Signs of Love by Kimberly Rae Jordan Read Free Book Online

he would have had an easier time accepting things.”
    Beth shrugged, a helpless look on her face. “We can’t change that decision now.”
    Alana met Daniel’s gaze when he looked at her. “I know we’ve already asked a lot of you, Alana, and really appreciate all you’ve done for us. Could we ask you for one more thing?”
    Even though she knew what was coming—even though she knew she should say no—she just couldn’t. Instead, she nodded.
    “What are you thinking, honey?” Beth asked as she turned to her husband.
    Daniel looked down at his wife. “I think maybe Alana might be able to offer support to Justin in a way we can’t. She’s gone through this, but maybe she’s far enough away from her emotional turmoil over it that she can help Justin during this time.”
    Yeah, that’s what she figured he wanted from her.
    “There’s no guarantee he’d want to talk to me,” Alana felt obliged to point out.
    Beth nodded. “That’s true, but I guess we won’t know until you try. Are you okay with that?”
    She wasn’t, but Alana also got the feeling Justin would turn down any attempt on her part to help him, so it was really no biggie.  With that in mind, she said, “Sure, I’m willing to give him a call to see if he wants to talk.”
    Even as she said the words, Alana sent up a prayer—just to be safe—that Justin would turn down her offer.

CHAPTER FOUR
    How was it that two weeks in a row he managed to leave Beth’s house feeling like his emotions were wrecked? Justin felt like he was losing control of everything. Why had she insisted on telling Marcus about what was going on with Genevieve? The problems facing their family were his responsibility, not Marcus’s.
    He let himself into his apartment and dumped his laptop bag and weapon case onto the couch before taking his duffle bag into the hallway. After jerking open the closet doors that hid the stacking washer and dryer, Justin began to dump his dirty clothes into the machine. He started the washer then went to his bedroom and found a pair of clean work-out clothes and changed into them.
    Once in the second bedroom that he’d converted to a work-out space, Justin found the playlist he used while running and got it set up with the speakers. As the music pulsed through the room, he stepped onto the treadmill and set it to his usual setting and began to run. He probably should have stretched first, but right then he just needed the soothing motions of working out to help him deal with the jumble of emotions in his head.
    There were two things that meant the world to him: his family and his job. And while things were fine with his job, it certainly didn’t feel that way with his family. He and Beth seemed to be at odds for the first time in…forever. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d left her angry, but that’s what had happened twice now in as many weeks. And on top of that, his efforts to find out more about the woman who’d made her way into their life had been thwarted.
    Justin hit the button to push the treadmill past his usual comfort level for running. His heart rate was already elevated, but he needed to feel the burn. He needed to force his breath in and out in order to loosen the tightness of his chest. Sweat beaded on his forehead and torso and ran unchecked down his neck and back. He clenched his fists as he pumped his arms to keep up with the rhythm of his feet.
    He needed to make things right with Beth and Dan. They were the only people in the world—along with Genevieve—who mattered at all to him. Without them, his life really had no purpose. From the day he’d gotten the call about the tragedy, Justin’s life had been centered on doing what he could to help Beth work through it all and to give her as normal a life as possible in spite of everything. He’d had to adjust some when Dan had come on the scene, but, strangely enough, the man had seemed to understand his need to care for Beth, and they had found