The You I Never Knew Read Online Free PDF Page A

matched. Physiologically, she was a near perfect donor for Gavin. Because her father’s health was otherwise excellent, he made the ideal recipient.
    He sent her a look she couldn’t read. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
    At least he acknowledged it. At least he acknowledged that he’d broken seventeen years of silence only because he needed one of her kidneys.
    Michelle stared at the arena ring where the barrels were being removed. She was determined to keep her face neutral. I will not be angry at him, she told herself, as she had told herself ever since learning of his condition. Anger had no place in this matter.
    “So you remember how to get up to Blue Rock?” he asked.
    “I could do that in my sleep, Dad. I might even let Cody drive. He got his license last summer, and he’s been bugging me all day.”
    Gavin nodded to a passing couple, but they didn’t stop to chat. The barrel racing had ended, and it was time for team roping. People took rodeo seriously in Crystal City, and there wasn’t a lot of socializing going on. That would come after, when winners and losers alike headed out to the Grizzly Bar, a local honky-tonk, for drinking and dancing.
    “So your boyfriend decided not to come?” Gavin asked.
    “He’s snowed under at work.” She tucked her chin into the collar of her jacket. “His name’s Brad, and he’s more than a boyfriend. We’ve been together three years.”
    “Getting married?”
    Her cheeks filled with color yet again.
Marriage
. That would force her and Brad to define their relationship. “We’re in no hurry.”
    “Well, I’d like to meet him. So he’s a pharmacist?”
    “He’s part owner in a big pharmacy franchise. He’s helped me a lot—understanding your illness and what’s going on with this transplant. At one time he was thinking of becoming a doctor—a surgeon—but pharmacy suits him better.”
    At least, that was what he always said. Michelle realized, with a start, that she really didn’t understand what lay in Brad’s heart. Odd. She usually thought of the two of them as knowing each other so well.
    An announcement crackled over the PA system, and Gavin perked up. “Michelle, I have to go over to the chutes. I’ve got some new saddle broncs I’m testing. You want to come?”
    “No, thanks. I was just going to see what Cody’s up to.”
    “You do that.” Gavin started to walk away, then turned back. “Michelle?”
    “Yeah?”
    “It feels good to have you home.”
    “Ditto, Dad.” She forced the words out. Everything felt strange, dreamlike, with the shadows of a nightmare hovering at the edges. It was just nerves, Michelle told herself. If all went well, she’d be back in Seattle in a few weeks. “See you up at the house later.”
    * * *
    Michelle had no trouble spotting Cody in the bleachers at the far end of the arena. Having never been to a rodeo before, he probably didn’t realize it wasn’t the best place to view the action.
    She opened her mouth to call out, then stopped herself. She saw exactly why Cody had parked himself there. The barrel racer—the one in black and turquoise—sat a few rows over, sipping a Dr Pepper and talking to the girl with the teased hair and fringed shirt. They appeared completely unaware of Cody, but then, he appeared completely unaware of them. And Michelle knew damned well he was burning up with awareness.
    Good, she thought. Maybe he’d finally get over his obsession with Claudia Teller, his girlfriend since the start of the school year. Claudia was a beautiful pale predator who never met Michelle’s eyes and who answered her admittedly chirpy questions with monosyllables. Claudia had introduced Cody to cigarettes and Zima, and probably to things Michelle hadn’t found out about yet. There was no creature quite so intoxicating as a provocative teenage girl. And no creature quite so malleable as a teenage boy on hormone overload. A girl like Claudia could make Eagle Scouts steal from their