A Fresh Start by Trisha Grace Read Free Book Online Page A

lips into a thin line. Then, she blinked and continued. “You know, you’re the one who insisted I stay with them.”
    It was his turn to laugh.
    Clearing his throat, he asked, “Why did you look so upset over what you saw on TV?”
    Her smile turned rueful. “Are you a Christian?”
    He wasn’t sure how to answer that question. Technically, he did say the sinner’s prayer and he was baptized, but he hadn’t been to church since he left Pine. Even during the time when he was in Pine, he’d gone to church only because he didn’t want to upset Mrs. Seymour.
    He once believed there was someone up there who could make a difference, who could change his mother.
    That didn’t happen and he doubted it ever would.
    But he did have the Seymours and he considered them his miracle.
    “I guess so,” he finally answered. “Why?”
    “The preacher on TV, he was saying that God always has a plan; a good plan for us,” she said. “Sometimes, I can’t help thinking that either He has forgotten about me or the plan has gone horribly wrong.”
    He gave an understanding nod. He had been there.
    Those times when he had gone to sleep praying that he would wake up the next day with his mom alive and in her own bed, only to wake up to an empty house. Those times when he was hiding under his bed or in his closet while his mom threw a rage over a missing bottle of alcohol.  
    But despite all that, he always had the Seymours.
    “Are you in trouble?” he asked in all seriousness.
    “Not with the law,” she answered. “Nothing that will get you or the Seymours into any trouble.”
    “I wasn’t referring to that. I was asking if you are in trouble.”
    She stared ahead, not saying anything.
    He glanced over at her, then back at the road. “I’m not trying to force information out of you. Just saying, if you need help—”
    “I know, you’ve got a guy.”
    “Yeah, me. I can help.”
    She took her eyes off the road. “Thank you. Things are fine now.” She drew in a deep breath through her nose and nodded. Broadening her smile, she repeated, “Things are fine now.”
    Paige looked as if she was trying to psych herself into believing her own words.
    “What about you? Is this your full time job?”
    She couldn’t have been clearer on her aim of changing subjects.
    He wasn’t ready to let it go. He wanted to make sure everything was all right, he wanted to let her know that he meant it when he said he could help.
    He couldn’t understand his protectiveness over Paige.
    Tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, he swallowed down the speech he’d prepared in his head. “Sort of.”
    “Sort of? So what exactly do you do?”
    Justin hadn’t known Paige for a long time, but the previous conversation alone was enough for him to know that she wasn’t one of those women looking for a man to buy her a new bag.  
    He thought about her question for a moment, wondering if there was a professional term for flipping houses.  
    “Are you a fugitive?”
    He laughed, nodding his head. “Yeah, I am. And you should be careful because you have so many things over at your place that I can rob.”
    Turning into the parking lot in front of the large hardware store, Justin chose a lot closer to the store and steered the car in. “We’ll order everything we need today and we should be able to get them delivered by Monday."
    Inside the hardware store, Justin could see what Paige meant by being a fast shopper.
    She wasn’t wishy-washy. She listened to his suggestions and made quick decisions from the few choices he had shortlisted. Even when she questioned him, she seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about the mundane knowledge he had on tiles, floorings, and paints.
    While they were there, he took the chance to replace some of his worn out tools.
    She followed him around without any complaints, occasionally picking up a tool and asking him what it was.
    When making payment, Justin saw her take out a nearly empty wallet. While the