Read Online True Believer by Nicholas Sparks - Free Book Online

that belief was coming from him, not from Doris.
Science held the real answers, but even so, she seemed like a nice person. And if she believed in her abilities, so what? To her, it probably did seem supernatural.
Again, she seemed to read him almost immediately.
“Well, I suppose I just confirmed that I’m nuts, huh?”
“No, not really,” Jeremy said.
She reached for her sandwich. “Well, anyway, since we’re supposed to be enjoying this fine meal, maybe it’s better if we just visited for a while. Is there anything I can tell you?”
“Tell me about the town of Boone Creek,” he said.
“Like what?”
“Oh, anything, really. I figure that since I’m going to be here for a few days, I might as well know a little about the place.”
They spent the next half hour discussing . . . well, not much of anything as far as Jeremy was concerned. Even more than Tully, Doris seemed to know everything that was going on in town. Not because of her supposed abilities—and she admitted as much— but because information passed through small towns like prune juice through an infant.
Doris talked almost nonstop. He learned who was seeing whom, who was hard to work with and why, and the fact that the minister at the local Pentecostal Church was having an affair with one of his parishioners. Most important, according to Doris, at least, was that if his car happened to break down, he should never call Trevor’s Towing, since Trevor would probably be drunk, no matter what time of day.
“The man is a menace on the roads,” Doris declared. “Everyone knows it, but because his father is the sheriff, no one ever does anything about it. But then, I suppose you shouldn’t be surprised. Sheriff Wanner has his own problems, what with his gambling debts.”
“Ah,” Jeremy said in response, as if he were up on all the goings-on in town. “Makes sense.”
For a moment, neither of them said anything. In the lull, he glanced at his watch.
“I suppose you need to be going,” Doris said.
He reached for the recorder and shut it off before sliding it back into his jacket. “Probably. I wanted to swing by the library before it closes to see what it has to offer.”
“Well, lunch was on me. It’s not often that we have a famous visitor come by.”
“A brief appearance on Primetime doesn’t make a person famous.”
“I know that. But I was talking about your column.”
“You’ve read it?”
“Every month. My husband, bless his heart, used to tinker in the garage and he loved the magazine. And after he passed, I just didn’t have the heart to cancel the subscription. I sort of picked up where he left off. You’re a pretty smart fellow.”
“Thanks,” he said.
She stood from the table and began leading him from the restaurant. The remaining patrons, only a few now, looked up to watch them. It went without saying that they’d heard every word, and as soon as Jeremy and Doris had stepped outside, they began to murmur among themselves. This, everyone immediately decided, was exciting stuff.
“Did she say he’d been on television?” one asked.
“I think I’ve seen him on one of those talk shows.”
“He’s definitely not a doctor,” added another. “I heard him talking about a magazine article.”
“Wonder how Doris knows him. Did you happen to catch that?”
“Well, he seemed nice enough.”
“I just think he’s plain old dreamy,” offered Rachel.
Meanwhile, Jeremy and Doris paused on the porch, unaware of the stir they’d caused inside.
“I assume you’re staying at Greenleaf?” Doris inquired. When Jeremy nodded, she went on. “Do you know where they are? They’re kind of out in the backcountry.”
“I have a map,” Jeremy said, trying to sound as if he’d been prepared all along. “I’m sure I can find it. But how about directions to the library?”
“Sure,” Doris said, “that’s just around the corner.” She motioned up the road. “Do you see the brick building there? The one with the blue