A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel Read Online Free

knees weakened and her body trembled. Wanting to
flee, she found herself riveted in place. His tongue found hers.
Heat coursed through her as the room began to swim. A gray cloud
enveloped her until there was nothing.
     
    ***
    “Hi, welcome back. Feeling any better?” Trent
asked.
    Cassie looked up at the man kneeling beside her.
“What happened?”
    “You fainted. I was about to call 9-1-1. You’ve been
out for a few minutes.” She started to sit up, but he gently pushed
her back down. “You’re not going anywhere. Take a couple of deep
breaths.”
    “I’m fine.”
    He ran a finger across her cheek as he stared into
her crystal blue pools. “You remind me of a china doll, perfectly
beautiful.”
    “Please, let me get up.”
    “Slowly.” He offered her his hand.
    Making her sit at the kitchen table, he brought her
the glass of iced tea and then pulled out a chair across from her.
As he sat, a grin split his face and erupted into a chuckle. “I’ve
kissed many a woman in my life, but I’ve never had that effect on
one.”
    “I’m sorry, I have no idea what came over me.”
    “There you go apologizing again for something that
requires none.”
    “I’ve never been that lost in a kiss, and I’ve never
fainted before in my life. No, that’s not right, I fainted one time
after I gave blood when I was still in college.”
    “Gave blood on an empty stomach?”
    “Probably.”
    “Bet you’ve got a empty stomach now.”
    She shook her head, as if trying to clear it. “Maybe.
I ate a banana at some point today.”
    “That’s it?”
    “Ah, I think so. I skipped breakfast and drank a pot
of coffee at work.”
    “You’re not leaving here until you’ve eaten something
nutritious and filling.” He opened the refrigerator, put a generous
helping of pot roast in a bowl, and stuck it in the microwave. When
the microwave beeped, he handed her the bowl and a fork. “I’ll be
right back.”
    Her taste buds savored the delicious beef and
potatoes. She devoured it with lightning speed. It had been years
since she had a home-cooked meal. Memories of her family flooded
her mind: the beautiful, old, stone house on the outskirts of
Boston, her mom and dad, Emily Zoot making dinner for the family,
and several noisy brothers teasing her. Now she was sitting in
Trent’s tiny kitchen, scraping the bowl with her fork to get every
precious drop of gravy.
    “Looks like you’re ready for a piece of apple
pie.”
    “It was delicious, but I’m not sure I have room for
pie.” She gazed at Trent, now freshly showered and wearing a tee
shirt and jeans. Her heart sighed.
    “Make room.”
    Her heart had plenty of room for him, but she wasn’t
sure her stomach could handle more.

 
    ~~3~~
     
    The happy sounds of Shawn coming through the front
door caused Trent to look over his shoulder. “I’m in the kitchen,
and you have a visitor.”
    “Look what Grandmom found for me!”
    Trent watched his son dig in the bag and pull out a
terry robe.
    “It’s just like yours. See! And…” Shawn deposited the
robe on the table and began to search through the bag. He stopped
digging and looked up at Cassie. “Hi. Are you my visitor?”
    “Yes. I brought you something, but it can wait until
you’ve shown your dad all your purchases.”
    Shawn looked up at his father, and dashed off.
    “It’s his medicine. He hates taking it because he’s
concerned he’s going to have an accident.”
    Cassie nodded. “I’m sure at his age, that would be
embarrassing.”
    “He wears pull-ups at night because he sleeps so
soundly, and I’ve offered him incontinence pads for the day, but he
says he’s not a girl.”
    “He’s four. What does he know about that?”
    Trent shrugged. “I talk to him. We spend a lot of
time talking about life. Guess he knows more than most boys his
age, but most kids his age haven’t been through what he’s been
through.”
    A middle-aged woman walked into the kitchen. “Hello.
I’m Robin