The Color of a Dream by Julianne MacLean Read Free Book Online

Believe me, he feels terrible, too. But we have
to be together.”
    The rage I felt toward my brother paled in
comparison to the dismal despair that was snaking its way through
my body. I loved Angela with a passion I never knew existed, and
the thought of losing her to my brother made me want to double over
in agony. I couldn’t even begin to imagine that she had made love
to him. That she had given herself to him so completely. I wanted
to collapse to my knees and beg her to tell me it wasn’t true.
    “Please, Angela,” I said. “Don’t do this.” I
took a step closer. “He’s not the one for you. I love you and I’ll
marry you tomorrow if you’ll stay. Please, don’t go.”
    I had never in my life felt so wretched and
pathetic.
    She backed away. “Don’t touch me. I’m not
yours anymore. I’m his.”
    God in heaven . I wanted to wring his
neck. My hands clenched into fists. I couldn’t breathe… Couldn’t
get air into my lungs.
    “I’m sorry,” Angela said. “We didn’t want to
hurt you, but we couldn’t stop it. We tried .”
    That was enough. It was more than I could
take. I had to get out of there.
    “Good luck to you both,” I said, knowing
they would eventually be miserable together—although Rick wouldn’t
let that go on for long. The minute the shine wore off, he’d cut
Angela loose and enjoy his freedom again like he always did.
    Meanwhile Angela would wallow in despair for
months or years.
    If she thought this was bad, just
wait.
    “Bye,” I said as I turned and walked out of
her room.
    Out of her house and out of her life.
    I peddled home through the frigid, murderous
cold, as if the hounds of hell were behind me.
    When I climbed into bed that night, I
imagined what the future would hold for Angela. What would I do
when she came home in tears six months from now after Rick broke
her heart and moved on to some other girl? Would I be here to
comfort her? Would I take her back?
    I rolled to my side and stared at the wall.
My chest felt heavy. What if it turned out differently? What if
Rick really did love her and she was the one who would change him
forever?
    What if someday I was uncle to
Angela’s children?
    I wasn’t sure which scenario would be
worse.
    And either way, would I ever be able to
forgive?

Chapter Seventeen
     
    Someday came sooner than I expected.
Five months after I said good-bye to Angela and stood on the tarmac
watching her flight take off for LA—five months after I promised
myself I would forget her—I received a phone call out of the
blue.
    “Hi, Jesse.”
    The sound of her voice in my ear caused a
fireball of grief to explode in my stomach. I couldn’t speak right
away. All I could do was plunk down on a chair in the kitchen and
rest my elbows on my knees.
    “Are you there?” she asked.
    “Yeah, I’m here.” I closed my eyes and raked
a hand through my hair.
    Why was she calling? To tell me she
and Rick were getting married?
    Or to tell me he’d cheated on her and she
wanted to come home?
    It still pains me to admit it, but I wanted
desperately for the latter to be true. I wanted her to tell me she
missed me and that she’d made a terrible mistake. Rick wasn’t the
man she believed him to be. I wanted to hear, ‘Please, Jesse, I’m
miserable. Will you give me a second chance?’
    Would I, if she asked?
    But that wasn’t why she was calling.
    “You must be surprised to hear from me,” she
said.
    “Yeah.” I leaned back in my chair and stared
up at the ceiling. “How are you doing?”
    There was a long pause. Then she sighed.
“I’m not sure. It all depends on the next couple of weeks.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    When she didn’t elaborate, I had to poke and
prod. “Are you going to tell me what this is about? Or did you just
call to torture me?”
    Her voice became a whisper. “Jesse, I’m
really sorry. You know that was never my intention.”
    My pride bucked and I shook my head. “Don’t
worry about it. Really. Forget I