Time to Heal (Harlequin Heartwarming) Read Online Free PDF Page B

the low, sprawling white stucco walls. Everything seemed so white around here. So bright.
    “It’s already the end of May—you missed most of this term.” Jake stopped for a red light and looked at Michael. “Let’s see, fourteen…. Are you in eighth or ninth grade?”
    “I’m in the ninth. I started school early because my birthday’s in October.”
    “Then you’re almost fifteen.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Jake nodded toward the white building. “Racheldoes some substituting at the high school, now and then.”
    Rachel. Michael repeated the name a couple of times in his head. He liked the sound. It was…soft, sort of. He hoped she would be a nice person, like her name. She was pretty, too. Especially her hair. It was exactly the color of corn silk. He ought to know because he’d seen a lot of corn in Iowa. As they turned into a residential area, he scanned the clipped green lawns, his eyes troubled as he thought of Rachel. He could just imagine how she was going to feel when Jake introduced him. His stomach churned at the thought, and he held his knapsack tight against his middle. Sometimes that helped when his stomach got this way.
    Jake slowed and turned into a street divided by palm trees in the middle. Two boys wheeled by on ten-speeds and waved. His dad waved back. They were probably getting close. He forced himself to think of his brother. He was filled with a sort of wonderment mixed with sadness. All these years he’d had a little brother and he hadn’t even known it. He refused to think he would never get to know Scotty. Miracles did happen sometimes. Just look at him today. Where he was. Who he was with.
    He stared absently at the houses as they passed, preoccupied with his thoughts. He used to imagine being part of a real family, having brothers and sisters, living in a neighborhood like this. He’dnever dreamed it might really happen. His eyes started to get wet and blurry. He looked down, fixing his gaze on his hands. His knuckles were white as they gripped the strap of his knapsack. He’d better go easy dreaming that kind of stuff, because it still might not happen.
    “Here we are.” Jake braked suddenly and turned into a long driveway. The whole side of the yard was covered with bushes loaded with bright pink flowers. At the edge of the house there was a wood fence, which separated the front from the back.
    “Do you have a dog?” Michael asked, thinking a fenced yard would be a good place for a dog. He could hear one barking.
    Jake got out of the car. “No, but our next-door neighbors have a Labrador retriever. That’s him making all that racket now.” Straightening, he waited until Michael had gotten out of the car. “Don’t worry, he’s friendly. He just senses a stranger in his territory. He’ll soon get to know you.”
    Michael slammed the car door and hefted his knapsack onto one shoulder, then came around the front of the car where his dad waited. He wasn’t worried about making friends with the dog next door. He liked animals and they liked him. What worried him was making friends with the lady who was married to Jake.
    “Michael—”
    He looked into his dad’s face.
    “Look, son…” Jake put a hand on Michael’s shoulder. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to my wife yet. I think it would be a good idea to give me a few minutes with her before I introduce you. Do you understand?”
    Michael nodded. “Sure. Do you want me to walk around the block or something?”
    Jake smiled. “No. No, I don’t think that’s necessary.” He pointed somewhere beyond Michael’s shoulder. “There’s a gate in the fence. Go through it along the side of the house, then follow the brick walk and you’ll come to the patio and pool in the backyard. There are chairs and a table. Just make yourself at home while I…” He stopped, rubbing the back of his neck. “This will be hard for Rachel, Michael. It may take a while before she—”
    “I understand, sir.”
    For the space of a few