All of You by Jenni Wilder Read Free Book Online Page A

you ever been to a game?”
    I thought for a moment. “My older brother got
tickets to a game. Um... not last year but the year before, I
think. You played Toronto.”
    “Did we win?” Lincoln asked.
    “Yeah. It was a good game”
    “Did I play?”
    “Yeah,” I said and blushed. Lincoln raised
his eyebrows, questioning my reaction. “I remember hearing your
name being announced and thinking how crazy your life must be.
Being a professional hockey player and the son of a senator. That
must be chaotic.”
    Lincoln didn’t say anything in reply, and we
walked for a little longer in silence. I began worrying I had said
something stupid again. Maybe the comment about being the son of a
senator was a touchy subject for him. He hadn’t really talked about
that.
    I decided to jump-start the conversation. “So
you said you wanted to talk to me about something?” I asked,
breaking the silence.
    Lincoln gave a small smile and stopped
walking. We had reached a small bridge that spanned over a frozen
stream which fed the pond. Lincoln leaned against the railing of
the bridge and looked out at the hockey kids playing in the
distance but didn’t say anything. I leaned against the bridge rail
next to him and waited. I assumed he wanted to talk about my coat,
but yet he wasn’t saying anything. I was practicing in my head how
I was going to decline his offer once again to buy me a new coat
when he finally broke the silence.
    “It’s so beautiful here,” Lincoln said,
looking out at the pond and the trail with the tall prairie grass
poking out from the snow bank.
    I smiled. “Yeah, it is. This is my favorite
park. But it’s especially gorgeous in the fall when those trees
turn colors,” I said, pointing to a small grove of trees that were
bare now on the opposite bank.
    “That would be nice,” Lincoln said quietly. I
waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. I thought maybe he was
trying to think of a way to bring up the subject of my coat, but
when he didn’t, I figured I'd take matters into my own hands.
    “If you’re—” I said at the same time Lincoln
spoke.
    “How many—” Lincoln stopped talking once he
realized we had interrupted each other.
    “Go ahead,” I offered.
    “Oh, no. You go first,” Lincoln objected.
    “No, no, really. You go,” I insisted. Lincoln
stared at me momentarily.
    “How many siblings do you have?” he finally
asked.
    Not what I thought he was going to say, but I
went with it figuring some small talk wouldn’t hurt anything. “Four
siblings. Frankie is the oldest. He’s an accountant for some
company in Boston. He moved away when I was still in high school.
Then Rebecca. She’s a nurse at Chicago General Clinic. Then it’s
me, and then the twins, Elliot and Emily. Elliot is a police
officer, and Emily is a teacher.” I rattled off.
    “Middle child, eh?” Lincoln said, and I
nodded. “Me too.” He gave me a small smile. “And you work at
GenChem?”
    “Mm… I’m interning right now. I’m working on
my thesis research project.”
    “You’re still in school?” Lincoln asked
surprised.
    I nodded. “I’m getting my Master’s in
Cellular and Molecular Biology. If my internship goes well, I’ll
graduate in May.”
    “Wow. That’s impressive. What are your plans
for after graduation?”
    “Um… I’m not sure. GenChem could keep me on.
My research project has some elements that might interest them
enough to keep me there after I graduate. If my research pans out,
anyway.”
    “What are you researching?” he asked.
    “Basically, I’m researching skin cell growth.
I’m doing growth studies and testing the lifespan of artificially
produced skin. Ideally my research would be used in the medial
field for patients with prosthetic limbs,” I paused and added
quietly, “Or burn victims.”
    “That’s really remarkable. Someday you could
give someone a new arm or leg,” Lincoln stated.
    I laughed slightly. “Well, that’s being
ambitious. The most my