Halfway to Forever Read Online Free Page A

soon … bring Jade another baby.”
    Matt drew his guitar close and kicked his feet up on the deck railing. “What else?”
    Tanner grinned from a nearby lounge chair and stretched out his legs. He hadn’t wanted to come tonight, but like always, time with the Bronzans was medicine to his soul. “Eagles. ‘Desperado.’ ”
    Matt plucked at a few chords and began to play. The music filled Tanner’s senses, and he closed his eyes, singing along despitethe fact that neither of them was exactly on key. They sang about losing all their highs and lows, about getting down from the fences before it was too late. The surf provided percussion in the distance.
    When the song ended, Matt studied the fingers on his left hand and winced. “They’re shot.” He set the guitar down beside him. “I need to play more.”
    “
We
need to play more.”
    Matt cast him a lazy grin. “We?”
    Tanner tossed his hands in the air in mock indignation. “I’m vocals, you’re guitar. A few more nights like this, and we can forget about law. Take this act on the road.”
    They both chuckled at the thought, but as their laughter faded Tanner crooked one elbow behind his head and uttered a sigh that felt like it came from his feet. He stared at the canopy of stars above, then looked at Matt. “I’m worried about Jade.”
    Matt nodded once, his voice slow, thoughtful. “She looks tired.”
    He gazed at the sky again. “She’s always tired.”
    “Maybe she should see a doctor.”
    “Yeah, maybe …” Tanner could hear Jade trying to reassure him. She was a nurse. She knew enough about medicine to know when she needed a doctor, and she didn’t think she did. He’d tried to change her mind, but for now it was a closed subject unless some other symptom came up. Tanner let the worry fade. Whatever was wrong with his wife, it wasn’t the Bronzans’ problem. And tonight was supposed to be a celebration. Matt had been talking about adoption almost from the first day he started working at the firm. It was Hannah who couldn’t make up her mind. In fact, just four weeks ago at lunch Matt had been more discouraged than Tanner remembered ever seeing before. He said he didn’t think Hannah would ever make a decision and he wantedto prepare himself for the fact that they might never raise a child together.
    He looked back at Matt. “What made Hannah decide?”
    Matt crossed his arms, his eyebrows lowered. “It was the strangest thing. We were watching this documentary on TV about kids in the social services system—thousands of them waiting for a permanent home. All of a sudden she started to cry.”
    Tanner leveled his gaze at Matt. “Because of the show?”
    “Because one of the kids—a little girl—really touched her.” Matt shrugged. “I put my arm around her and asked her if she was okay, but she shook her head like she didn’t want to talk. Then she told me she loved me.”
    Tanner gestured his approval. “That’s always a good sign.”
    “Yeah. Except after a minute she was crying so hard she went upstairs to bed. I thought it was a setback on the whole idea of adoption. But the next morning she woke up and told me she’d made her decision.” Matt’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Now it’s just a matter of finding our little girl.”
    “And Jenny?”
    “She’s been great. Helps us find web sites with kids up for adoption, made copies of the dossier for us. Nothing but happy about it. Besides, she’ll be in college in the fall. UCLA.”
    “Premed, right?”
    Matt smiled. “Just like her dad.”
    Tanner studied his friend, amazed. “Doesn’t it ever hurt? How much she still misses him?”
    There was a softening in Matt’s eyes. “Jenny loves me; I’ll never doubt that as long as I live. I’m her protector, provider, confidante, and safe place. But I’m not her daddy.” Matt cocked his head. “I’m okay with that.”
    Tanner stared at Matt for a moment and then back at the moonlit water. He couldn’t