This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online Page A

picture of him with braces. She was just planning how she’d decorate his room, which was something she enjoyed imagining, when she put her head down on her wobbly excuse for a desk. She was only going to rest for a few minutes...
    * * *
    “What do you mean you gave Phoenix a ride?” Although Jacob had helped Riley do the prep work for the shower they were putting in the Victorian that was their current project, Riley had dropped him off at the high school so he could do some weight training with the rest of the baseball team. He’d purposely waited until he was alone to follow up on the text he’d received from Kyle at noon.
    “She was walking along the side of the road when I was heading out to see Callie, who has some interesting news to share, by the way.”
    Riley opened his mouth to ask for more information about Phoenix but was distracted by the mention of Callie.
    “What kind of news?”
    “I want to tell you, but...on second thought, I’d better wait and let her.”
    “Is something wrong? She’s okay, isn’t she? I mean...nothing’s wrong with the transplant?”
    Due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, their good friend had a liver transplant a couple of years ago, just before she married her husband, Levi. She seemed to be doing well since, but she had to take immunosuppressant drugs every day, and they had some unfavorable side effects. Riley had always been a little uneasy about her, terrified that there might be a problem with her new liver. If the transplant hadn’t become available when it did, they would’ve lost her.
    “She’s fine. It’s not necessarily a
bad
thing.”
    So what, then? Riley reflected on what they’d been talking about yesterday, when the entire group met at Black Gold Coffee, like they did every Friday. “She’s been planning to expand her photography studio. Is that what’s going on? Did she find the right location? Are you looking over the lease for her?”
    “No. I’m sorry I brought it up. I spoke without thinking, because it’s been on my mind so much. But it’s her news. I should let her share it.”
    “Why would she tell you and not me?” Riley asked. “If the space she’s considering needs improvements, she’d come to me.”
    “You’ll understand later,” Kyle replied with a laugh.
    That laugh reassured him. Kyle wouldn’t be jovial if Callie’s life was on the line again. “As long as her new liver is functioning properly...”
    “It is. I swear.”
    Riley took a deep breath. “Then back to Phoenix. She was probably walking home from Just Like Mom’s, where we had breakfast this morning. I told her it was too far in those sandals.”
    “By the time I saw her, she’d gotten about halfway and had such bad blisters she could hardly walk.”
    The mental picture made Riley wince, since he could’ve spared her that. “Did she recognize you?”
    “Immediately. That’s what made it so difficult to get her into the truck.”
    “Why? You don’t have any history with her.”
    “But you do, and I’m part of your circle.”
    Riley had gone from being the object of her desire to being anathema to her. At breakfast, she was careful not to show her dislike, but she’d barely looked at him. “How’d you convince her?”
    “I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I couldn’t bear to let her continue walking on those bloody feet.”
    Riley supposed
he
should’ve insisted on giving her a ride. She wasn’t his responsibility, and yet she sort of was. “Did she tell you we met up this morning?”
    “No. She didn’t say much of anything.”
    Then what was the purpose of this call? “That’s all you wanted to tell me? That you gave her a ride?”
    Kyle cleared his throat. “Actually, no. I wanted to see if you’d mind if...”
    “What?”
    “If I bought her a few things.”
    Riley pulled to the side of the road and sat there with his engine idling. He had his Bluetooth on, so he could legally talk while he was behind the wheel but at the moment,