Final Mend by Angela Smith Read Free Book Online Page B

mother has her, she’s definitely not in safe hands.”
    • • •
    Thunder clapped a dreadful beat in Winona’s heart. She lay in bed with the drapes open, propped up on pillows and avoiding the day. Lightning illuminated a gray-tainted sky that hadn’t yet opened for rain.
    She loved summer thunderstorms, but today she wanted to curl up under her sheets and listen to the rain pound her roof. She didn’t have time for that luxury. A list of activities awaited her, including the decision she’d have to give Jake. A decision she hadn’t yet made.
    She’d told him she’d let him know by today so he wouldn’t keep wasting his time trying to make her change her mind. She’d hoped her decision would come to her in a dream, but no such luck.
    It would be hard to tell him no again, but a yes answer would be a huge sacrifice.
    She wasn’t ready. She never planned to be ready. That part of her life was over now, and she was completely happy tending drinks and helping defenseless animals, even if the urge for something more left her restless. She never again wanted to go through the heartbreak of finding a child when it was too late.
    Her phone rang and she considered ignoring it, but she recognized Chayton’s ring and knew his resulting visit would prevail over the thunder if she didn’t answer.
    “Hello.”
    “Everything okay?”
    “Fine.”
    “Naomi said she saw Jake leaving your place around midnight.”
    Jeez, she had no privacy around here, especially because her brother and Naomi lived next door. Tattletale.
    “Yeah,” Winona said.
    “So?” Chayton’s voice told her he expected to be told more.
    “So what? You knew we were meeting. We decided to meet here instead. He thinks I can perform some kind of miracle and find his godchild.”
    “You’re grumpy this morning.”
    “You think?”
    “I’m sending Naomi over with coffee.”
    “I have my own coffee. I don’t need yours.”
    “Mine’s better. And I’m sending her over anyway.”
    “Tell her to let herself in. I’m gonna take a quick shower.”
    Everyone had a key to her condo. Well, it wasn’t exactly her condo. It was Reagan’s condo, Naomi’s cousin. When Reagan married Garret, Chayton’s brother, Naomi moved in but then hooked up with Chayton and moved in with him.
    Winona really did have no privacy.
    She showered and dressed. Naomi was sitting at the dining room table with coffee when she stepped out of the bedroom.
    “Hey, thanks for telling Chay you saw Jake leaving at midnight.” Winona snatched the cup from the table and plopped her butt down on the chair besides Naomi. She took a sip and, discovering it had cooled considerably, downed the drink. She plunked the cup on the table and swiped her hand across her mouth. “Like we were having a fling and he was sneaking out late or something.”
    “Whoa, what I said was nothing like that. Were you having a fling?” The teasing lilt of Naomi’s voice reached her eyes but didn’t bolster Winona’s mood.
    “No.”
    “Well, that explains your mood.”
    Winona narrowed her eyes at Naomi, but her heart was light and full of love for this woman.
    “All I said was I that I saw him leaving. I didn’t expect Chay to turn psycho-brother on you.”
    “What were you doing out at midnight?”
    “I heard commotion. Opened the door to take a peek in the hall.”
    “You were being nosy.”
    “Well, honestly, I thought you were on your way home. I knew you and Jake had a meeting, and I thought you’d gone to meet him. So I opened the door to talk to you, but saw him leaving your place.”
    Winona stood and fixed another cup of coffee. Thunder boomed and she jumped. Her spirit lightening, she laughed.
    “Well, we didn’t even kiss, just so you and my little brother know.” She stressed the word little and returned to her seat across from Naomi with the entire coffee carafe and creamer in hand.
    Naomi eyed the carafe like she thought Winona was crazy, but she carried on. “Maybe you