Taken Home (Lone Star Burn) by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online Page A

to Alaska, each represented one of the many places she’d always dreamed of visiting. She dropped the cards back in the box and looked at Sarah and Melanie through tear-filled eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
    Sarah’s eyes shone with emotion. “We both know what it’s like to feel trapped. I can’t speak for Melanie, but I was my own roadblock. It took coming to Texas to break me free. Now I feel like I could go anywhere—do anything. I just happen to want to be here.”
    Melanie gave Sarah a hug. “For me, it took watching you charge forward with your life to get me to believe there was something I could do about my own.”
    “And now you and Jace spend your holidays traveling with Charles. Did you ever think you’d be a world traveler?”
    Melanie met Chelle’s eyes. “Never. I didn’t think I deserved more than I had, and I was afraid to open myself up to disappointment again. Maybe we’re wrong, Chelle, but is that where you are?”
    Chelle wiped away a stray tear. She hugged the box to her stomach and nodded.
    “Then decide today that you are going to take a leap of faith,” Sarah said cheerfully. “Pick a card and go wherever the card tells you to. No second-guessing. No procrastinating. Take that card to Josie today and choose your first adventure.”
    “I’m doing it. Here goes.” Hope replaced fear. Chelle put her hand into the cardboard box and closed her eyes. She shuffled through the cards, fervently hoping the right choice would come to her. In a comically dramatic voice, Chelle said, “Oh, magical recycled cardboard box, help me choose where I should go. Show me my destiny.”
    She pulled out a card and held her breath. Would she be buying a bikini, hiking boots, or tickets to a Broadway show? Wherever the card said, she suddenly felt ready to embrace it. Her heart was beating wildly when she finally opened her eyes.
    Disappointment quickly followed as she looked at what she had chosen. “The paper must have fallen off this one. It’s just the king of hearts.” An image of Mason came to her, but she dismissed it as ridiculous. She tossed the card on the table. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do with this game, Sarah, but maybe this isn’t how I should make a big decision like this.”
    Sarah picked up the card from the table. “Wait. How do you know this isn’t it?”
    Chelle put the box aside, brought her legs up onto the edge of the couch, and hugged her knees to her chest. “A blank card? If that’s really an answer, then what does it mean? That I’m not meant to go anywhere?”
    Sarah turned the card around between her fingers. “Or you’re not supposed to go alone. The king of hearts. Maybe the love of your life is waiting for you at the destination you choose.”
    Melanie rolled her eyes. “Or, Sarah, you didn’t use strong enough glue.”
    Sarah swatted at Melanie. “Don’t discourage her. You agreed this was a good idea.”
    With a sigh, Melanie conceded the point. “Fine. Please pull another card, Chelle, or I’ll never hear the end of this.”
    Chelle glanced at the box with doubt. She didn’t really want to raise her hopes again, but in the face of her friends’ urging, she didn’t see a whole lot of options. She reached inside again, this time not bothering to even close her eyes, and pulled out the first card her fingers brushed.
    Sarah grabbed the card as Chelle tossed it on the table, and exclaimed, “The Golden Gate Bridge. You’re going to California!” She turned to Melanie. “Mason is out there. I bet he has single friends he could introduce her to. Oh my God, that’s perfect.”
    The heat of a blush spread up Chelle’s neck and warmed her cheeks. “I should pick again.”
    “Oh no,” Sarah said as if she were a high authority. “You have your answer. Besides, you told me you were concerned about traveling alone. Now you don’t have to. You’ll have someone who can show you around. Trust me, Mason won’t mind.