Divine Read Online Free Page B

accent and style of speaking. He never left the cowboy
persona behind. Though, the way he ridicules you’d think so, since
belittling goes against a cowboy’s code.” She faced her father and
ignored his scowl. “He’s not a stranger to me.”
    He didn’t know what to think. Families didn’t
talk this way to one another, and he’d never witnessed anyone being
rude to guests.
    “Well, he isn’t our type of people,” her
father said.
    He bristled then stepped forward. Katrina
placed a hand on his arm, stopping him.
    “What type of people?” she fumed. “A person
who watches out for others?”
    As sassy as she was, she wouldn’t stay under
their control long. She labeled him a warrior, yet she was the
fighter.
    “I fell into the river. He saved me. What
better person is there?”
    The protective stance she made against her
father was impressive. He would have never back talked his father.
Of course, Dad never belittled anyone.
    Mr. Lovett flung a leg over his horse,
dropped to the ground, and approached. Matt slipped his hand out of
his pocket and offered Mr. Lovett a handshake. “Nice to—”
    “How much do you want, son?” Mr. Lovett
pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “For your troubles, how
much?”
    He blinked. “What?”
    “A reward. Isn’t that why you saved her?”
    “Shove your money up your ass and treat your
daughter with respect!” is what he wanted to say. Instead, he chose
the path that would make his dad proud. “I don’t want your
money.”
    “New clothes then. Clothes don’t come cheap.
I’ll buy you a new suit.”
    Clearly, he didn’t belong here. He faced a
gaping Katrina.
    “Remember our spot, Trina,” he whispered,
giving her a nickname he hoped she’d love, and with any luck, her
mother and father would hate.
    “Check your pocket,” she whispered and
brushed a kiss on his cheek.
    Her parents may not like him, but he and
Trina would have a friendship despite them. He winked, accepted his
jacket, and walked toward home.
    “Don’t be kissing strange boys!” her mother
ordered.
    “Damnest thing I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Lovett
bellowed. “What person on God’s green earth doesn’t want
money?”
    “The good kind,” he heard Trina say.
    An object slapped his thigh from his suit. He
ran his hand along the inside of the pocket and tugged out a
keychain. The word DIVINE was etched into a metal plate with a
squiggly mark under it.
    She possessed everything: a huge house,
money, family. Yet a strange feeling overcame him that she’d given
him her prize possession. Slipping the keychain into his pants
pocket, the unbearable burden that he wouldn’t survive
lessened.
     

Chapter
Two
     
     
Five years later…
     
    Time flew. The days of skipping rocks across
the Potomac River ended. Trina sat on the footbridge, watched the
water flow beneath her, and wished time would stand still. She had
goals. Her dreams no longer consisted of a garden nursery or
petting zoo, but the ambition to be a doctor, like her parents
wanted. Their endless chatter on how the career would take her
further in life got through to her, and she gave up her childhood
idea. “Just a fantasy anyway.”
    Knowing what she wanted out of life not only
grounded and excited her, it scared her to death. It meant she’d no
longer see her best friend. She ached from the idea of not seeing
Matt in a longing, miserable way.
    One week left before she ventured into a new
life. Not him. Nope. Tomorrow he left for the Marines. If his
parents were alive, would they have given their permission for him
to join the military before he turned of legal age, as Travis had?
Two months after graduation, he wanted to fight in the war on
terror. She didn’t get it. However, she was sure he didn’t
understand why she dropped her childhood dreams to go to medical
school, yet he accepted it. Typical Matt, he always went with the
flow.
    He was her rock, the lone person who truly
understood her.
    “Hiya, kiddo.” Matt’s