Heart-strong by Bonnie McCune Read Free Book Online

around tidbits of appetizers. Plied him with tasty aperitifs and
varied wines. Threw seductive glances from under her eyelashes during
conversation. Finally led him to the living room where the lights were low, the
fire glowing, candles shining, and cognac waited by the low and cushioned
couch.
    Completely beguiled by the comforts and liquor, an
unsuspecting Jim sank into the couch to savor the cognac. A collection of
instrumental holiday music played softly in the background as Donna snuggled
against his shoulder. “Could anything be more wonderful?” she sighed. As if on
cue, snow started drifting across the picture window. “So picturesque...so, so
romantic.” She lifted her head and offered her lips, which he was sorely
tempted to savor. After all, friends exchanged kisses, right? They meant very
little.
    The front door to the house flew open and banged against the
wall. Donna’s son Tyler rushed into the living room, her ex-husband on his
heels. Tyler gripped his right arm in his left hand and was wailing at top
level.
    “Mom. Mooommmm. I think I broke my arm.”
    Donna moved out of Jim’s embrace, raised her eyebrows, and
stood up with the smooth motion of a model. “What happened, sweetheart? Calm
down and tell Mommy.” Her soothing tones to Tyler contrasted with the words she
snapped at her ex, low and furious. “How could you let this happen? And so
close to New Year’s. Have you taken him to the emergency room? Of course not.”
She bent to hug Tyler, lifting him like a two-year-old. He snuggled on her
shoulder willingly, favoring his arm only a trifle.
    Donna’s ex shot her a look full of malignant threat, like an
unarmed gangster. “Stop babying him. He fell on the stairs and banged his arm
on the banister. There’s nothing wrong that a bag of ice won’t fix. He insisted
on coming back here, where we find you nuzzling with a new boyfriend. Sorry to
interrupt you.”
    Jim felt a label had been tattooed on his forehead that
read: Danger, new boyfriend . He
thought to defuse the situation by stepping forward and offering his hand.
“Hello, Jim Landers. You must be Tyler’s dad, Mr. Fletcher. Sorry to hear of
the mishap.”
    The ex could hardly refuse to shake hands. “Rex Fletcher.
Yes, these things always happen at the most inconvenient times. And how do you
know Donna?”
    Before Jim could answer, Donna butted in. “Really, Rex.
You’re not my keeper. Jim and I met at one of Tyler’s soccer games.”
    What had he gotten into the middle of? Sounded like tit for
tat, one-upsmanship, or exes who couldn’t let go of one another emotionally.
    “And you’re the coach?” asked Fletcher.
    “Uh, no. I have an interest in the sport, played myself in college.
I live near the park where the kids practice, and sometimes I kick the ball
around with them. Watch the games. That sort of thing.” Jim ended on a lame
note, thinking that he was coming off like a predator or something. Still the
important point was both Fletcher and Donna were parents and the welfare of
their son had to be top priority. Or had he fallen into the stickiest of
situations like an animal slipping into a gluey tar pit—an ex-husband still
possessive of his ex-wife?
    Fletcher eyed him up and down as if Jim were a decaying fish
set before him as a snack. “And is this dating serious?” asked Fletcher.
    “It very well could be,” Donna answered as she took Jim’s
arm, still holding Tyler.
    In the face of the tacit game being played between Donna and
Fletcher, the wisest course of immediate action was silence and an expression
of benign, if obtuse, goodwill. He could ask Donna to fill him in after
Fletcher left. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with either the man
or the woman. To relieve the tension, Jim offered a high five to Tyler, who
used his uninjured arm to whack away with enthusiasm.
    The action seemed to relieve some of Donna’s anxiety, and
she moved toward the kitchen as she said, “I’ll make an ice