Read Online For Better, for Worse, Forever by Lurlene McDaniel - Free Book Online

he added, “I mean, that is, if you want to spend the time with me.”
    A slow smile lit her face. “Of course I do. It’ll be a super summer. But it’s okay if you change your mind at any time and want to include others in your life.”
    He nodded but knew that she was the only person in the world he wanted to be with. There was no one else. And perhaps there never would be anyone as special as April in his life again.
    The room was spinning. April lay on her bed clutching the sheets, feeling as if she were caught in a whirlwind.
Stop! Stop!
Her vertigo had come on gradually over the past few weeks, sometimes making her feel as if she were aboard the pitching hull of a sailboat, sometimes as if she were being sucked into awhirlpool. She knew better than to try and stand; she’d fall over and the thud would bring her mother running, and the questions would start: “How long have you been having dizzy spells?” “Do you have headaches too?” “Why didn’t you tell us?” “We’re calling your doctor.” “We’re going back to New York immediately!”
    April knew what would happen if they found out she was experiencing problems, and she didn’t want to leave. She loved it here. She was happy. She didn’t want to break her promises to Brandon. The loss of his mother had been devastating. How could she add to his unhappiness? The two of them were supposed to go sailing today. Brandon had told her, “I’ll pack a picnic lunch and take you to a special little island where we can snorkel. You’ll love it.”
    Her forehead broke into a sweat, and she felt nauseated. She swallowed a couple of pills, took deep breaths, and prayed for the vertigo to pass. She didn’t want to think about what might be causing it. Perhaps it was only the start of an inner-ear infection. Or maybe she was anemic again. Iron deficiencywas common in girls her age. She’d been treated for it while she was still in high school. It couldn’t be something horrible … like the tumor … it couldn’t be. She wanted more time.
    Slowly the room stopped spinning, and she sat up shakily. As soon as she ate breakfast, she’d feel better. She wobbled to her private bathroom, where she showered and changed into a bathing suit. By the time she got to the breakfast table, she felt better. Her father was off playing golf, and her mother was reading the morning mail.
    “A letter from Caroline,” her mother said as April poured herself a glass of orange juice. “She says the things I shipped last month have really sold well in the store. She wants me to send more.”
    “Can you?”
    “Brandon’s father told me about an auction next week at one of the old sugar plantations on the west end of the island. I think I’ll go. Why don’t you come with me?”
    April had often attended auctions with her mother and found them exciting, with people bidding against one another for estate furniture—theonce-prized belongings of generations past. And driving from one end of the island to the other took little time. But April didn’t want to commit to such a long day. What if she started feeling sick? “I’ve promised Brandon we’d do some things together.”
    “It’s only one day. And you spend most of your free time with him as it is.”
    “Mom—please don’t pressure me.”
    “I’m not pressuring you.” Her mother set down Caroline’s letter. “Honey, I’m glad you’ve got a friend like Brandon; he’s a nice young man. I just think it would be nice for us to do something special together.”
    “I’ll think about it,” April hedged.
    “Pity about his mother.” April had told her parents about Mrs. Benedict’s suicide.
    “He doesn’t talk about it much. I think he feels as if there was something he should have done to stop her.”
    “I knew a woman once whose mother committed suicide, and she really had a hard time getting over it. If a person ever really does get over such a thing. That’s one of the things that’s so