The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks Read Free Book Online

gone up in smoke, Mike just sat there, trying vainly to recover.
    "Uh . . . well . . ."
    Henry glanced his way, challenge lighting in his eyes. "Unless, of course, you've changed your mind."
    Mike paled. "Uh . . ."
    Henry laughed. He'd had his fun, and as much as he'd enjoyed it, he knew it was time to stop. "Answer me a question, Mike," he said, leaning forward. "Why do you keep pretending you don't want to go out with Julie?"
    Mike blinked. "We're just friends," he said, the answer coming automatically.
    Henry ignored his answer. "Is it because of Jim?"
    When Mike didn't respond, Henry put down the doughnut. "He's been gone for a long time now. It's not like you're trying to steal his wife."
    "Then why have you been acting like I shouldn't go out with her? Like last summer on the boat?"
    "Because she needed time, Mike. You know that. She wasn't ready to start seeing people last year, or even six months ago. But she's ready now."
    Put on the spot, Mike wasn't sure what to say. Nor did he understand how Henry seemed to know so much.
    "It's not that easy," he finally answered.
    "Of course it's not easy. Do you think that asking Emma out the first time was easy for me? There were a lot of guys who wanted to go out with her, but I figured the worst that could happen was that she would say no."
    "Come on-Emma told me she had eyes for you even before you asked her out. You two were meant for each other."
    "But I didn't know that. Not then, anyway. All I knew was that I had to give it a shot."
    Mike met Henry's eyes. "But she wasn't married to your best friend."

    "No," Henry said, "she wasn't. But then, we weren't friends beforehand like you and Julie, either."
    "That's what makes it so hard. What if things change between us?"
    "They already are changing, little brother."
    "Not really."
    "Sure they are," he said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have had to ask me about the date, would you? Julie would have told you herself. She told you about Bob, didn't she?"
    Mike had no answer to that, but when he left the office a minute later, he knew that Henry was right.

Chapter Four.
    Singer's head rose from the blanket as soon as Richard entered the salon, and though he growled, the sound was muted, as if he thought Julie might scold him again."Hey, sugar? Here for another haircut?" Andrea asked, smiling. He was wearing jeans, and his denim shirt was unbuttoned at the top, leaving just enough room to see the curly hair on his chest. And those eyes. "I'll be done here in a couple of minutes."
    Richard shook his head. "No, thank you," he said. "Is Julie around?"
    Andrea's smile faded. She snapped her chewing gum and nodded toward the rear of the salon. "Yeah, she's here," she said, pouting. "She's in the back."
    Mabel had heard the bell on the door jingle, and she stepped out from behind the partition.
    "Oh . . . Richard, right? How are you?" she inquired.
    Richard brought his hands together in front of him. He recognized her from the other night in the restaurant, and though her expression seemed pleasant enough, he knew she was still evaluating him. Small towns were the same everywhere he'd been.
    "Fine, ma'am, thanks. How are you?"
    "Good. Julie will be out in a minute. She's setting someone up under the hair dryer, but I'll tell her you're here."
    "Thank you."
    Though he didn't turn toward her, Richard knew that Andrea was still watching him. A knockout, that's what most people would say about her, but he wasn't all that impressed. She struck him as a forced beauty, as if she were trying too hard. He liked women who looked wholesome, the way Julie did.
    "Richard?" Julie asked a moment later. She smiled at him, struck again by his good looks.
    Singer stood from the blanket and nearly followed her, but she held up a hand to stop him. He froze and stopped growling.
    "Hey there," Richard answered. "I guess he's getting used to me, huh?"
    Julie glanced toward Singer. "Him? Oh, we had a talk. I think he's fine now."
    "A talk?"
    "He gets