Read Online Mending Hearts by Brenda Kennedy - Free Book Online Page B

already
running down to the gazebo to meet our friends. When she stops
running, I know that she sees her surprise. She turns around and
looks at me and all I can do is smile. 
    “ Is this your surprise?” she
asks, walking up to me.
    “ It is.” I bend down to kiss
her. 
    “ We’re going sailing today?”
she asks as she looks at the large blue and white sail on the
boat. 
    “ We are going sailing for
the weekend,” I correct. 
    Brooke and Brice walk up to us and Brooke
says, “Your boyfriend invited us to go sailing with you for the
entire weekend. Unfortunately, we can’t go for the weekend, but we
can go for the day.” 
    “ Thank you,” Emma says,
before she kisses me. “Alec, this is the best birthday, ever.” She
stands on her tiptoes and kisses me.
    “ Emma, it hasn’t even
started yet.” 
    First we go into the large and very empty
house. Brice and Brooke haven’t seen it yet. We walk through
together and it is just as amazing this time as it was the first
time. Emma explains which room will be Raelynn’s and which room
will be James’. Once we are done with the grand tour of the house,
we load up the boat and set sail.
    Emma, Brice, and Brooke look around at the
boat. “This is a big sailboat,” Emma says. 
    “ It’s a Catamaran. I like to
sail, but I also like hanging out on the water. I wanted something
that would allow me to do both,” I say as I hold her close. “Go
downstairs and look around. One bedroom, a bathroom, and a small
kitchenette are on the lower deck.” 
    While Emma, Brice and Brooke look around the
boat, I sail around the very large lake. We see gators and Emma
becomes scared. Now she is afraid they’ll come up in the yard of
the new house. We lower the anchor and have lunch on the boat. We
talk about us moving next weekend and when Emma brings up selling
or leasing her house, Brooke and Brice mention that they may be
interested in buying the house from her.
    We have a packed lunch of sandwiches and
fresh fruit. After lunch, Brooke lights a birthday cupcake and we
sing “Happy Birthday” to Emma. Emma smiles so much that she can
barely blow out the single candle on the cupcake.
    “ Did I ever tell you about
the time Brice whined and whined about wanting a sailboat?” Brooke
asks, seriously.
    “ I did not whine about
wanting a sailboat,” Brice says sternly.
    “ Ok, did I ever tell you
about the time Brice cried like a little girl about wanting a
sailboat?” Brooke corrects herself and laughs.
    We all laugh and she adds,
“He had just joined the service and we were stationed in Fort
Jackson, South Carolina. He whined — I mean cried and cried — about
how much he wanted a sailboat.” She looks at him and smiles, and he
shakes his head. “Being the good wife that I was and still am, I
went out and bought him the best sailboat I could afford.” 
    “ I didn’t know you sailed,”
Emma says, looking at Brice in amazement. 
    “ I don’t, but my dear sweet
wife did buy me a sailboat … in a bottle.” 
    We all burst out laughing and Emma has to
wipe the tears from her eyes from laughing so hard.
    “ Have you ever heard about
the artist and practical joker Hugh Troy? He was commissioned to
paint a mural in a bank, so he painted a scene with boats, one of
which was displaying signal flags. Deciphered, the signal flags
stated, ‘Keep your money under your mattress.’” 
    We sail some more before we
take Brooke and Brice back to their car.
Once they pull out of the driveway, Emma turns to me and says, “You
are amazing.” 
    “ I don’t know about that,
but thank you.” I bend down to kiss her. “Do you want to stay on
the boat, stay in this house, or go back home?” 
    “ You planned a weekend on
the boat, didn’t you?” 
    “ I did, but we can always
change the plan if you’d like.” 
    “ No, I like the idea of
spending the weekend, alone with you, on the
boat.” 
    “ Mmm, and I like the way
that sounds.” We walk hand in hand to