Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green Read Free Book Online Page A

children. On some level, of course, they know that Emily must be sexually active, but is she really? Who with? Where?
    It’s not as if Emily makes any effort to be attractive to boys. Her raven black hair is stringy and greasy, her nail polish chipped, her clothes loose and voluminous to hide her ever-growing figure.
    “Puppy fat,” Ethan once said.
    “At seventeen?” Andi countered.
    “It’ll go,” he said, unconcerned.
    *   *   *
    Emily has a lot of boyfriends, Sophia said.
    Who are they? And what, Andi wonders, do they see in Emily. Every day she has to hold back a nugget of judgment. Put your hair back, she thinks. Remove the eyeliner that has smudged into deep dark shadows underneath your eyes. Wash your hair. Stand up straight. Smile. You’re so pretty when you smile, do you have to look so damned miserable all the time?
    But she doesn’t say it. Any of it. She holds her tongue and looks away.

Seven
    “God, I love it out here.” Andi puts down the printout of the driving directions to look out the window as they drive past the sunlit open fields of Sonoma County: miles and miles of vineyards; rows of grapevines snaking dramatically up hillsides, disappearing over the crest. Itinerant workers, wide straw hats shielding them from the glare of the midday sun, hold baskets, carefully picking the grapes as they move slowly down the rows.
    The valley gives way to the mountains. The roads become narrower, and darker, gnarled manzanitas and huge eucalyptus trees lining each side. Ethan slows to navigate the hairpin bends, each turn causing Andi to gasp in delight as she glimpses panoramic vistas through the trees, the sparkle of water in the far, far distance.
    “This is amazing!” Andi turns to Ethan in delight, all drama and discord of the past few days forgotten. There is nothing like the sheer beauty of this state to lift her spirits. Whether it’s the graceful curve of the Golden Gate Bridge, the smell of Stinson Beach, or the power of the skyscraping redwood forests, all of it brings Andi a feeling of deep peace.
    Ethan grins. “I wish I could appreciate the views. I’m terrified of these damned turns!”
    “Liar. You’re fine,” she teases.
    “You’re right. I love it out here. I always wanted to buy someplace in the country.”
    “I know. I used to think Mill Valley was the country.”
    “Yeah, right.” Ethan shoots her a look, and they both laugh.
    “So what would you have bought? A vineyard or a farm?”
    “Farm, probably. With maybe a small vineyard, just enough to make wine for family and friends. I prefer it up here, though. Or Cazadero. Rustic and beautiful, not too precious.”
    “Could we have miniature sheep?” Andi muses. “I love those. And donkeys. And maybe a horse.”
    “A horse? You ride?”
    “Oh, my God.” Andi starts to laugh. “How is it we’ve been together five years, married for two, and you don’t know I ride?”
    “I guess you didn’t tell me. What kind of riding? Western?”
    “You are such a California boy!” She laughs. “I grew up in Connecticut, remember? I took riding lessons for years. I was obsessed with horses. The only fantasies I ever had at thirteen were of having my own pony.”
    Ethan shoots her a look. “Are you suggesting Sophia is having fantasies about something else? Because I’m a little freaked out right now.”
    Andi laughs. “No. She’s got a couple of years to go. I’m just saying. I always wanted a horse. Look!” She points out a building, a private home turned into a winery, Mediterranean style, yellow plaster with a red tile roof, ivy tumbling down every wall. “Isn’t that beautiful?”
    “Beautiful. I bet it’s only worth eight million.”
    “Really?” She turns to him aghast. “But we’re in the middle of nowhere.”
    “It’s still Sonoma County, which is pure wine country. Maybe where we’re going is more affordable, but this whole area is so beautiful.”
    “Could we afford it? Even the cheaper