Crossing Paths by Melanie Stinnett Read Free Book Online Page A

up?”
    “Nothing, sweetie. I’m just sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office.”
    Did she just call me sweetie? That’s strange. “Is everything okay, Mom? Why are you at the doctor’s office today?”
    “Oh, um…just a normal check-up. They told me I might be waiting a little while, so I thought I would give you a call. Are you enjoying Texas and your new job?”
    “Definitely. It’s all great. On Sunday evening, I went to dinner at June’s parents’ house, and it was really nice. Her family is great. Don’t say anything if you happen to talk with her, but her brother is so gorgeous that I can barely keep my eyes off of him. I can’t believe I never noticed a picture of him before.”
    “Uh-huh. Well, I’m glad you are enjoying things there.”
    As her voice cuts out a little, I hear my mom sniff a couple of times.
    “Mom, are you crying?”
    “Heavens, no.” She laughs gently. “I just have a little cold. I’m sure the doctor will give me something to knock it down. Oh, Caroline, they’re calling my name. I need to go. I love you, sweetie.”
    “Love you, too. Bye.”
    As the afternoon wears on, I’m distracted. That one simple phone call was the strangest conversation I have ever had with my mom. She didn’t laugh loudly, causing me to pull the phone away from my ear. She didn’t haze me, attempting to make me feel embarrassed about my attraction to my best friend’s brother. And she called me sweetie—twice!
    Although my family is nowhere near as close as June’s seems to be, I have always been able to read my parents pretty well. When my favorite aunt, Karen, passed away, I took one look at my mom’s face and knew something was wrong. When my dad got me crazy awesome seats to the Justin Timberlake concert in high school, I started screaming in excitement before he even pulled the tickets out of his back pocket. Looking back, I guess it was always easy to read their facial expressions. Now, I know something is going on, but the specifics are fuzzy.
    My mind begins to review the worse-case scenarios. Maybe my stepdad, John, is getting laid off. I know the economy has been down, and earlier this year, they were a little worried. Surely, we wouldn’t have gone on that huge vacation if they were still concerned. I’ll have to remember to call John later to do a little more snooping.

    Leaving work, I head to pick up June from the airport. I can’t wait to see her smiling face. I pull up to the curb and watch as June practically skips to the car. Hmm, she seems happier than usual. June is normally happy, but skipping? What happened to her in New York? It looks like I have more snooping to do than I realized. I jump out of the car and throw my arms around my best friend.
    “I’m so glad you’re home.”
    “Thanks, friend. It’s good to be back.”
    “What’s with the million-dollar smile?”
    “What are you talking about?” June blushes a shade of red that can only be mimicked by the most brightly colored roses.
    “Okay, seriously, something is going on. Did you get the contract already?”
    “No,” she answers simply as she cheerfully hops into the car.
    I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone cheerfully get into a car. It’s a very strange sight, especially when she should realize we’re about to hit a wall of traffic worse than standing in line for a new iPhone release.
    “Let’s get out of here before you get a ticket for loitering or something,” June says.
    “Hey, if that hottie cop over there wants to give me a ticket, I will gladly take his card with the number to his office.” Wait, what am I saying? If I keep acting like this, June will never be okay with me dating Liam. Then again, I probably won’t be seeing him again anyway. “He looks our age. Do you want me to get his number for you?”
    “No! Just drive, Caroline.” She giggles.
    Did June just giggle? This day is getting weirder by the second.
    As we pull on to the highway, a great idea hits