Foster Siblings 3: Brokedown Hearts Read Online Free PDF Page B

behind the counter both kept giving him furtive glances, clearly having heard everything Carrie had said. Awful cold flooded through every inch of David’s body, and he couldn’t feel his feet in his sneakers. Less than a half hour ago, on his walk from the bus stop to the restaurant, he’d cringed at the thought of meeting Carrie while all gross and sweaty. Although it was only April, the temperature was already into the upper eighties, and the humidity level gave the heat a run for its money. Now, if David were to wrap his hand around his glass, he would be able to turn the liquid inside into an icy treat.
    The waitress behind the counter giggled right then, and David wanted to slink under the table and die. The manager told her to shush, but she visibly tried to hold in laughter too. David wanted to disappear into a puff of smoke forever, worse than the time his father had mocked him in front of his brothers for not being able to shoot an eight-point buck on his first hunting trip as a boy.
    The server texted someone, looked at David, and busted into laughter. In a shot David found his footing. He raced out of the restaurant and kept a fast pace down the street. A deep, tangible heat burned through him, chasing away the freeze, but the warming sensation did not make David feel better. He didn’t know if he was madder at himself for letting Carrie get under his skin or for running away like a coward in the face of two people whispering about him.
    Maybe I should leave Coleman, like Carrie said. This is not the place for me . With that thought, guilt ate a hole through David’s middle, making him feel worse than running just now had. Brittany had taken such pains to bring him home to Coleman; she’d gotten him a job at an animal sanctuary, and he enjoyed the work quite a lot. Mostly he cleaned out kennels and pens and runs, but he didn’t mind the smell or the work. When his boss tasked him with exercising the dogs in a big, open pasture, the running made him feel freer than he had in ages, and that included before his time behind bars.
    On the other side of the coin, David’s entire family had disowned him and probably wished him dead. Travis was still faking kindness around Brittany, but that likely had a shelf life too. Maybe getting out of town was the best David could do to make up for the hell he’d put everyone through five years ago.
    If you leave, though, you’ll be a quitter. Is that any different from being a coward?
    Torn, when David got to the bus stop, he took a seat. Slumping forward, he put his face in his hands and blinked and blinked and blinked back the threat of tears.
    During his last months in prison, David had told himself time and again that release wouldn’t be easy. He’d understood how difficult it was for most convicted felons to integrate back into society. Intellectually, he’d told himself to prepare for whatever negativity came his way. The reality, though—the rejection and the laughing and the isolation—slammed through his mind and body in a manner no amount of pep talk could make better.
    Here David was, barely a week out of prison, and he was letting this much stuff—small-time crap, really—get to him so quickly and easily. How in the hell was he supposed to convince himself he had the strength to withstand a month, six months, or a year? I won’t . Dejected, David slumped even more.
    The blistering sun burned high in the sky, but David rubbed his arms and shivered. Even though sweat dripped down his neck into his shirt, goose bumps dotted his arms, and he got that same thud of dread in his belly he’d had in prison when he’d sensed things were about to go bad. He sat on the bus-stop bench by himself but covertly glanced left and right and over his shoulder, certain someone was watching him. But nobody was in sight. You’re being paranoid . David ran his hand down the back of his neck anyway, not liking the way the hairs stood on end. You spent your last months in