she held her hand over her mouth, eyes welling with guilty tears.
    “It’s been a struggle for me to get through to him that he is so worthy of being loved, but those kids have really been a world of help for him. I haven’t seen him this happy…ever.”
    “I had no idea. I feel terrible for slapping him and yelling. I need to go apologize.” Cora headed over to Gunther.
    One more turn around with Callie and he saw Cora walking up to them. Gunther tried to hand Callie to her and escape. “I’m sorry. Here.”
    Holding up her hands, she said, “No. Please continue. She’s happy with what you’re doing…and that makes me happy.” He gazed at her curiously. With a smile, she touched his arm. “I would like to say I’m sorry for my terrible behavior. I understand what you are trying to do for my kids, and I appreciate it. You have been such a blessing for my children, and I cannot thank you enough.”
    Cheeks flushing from the kind words he rarely heard from anyone other than Quinn, he turned away and whispered, “Thank you.” His voice was rough, fighting the lump rising in his throat. “That means a lot to me.”
    After a quick embrace, Cora focused her attention on Kate, who was taking her lesson seriously. Gunther picked up Silas and danced around the room with both the kids. Watching from a distance, Quinn smiled, enjoying seeing him so happy.

Chapter 5
    Nick invited Josie back to his room. She sat in a chair, as he planted himself on top of the desk. Hanging out with her was the first time he had been able to laugh since Claire and Willow passed. They talked about their favorite songs and how much they missed the internet, going to the movies, and all the unnoticed music that used to surround them.
    “I still can’t believe you never had a lesson. That blows my mind. I took lessons for a while, but I grew tired of the lame chord sessions. So I started working hard on my own, developing my own style.”
    “That would bore me to death. My guitar was a gift from an uncle. I had no idea if I would even like it, but he said he bought it for me because of the pure joy music gave me. Messing around with it for hours at a time, I was finally able to play by ear. I can’t read a lick of music, though.”
    Hopping down from the desk, Josie threw Nick a nervous glance. “Don’t be nervous.” He reached out for her hand. “Dance with me.”
    With her hand in his, she rose to her feet. A tender touch and a gentle grace in his movements, he wrapped his arms around her. Hesitantly, she put her arms around his neck, then rested her head on his chest. He hummed her favorite song as they swayed together. Josie didn’t want the moment to end.
    It felt good to hold her—to hold someone. “This is wonderful…doing this with you,” he whispered.
    She peered up at him and was mesmerized by his gaze. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her. Trying to be a gentleman and act accordingly, his lips traveled