Read Online Let Me Love You Again (An Echoes of the Heart Novel Book 2) by Anna DeStefano - Free Book Online Page A

Feet boutique that occupied the same Main Street address as it always had. “Go check them out while I catch up with your mom.”
    With a nod from Selena, Camille took off toward the colorful display. The sale wall was in the same place as always, decorated today like a spring garden. Each flower sported a shoe atop its cheery green stem. As a child, Neat Feet displays had been Selena’s favorite part of each visit to the store. That and the fact that buying good shoes, even for growing feet, was one of the few things Belinda never scrimped on when she’d made her quarterly budget. And every time she’d brought Selena to the boutique, Ginger’s father had treated Selena like a princess—no matter that sale wall shoes were the only ones Belinda would let Selena choose from.
    “It’s crazy,” Selena mused while Camille inspected each blossom. “It feels like just yesterday that I wanted one of everything in this place. Your parents had a knack for making you believe that pretty shoes you can’t afford can magically make your life better.”
    Ginger’s attention snapped up from eyeing Selena’s tragically muddied silk flats. Her smile didn’t waver, but some of its soft-sell sparkle dimmed.
    “What are you in the market for?” she asked, tactful if curt. “So we can be sure to get your little one exactly what she needs.”
    “I’m sorry.” Selena cringed at her rudeness for the second time that day.
    It was a sore spot, that she’d let herself dream that everything really would be okay, just because she’d met a successful businessman in New York who could buy her and her daughter all the pretty things that Selena and Belinda had never been able to afford. But comparing the master salesman Ginger’s dad had been to the soulless man Selena married was horribly unfair.
    “I swear,” she said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It was a long day before I even left the house this morning, andthings went downhill from there. Belinda’s supposed to meet us here, but she’s late. And I’m afraid I’m too distracted to be good company. I’ve always loved being here—your parents made coming to Neat Feet feel better than going to a candy store. I couldn’t believe it was still around when Belinda first mentioned it. It looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. How are your mom and dad doing?”
    Ginger ducked her chin. A lock of hair fell to half cover her face the way Selena remembered happening a lot when they’d first met in third grade. Mrs. Shultz would always ask Ginger questions in front of the class, and Ginger would get so shy and tongue-tied she’d look down at her desk, hiding behind her hair, until their teacher moved on to someone else.
    Suddenly—too late—Selena remembered a snippet of gossip her mother had shared about Lizzy Reid, who was a member of Belinda’s garden club. Lizzy had missed most of this year’s meetings because her husband had advancing ALS.
    “Dad’s not doing too well,” Ginger confirmed. “He’s in a rehab place just outside of town. It’s the only way insurance will cover his care. Mom goes to be with him every day. It’s weighing on her, not keeping him at home. I’m mostly holding down the fort by myself now.”
    She’d answered in a casual way, seeming to expect Selena not to really care, or to be looking for a reason to change the subject. Instead, Selena gave Ginger a hug. They’d been friends once, both of them with pigtails like Camille’s, long before the world had gotten so complicated they’d forgotten the simpler things that had once made them giggle and smile and twirl around each other’s backyards.
    “I’m sorry about George.” Selena stepped back. “Your dad’s the best. He always made us laugh. And he loved this store. I’m surehe’d be proud to bursting if he could see what you’re doing with it.” She took a moment to watch Camille pick up a pair of black-and-white oxford shoes, her smile ear-to-ear. “You’re