Read Online Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Karen Kingsbury
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himself that the mistakes he’d made nearly a decade ago couldn’t possibly have an impact on his life today. He didn’t remember who he was back then. Also, it wasn’t like he’d told Laura he’d been pure all his life. She must suspect that maybe his past wasn’t as pristine as hers, right? Either way, his senior year of high school was forever ago. Another lifetime. Like what happened that year happened to someone altogether different. The person he no longer knew or understood. The guy he used to be.
Brad finished the drive home, parked in his garage, and took the elevator to the sixteenth floor. His flat wasn’t large or brand new, but the views were stunning. The place belonged to the ad agency, and Laura’s father let him lease it at a discount. He and Laura would begin their lives here.
He changed out of his dress clothes into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. The treadmill was calling his name. But rather than clear his mind, four miles later he was still wrestling with his past, wrestling with everything he had tried so hard to forget. So that when he finally stepped off he no longer felt like he was in a suite overlooking New York City, but rather walking a North Carolina shoreline he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried.
The shoreline of Holden Beach.
Five
M ONDAY WAS HIGH SCHOOL VOLUNTEER DAY at Jefferson Elementary, and Emma looked forward to it every week. Not so much because she had help with the kids. Her students were never a problem. If anything, she liked when she had them to herself because the class was more focused. Emma looked forward to Mondays for one reason alone.
Kristin Palazzo.
Kristin, a junior at the nearby high school, drove to Jefferson every Monday despite the fact that she was very sick. Much like little Frankie in Emma’s class, Kristin lived with a disease, but hers was worse because it affected her heart. Her mother had told Emma early in the school year that Kristin’s doctors doubted she’d live to see the end of her senior year.
God hadn’t given Kristin any more fair a life than He had Frankie. When Kristin was ten years old, she came down with a simple pneumonia. But instead of getting better, her condition grew worse and Kristin had to be airlifted to the intensive care unit of the children’s hospital in Raleigh. Over the next few days she nearly died, and when she finally pulled through, it was with a debilitating case of myocarditis. Her damaged heart meant one thing for certain: Kristin needed a transplant, and she needed it soon.
At exactly 1:30, Kristin appeared at the door of her classroom, her big Nikon camera looped over her neck. She grinned at the kids and then at Emma. “One more day of pictures, and I should be ready!”
The kids giggled, and a few of them covered their mouths. This had been their ongoing delight with their teenage friend, Kristin. Together they were working on a year-long project that would finally be completed in the next week. It was their secret, and Emma didn’t dare ask questions or try to find out more about it than was already obvious. Because clearly the project involved photos.
Kristin seemed a little slower than usual as she set her camera down and flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. A flock of kids surrounded her. “How’s everyone?”
“Can you read about Junie B. Jones and the pet day!” Frankie cried out. “Please, Kristin. Please!”
The other kids joined in, begging Kristin for a story. She touched their heads and put a finger to her lips. Emma watched, amazed. She would make a wonderful teacher someday … if she were given the chance to live long enough. One more time Emma wondered how she could raise awareness about heart transplants. Kristin needed one yesterday.
“Okay, okay,” the teenager laughed, and the sound rang through the classroom. She led the kids to the far corner, the one made up of bean bags and soft carpet squares. Over the next half hour she read them the story
Brad finished the drive home, parked in his garage, and took the elevator to the sixteenth floor. His flat wasn’t large or brand new, but the views were stunning. The place belonged to the ad agency, and Laura’s father let him lease it at a discount. He and Laura would begin their lives here.
He changed out of his dress clothes into a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. The treadmill was calling his name. But rather than clear his mind, four miles later he was still wrestling with his past, wrestling with everything he had tried so hard to forget. So that when he finally stepped off he no longer felt like he was in a suite overlooking New York City, but rather walking a North Carolina shoreline he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried.
The shoreline of Holden Beach.
Five
M ONDAY WAS HIGH SCHOOL VOLUNTEER DAY at Jefferson Elementary, and Emma looked forward to it every week. Not so much because she had help with the kids. Her students were never a problem. If anything, she liked when she had them to herself because the class was more focused. Emma looked forward to Mondays for one reason alone.
Kristin Palazzo.
Kristin, a junior at the nearby high school, drove to Jefferson every Monday despite the fact that she was very sick. Much like little Frankie in Emma’s class, Kristin lived with a disease, but hers was worse because it affected her heart. Her mother had told Emma early in the school year that Kristin’s doctors doubted she’d live to see the end of her senior year.
God hadn’t given Kristin any more fair a life than He had Frankie. When Kristin was ten years old, she came down with a simple pneumonia. But instead of getting better, her condition grew worse and Kristin had to be airlifted to the intensive care unit of the children’s hospital in Raleigh. Over the next few days she nearly died, and when she finally pulled through, it was with a debilitating case of myocarditis. Her damaged heart meant one thing for certain: Kristin needed a transplant, and she needed it soon.
At exactly 1:30, Kristin appeared at the door of her classroom, her big Nikon camera looped over her neck. She grinned at the kids and then at Emma. “One more day of pictures, and I should be ready!”
The kids giggled, and a few of them covered their mouths. This had been their ongoing delight with their teenage friend, Kristin. Together they were working on a year-long project that would finally be completed in the next week. It was their secret, and Emma didn’t dare ask questions or try to find out more about it than was already obvious. Because clearly the project involved photos.
Kristin seemed a little slower than usual as she set her camera down and flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder. A flock of kids surrounded her. “How’s everyone?”
“Can you read about Junie B. Jones and the pet day!” Frankie cried out. “Please, Kristin. Please!”
The other kids joined in, begging Kristin for a story. She touched their heads and put a finger to her lips. Emma watched, amazed. She would make a wonderful teacher someday … if she were given the chance to live long enough. One more time Emma wondered how she could raise awareness about heart transplants. Kristin needed one yesterday.
“Okay, okay,” the teenager laughed, and the sound rang through the classroom. She led the kids to the far corner, the one made up of bean bags and soft carpet squares. Over the next half hour she read them the story
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