Home Is Where the Heart Break Is by Tess Oliver Read Free Book Online Page B

decided to walk to the marina. It was only a mile from Aunt Sadie’s shop. Sundays were always slow in the village because most of the shops were closed. The sidewalks were nearly empty. As I strolled past the little grocery store, the door opened and Chase walked out with Susie.
    A long, awkward moment of silence followed as we all looked at each other. I decided right then that there was no damn reason for Susie to hate me or for me to hate Susie. If Chase liked her then I was determined to do the same.
    I smiled. “Hey guys, out for a Sunday stroll?” I glanced around. “I’d forgotten how quiet it was in the village on Sundays.”
    Susie’s mouth twisted a bit, and she looked rather perplexed that I was speaking so easily to them.
    “Where are you off to?” Chase asked.
    “My mom’s working in Aunt Sadie’s shop. I’m headed to the marina to meet Nico for lunch.”
    “Sounds fun.” Chase couldn’t hide the disappointment in his voice.
    Susie made a show of cringing when I mentioned Nico’s name. It made me suddenly curious just how close she’d been with Nico. And Nico seemed to hate the idea that Chase was with her. Maybe they had fought over her, and that thought annoyed me greatly.
    Another period of awkward silence followed, so I went to the customary ice breaking topic.
    “Great weather, huh? Almost nice enough for a swim in the river. Although I’m sure the water is still freezing.”
    I was grinning at Susie when I said it, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Chase fidgeting. But he knew me well enough to know that I would never rat him out. That bond of always protecting and keeping each other’s secrets could never be broken.
    Chase and I’d had a couple of doozies too. Once, when we were playing tetherball in the fifth grade, he confessed to me that he’d been pouring his mom’s coffee cream into his sister’s nutrition drinks. They’d been prescribed especially by one of her nutrition counselors, but Chase thought the cream would help her gain weight faster. I thought the plan was brilliant, but there was one major flaw-- his sister had been secretly dumping her drinks down the sink. Chase, and only Chase, knew of my plan to sabotage one of my mom’s relationships because I’d hated the guy. I’d acted like a monster for weeks but my mom was on to me. She eventually dumped the guy anyway.
    Susie finally untwisted her mouth long enough to talk. “Chase and I always spend every Sunday together, starting with a morning at church then we pick up muffins to take down to the river.”
    “Sounds cool,” I said. “Well, I need to get to the marina. Have fun with your muffins.” I turned to leave.
    “Wait a minute,” Chase said, and his tone worried me.
    I twisted back and Susie was scowling up at him.
    “I never go to church with you, and you’re wasting your time lying to Jessa because she knows everything about me.”
    Susie opened her mouth to speak, but Chase pressed a finger to her lips. “Do you know where I was this morning?”
    “Uh, Chase, ixnay on the--”
    “No, Jessa, let me tell her. I went to the river with Jessa and Nico. You are going to need to accept the fact that they were a major part of my life, and I plan on seeing both of them a lot this summer.”
    Susie’s face reddened, and I waited for her to explode but she didn’t.
    It was definitely time for me to make my exit. “Yeah, maybe we can all hang out together,” I suggested weakly.
    The look in Susie’s eyes did not convey that that would take place anytime soon, but at least it didn’t look like she was going to be too pissed at Chase. I would have hugged my friend for putting his foot down, but I was sure that would be pushing things a bit.

Chapter 8
    A few families were suiting up in puffy life jackets while they waited for their rental boat to pull up to the dock. Anchored boats bobbed up and down as the wakes of other boats came rolling into the marina. I walked along the decking but