Heart Strings Read Online Free PDF Page B

the acronym,” he said, chuckling.
    “I figured that out.” She stopped laughing and studied him for a minute. “I heard you tell Joey you'd practice ball with him sometimes.”
    “A good excuse to see you more,” he admitted.
    Clasping her hands behind her back, she looked through the plate glass window into the dark interior of Mosley's. “Megan asked me to go with her family on their pontoon tomorrow. Her boyfriend Devon's going, and I'm sure you'd be welcome.
    “Dang. I'd love to, but my folks haven't left yet. They had plans over the weekend, but I have to go home and take them to the airport tomorrow.”
    “I would have thought they'd want to spend the weekend with you. Three months is a long time.”
    No one understood his parents. Not even him. Keely strolled on, and he fell into step with her. “I'm sorry about tomorrow, but ask me along next time you go to the lake, okay?” She gave him a teasing smile. “Okay?” he asked again.
    Keely didn't plan to make any promises and grinned at Tripp through sealed lips to let him know it.
    “Not going to answer me, huh?” Tripp pulled her toward him, then pushed her away. Steering her to the left, then right, hanging on tightly to her hand, he zigzagged her along the walk until she began to laugh. When they almost ran into a mailbox, Tripp got so tickled, he had to stop. He was fun to be with, but her laughter died when she saw they'd stopped in front of J's. A fifties-style ice cream parlor, Mark slipped a ring from a gum ball machine on her finger at J's one night and kissed her. The ring was orange plastic but she still had it at home in her jewelry box.
    Tripp reached for her. His hands were warm on her shoulders. She backed away.
    Disappointment washed over his face, and pretending not to notice, she turned to look in J's darkened window. He had been planning to kiss her, she was sure of it. But she wasn't ready for kisses yet.
    “Tuesday after school, everyone's gathering here to celebrate school letting out. J's serves the best custard ice cream in the world and the biggest sandwiches you ever saw. They have an old-fashioned juke box and allow dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.” Keely turned her head away from Tripp. Why did she always start babbling when she was with him?
    “If I learn how to stop making you mad, would you dance with me sometime?”
    She looked up at him, and his warm coffee eyes probed into hers. His smile was gentle, and she knew instinctively that he was a nice guy. He smelled like fresh air and crisp cologne and was as handsome as any of the guys in the movies. She would love to dance with him, but she'd been his cousin's girl and she'd never told him. If he knew, he might feel differently about her. “You don't make me mad,” she said softly.
    “Then say you'll dance with me. Sometime this summer.”
    His gaze held hers, making her feel lightheaded and giddy. She'd never felt this way before, and without weighing her decision even the teeniest bit, whispered, “Yes.”
     
    *****
     
    A loud ticking woke Tripp. Moaning, he grabbed the clock off the bedside table and stuffed it under his pillow. How had Mark slept with that noisy thing a foot from his ear? It kept Tripp awake when he was trying to drift off and woke him when he wanted to sleep.
    Fully awake, he sat up in bed. The walls of the room were covered with car posters. A black helmet and a black and white checkered-flag sat on top of a double-wide chest. A pair of scuffed sneakers sat under the bedside table. There were two closets in the room. One was empty when Tripp arrived and he knew without looking the other held Mark's clothes.
    Sometimes, his presence haunted Tripp. It didn't seem right to be sleeping in his bed, sharing meals with his mother, living with his heart. Alive—and him dead.
    There was a bathroom across the hall, all Tripp's. Sunlight filtered through lace curtains. Tiny lavender flowers bloomed on the walls. If Mark used this bathroom, there