1. That's What Friends Are For Read Online Free PDF Page B

sets of parents as they had urged him not to rush into a permanent relationship too early in their lives. They had insisted that each of them needed some space, a chance to mature separately, in order to recognize their own feelings.
    So he had taken their advice. Because of it, he had lost Penny. He had wanted to be fair, and to do what was best for both of them. Instead, he had lost the only woman who had ever meant a damn to him.
    But even in his worst nightmare it never occurred to him that Penny would turn into this subdued, quiet woman who was willing to accept so little in her life.
    Now that Brad had brought up his move to New York, the past began to tumble into Penny's consciousness like a child's building blocks. They fell in colorful disarray around her. Mr. Akin at the post office had been right. She and Brad had been inseparable as far back as she could remember. Had anyone asked her back then. Penny would probably have explained that she and Brad would marry someday.
    Strange how things had worked out.
    She and Brad had never talked about their feelings for each other. There had been no reason to. They were so much a part of each other's life—until Brad announced his intention to go to New York.
    Penny could still remember the day he told her. They had been home from college a week and had taken his family's boat out on the lake. The day had been warm and they had found a quiet spot to anchor and laze in the sun.
    Penny had been almost asleep when Brad spoke.
    "Have you decided what you want to do now that we're out of school, Runt?"
    ''I'm doing it," she replied in a sleepy voice.
    ''I mean, to earn a living?"
    "I filled out an application to teach. I suppose I'll wait to hear from the school board. Why do you ask?"
    He was silent so long that Penny eventually opened her eyes. He had turned so that he was facing her, and she found herself staring into his eyes. "I've decided to go to New York."
    She smiled because they had talked about New York for the past year. "To become rich and famous?" she asked with a grin.
    "I won't know until I try," he answered in a quiet tone.
    Penny's smile slowly disappeared. "You're serious, aren't you?" she asked, and even now she could recall the sudden jolt to her system as the fear of losing him swept over her.
    "Yes."
    Penny never knew how she managed to get through that day. She'd fought hard to hide her reaction. Somehow it had been important for her not to let him know how devastated she felt. If he could so calmly plan his life apart from her, then she must not mean as much to him as he meant to her.
    She determinedly hung on to her pride.
    Penny had kept up the act of well-wishing friend until Brad left home. Only then did the true enormity of what had happened sweep over her.
    Brad Crawford had blithely and without a care walked out of Penny's life. He didn't need her to make his life complete. Penny had never known such rejection, nor did she know how to deal with it.
    As the months went by Penny mentally packed away all of their shared memories methodically and with grim determination. Obtaining the teaching position had been her salvation. She threw herself into the new experiences of teaching and interacting with students and co-workers. Penny learned to hide her thoughts and feelings from others, relieved to discover after a while that her highly charged emotions seemed to disappear.
    When Gregory came into her life she was content. He filled a place in her daily routine. He offered companionship and conversation, all she really wanted anymore in a relationship.
    Penny had overcome the pain and desolation she had felt when Brad had left. She'd forgotten, until now, what a hole he'd left in her life. Penny knew she could never allow anyone to become so important to her again.
    ❧
    As they continued following the country road. Penny slowly became aware of their surroundings. They had been steadily winding through the rolling hills for miles, she realized with