On Wings of Love by Kim Watters Read Free Book Online Page A

she patted her lap for Marissa to join her.
    Once the bony little girl with her pink blanket, Carlos and the other kids settled, Ruth opened Marissa’s favorite book about a village girl and a beast and how love transformed them.
    But it was just a fairy tale. Ruth didn’t fully buy into the “happily ever after.”
     
    In the office early Monday afternoon, Noah tipped back on the back legs of his chair. He stared at Brad, with whom he shared the cramped room, sitting at the next desk over. “I’m taking myself off rotation for the AeroFlight calls.”
    Noah tilted the bottle of soda he’d grabbed from the supply refrigerator to his lips and drank. Above him, muted fluorescent bulbs cast cool light across Brad’s features.
    “You can’t.”
    “Watch me.” Noah refused to go on another organ recovery mission. Let Brad or Seth take it. He didn’t need any more memories brought about by ferrying a bunch of medical personnel around. Especially one Ruth Fontaine, who had worked her way under his skin like a sliver.
    Brad stared at him long and hard as he played with the pen in his fingers. “We need the AeroFlight contract and about five others to keep us in business. I can’t do it all myself. That’s not what we agreed to.”
    “But I didn’t sign that contract. You did.”
    Brad threw the pen across his desk. When he stood, his chair crashed into the off-white wall, the sound reverberating in Noah’s skull. “You’ve been the one nagging about business. I go out and get a decent contract and now you’re complaining.”
    Houston jumped up from underneath Noah’s feet, skittered around the desk and cowered behind their office manager, Hannah Stevenson, who now stood in the doorway. He and Brad counted on her to run an efficient office, and she in turn counted on them to keep a roof over her and her young son’s head.
    “Are you guys okay in here?” The pale, delicate-looking redhead asked.
    “We’re fine. Just discussing a little business,” Brad responded. “How are you doing today? You look nice.”
    Noah noticed his office manager blushed easily like another woman he’d recently met. A woman who had no reason to intrude on his thoughts today.
    Hannah’s eyebrows skimmed her bangs as her lips twisted into a hesitant smile. “I’m fine, thank you. Okay then. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
    Once Hannah retreated to the front room, Noah pinched the bridge of his nose to keep the nightmare at bay. “But why AeroFlight? Why did you have to contract with them?”
    Brad walked over and clasped Noah’s arm. “It kills me to see you like this. You think you’re living, but you’re not. I’ve watched you suffer for three years. Please. Let Michelle and Jeremy rest. AeroFlight is a wonderful organization and provides a necessary service.”
    Noah drew back. Raw anger threatened to crush the last piece of sanity he’d struggled to hold on to. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive Brad. “You sound like Ruth.”
    “Try and see the positive for once.” Brad continued.
    “What positive? You’ve been my friend for fifteen years. You were my best man. You were there when Jeremy was born. You met me at the hospital when they brought Michelle and Jeremy in after the accident. You helped with the funeral arrangements.”
    A tear slipped down Noah’s cheek.
    His tight fisted hand pushed it away.
    “What positive, Westberry? Answer me.”
    “Your son’s organs saved other lives that day. Michelle’s could have, too, if she’d been an eligible donor. But you’ve been too wrapped up in the guilt and denial to see past that crooked nose on your face. Maybe I should break it again.” Brad drew back and flexed his fingers.
    “Touch me and this partnership is over,” Noah growled. “The doctors I counted on to save Jeremy’s life created a donor so that someone like Ruth Fontaine could harvest his organs and offer them to the highest bidder.”
    Brad shook his head,