Take Four by Karen Kingsbury Read Free Book Online Page A

some football.”
    The boys had already rinsed off, and all of them were in their swim trunks. They lined up and did a group cannonball into the pool. At the same time, Bailey looked at Cody across the deck. Their eyes met as she walked toward him, and Cody felt his heart slam against his chest. He couldn’t look away, could barely remember his name. That’s the affect she had on him.
    She took the chair beside him, sitting on the edge, her feet on the ground. “Hi.” Her eyes turned softer, a little shy—not because she wasn’t able to open up to him, but because they both felt so deeply for each other. And because those feelings were out in the open now. It was all a little more than either of them could believe. She angled her head, her pretty blue eyes shining in the sunlight, her chestnut hair hanging in long layers around her face. “How was practice?”
    “Your brothers were right,” he laughed and nodded toward Connor in the pool. “He’s about to beat out the starter.” He put his finger to his lips. “But shhh, don’t say anything. Coach Taylor has to make that call.”
    Bailey laughed. “Hey, after we swim, wanna take a bike ride?” It was already almost five o’clock. “My dad’s barbecuing ribs for dinner. But after that, maybe?”
    She could’ve asked him to walk on coals, and he would’ve said yes. Even on a day as hot as this one. He reached out and took her fingers in his for a few seconds. “Like a race, you mean?” He was teasing her, because that’s what he did. It was how they’d related to each other since she was a very young girl.
    “Yeah, a race.” She flexed her arms. “You know me. Miss Triathlete.” She laughed again. “Then after you beat me, let’s take a slow bike ride. The kind where we can actually talk for a few minutes.” She looked over her shoulder. “Without every one ofmy brothers trying to figure out…” again her expression turned shy. “You know.”
    “I do know.” Cody told her about the ride home, how Shawn wanted to know what was happening. “Justin stuck up for us though. He said it was no one’s business.”
    The conversation between them stayed easy and intimate. There was none of the getting-to-know-each-other awkwardness most couples had to go through. Through the swim and later after dinner when they took a couple bikes from the Flanigan garage and set out through Bailey’s neighborhood, Cody kept feeling the same way. He might be able to ask her soon. She wasn’t grieving the loss of her relationship with Tim. They’d basically been broken up for months before the actual ending. That’s what Bailey had said.
    “What’re you thinking?” Bailey was riding beside him, the warm breeze on their faces.
    “About you.” Cody smiled at her. The sun was setting, and the sky was streaked with pinks and pale blues.
    They turned right out of her parents’ driveway, down a hill toward a dead-end cul-de-sac.
    “Oh, yeah?” Bailey’s eyes danced. “What about me?”
    “How you really should become a triathlete. I mean, the power in your pedaling is impressive.”
    “Stop.” She laughed, her head back. Then with a burst of speed she took the lead, lowering her body over the handlebars and flying down the hill. At the bottom, she skidded to a stop and pointed at him, her face taken up by her smile. “See, I can ride a bike.”
    “I know.” He was out of breath, but more from the thrill of being with her than any exertion from the ride. “Maybe you could train me.”
    They were at the bottom of the hill at the end of the road, where a gravel path took off through a section of woodssurrounding the Flanigans’ neighborhood. She was still laughing when she climbed off her bike and shaded her eyes. “The sunset’s so pretty.”
    “It’s one more reason I love living here.” Cody stepped off his bike, too. He had a feeling Bailey wanted to walk the path. Either way he enjoyed this, being alone with her. A short walk through the woods