Read Online What the Heart Knows by Margaret Daley - Free Book Online Page B

ready, others spreading their towels out to sunbathe.
    â€œI bet you are, but the cookies are for the church bake sale so we’ll need some left to sell. By the way what’s for lunch?”
    â€œHam or turkey sandwiches, chips, apples and guess what?”
    â€œCookies.”
    â€œYou got it. The easiest dessert to transport.”
    Kathleen’s gaze found her son among the kids. Alone, he sat on a boulder by the lake and pitched rocks into the water. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt and black jeans. She felt hot just looking at the boy with the sun beating down on him.
    â€œAfter lunch I’m going to organize a soccer game.”
    Jared’s announcement focused her attention on him. “Oh, no. Not another sport. I hope you aren’t going to expect me to play. My shoulder is stiffening up as we speak.”
    â€œI learned my lesson last time. You can be a spectator.”
    Kathleen released a long, exaggerated sigh. “Good. The hospital is awfully far away. Speaking of lunch—”
    â€œWe were?”
    â€œBack a few sentences. When are we gonna eat? I worked up an appetite with all that hiking.”
    Jared checked his watch. “It’s not even ten-thirty yet.”
    â€œTime has never played a factor in my eating habits.”
    â€œCan you wait a while longer? Give the kids time to fish, sunbathe, do some exploring.”
    Kathleen dug into her backpack. “Luckily I brought an energy bar.” With a flourish she produced it. “Want some? I can half it.”
    â€œI ate breakfast before I left home.”
    â€œSo did I. Of course, I only ate part of what I prepared. By the time I got Mark up and getting ready, the eggs had grown cold. I tossed those out. But I was able to finish the toast and orange juice.”
    â€œMark gave you trouble about coming?”
    â€œActually not too much. I thought he would bring his sketching pad, but I guess he didn’t.”
    Kathleen searched the shoreline for her son. He still sat on the boulder, his arms clasping his raised legs, his head on his knees. He stared at the water as though he were in a trance. Shane called out to him to join him, but Mark ignored his cousin.
    â€œMaybe I can get him interested in the soccer game.”
    â€œMaybe. He used to play a lot until a few years ago. He was very good at defense.”
    Suddenly, Mark surged to his feet and clambered down from the boulder. With a quick scan of the area, her son headed for a grove of trees a few hundred feet from them. He was avoiding the other teenagers and going off by himself. She’d thought when her son had agreed to come that he would participate in the activities with the others. Kathleen started forward, worry weaving through her.
    Jared stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Let me talk to him. We haven’t had much time to get to know each other. I’ll give him a few minutes thenhead that way. By the time we return, we can start laying out lunch.”
    Biting her thumbnail, she watched Mark disappear into the shade of the trees. Part of her was relieved someone else was here to help her. But then her guilt erased the relief. She should be able to handle the situation with Mark. Until a year ago their relationship had been a good, solid one. Suddenly she felt so alone.
    â€œLet me help, Kathleen. I owe you one. Besides, isn’t that what friends are for? To help each other? I think I remember you saying something like that.”
    Jared’s words reminded her she wasn’t alone, that this man beside her might be the answer to her son’s troubles, and no matter how much she wanted to deal with her son’s problems all by herself, she knew when to ask for help. “Please. Maybe you can get through to him.”
    Jared took her hands and held them for a few seconds while his gaze delved deep into hers. A connection arced between them as though they were tied together by some invisible rope. Then,