Hope Over Fear (Over #1) Read Online Free

just need to know that he’s okay. I don’t know if he’s still over there, if he’s come home, if he’s … he’s …” I hear a sob escape from Alex, and her despair is palpable. “Can’t Daddy try to find out what’s going on? Surely there’s someone at the club with a connection that could help him.”
    As I listen to my friend plead with her mother, guilt sweeps through me at my eavesdropping. I’m not sure when I should make my presence known, and I fear they would hear me if I tried to scurry away unnoticed. As I listen to Alex sniffling, I want to run to her and console her. Alex is the calming force in my life, and I can’t bear to hear her breaking down. She’s never spoken to me about anyone who she is seeing at home. She dates occasionally in Providence, but she usually keeps it very light and very brief.
    “All right, baby, I’ll see what I can do. But I’m not making any promises. You know how Daddy feels about this. If this is what you need to move on from this, then I’ll try my best. We only want what’s best for you, Alexandra, I hope you know that …”
    “I know, Momma, thank you.”
    I give Alex a little more time to calm down, and then I noisily make my entrance into the room. As I walk farther into the kitchen, Alex turns to look out the window and away from me. In an attempt to give her a few extra moments to gather herself, I turn to Sue Ellen.
    “Sue Ellen, your home is beautiful. Thank you so much for allowing me to visit with Alex—”
    “Of course, darling. I’m so pleased to have you here. Now, come and have a seat and tell me all about yourself. Alex says you’re a nurse … and that you spent all last year traveling around the country? That must have been so exciting!”
    I sit down at the bar and watch Sue Ellen play the perfect hostess, flitting around the kitchen preparing glasses of iced tea and grabbing a platter of cookies. The kitchen is as impeccable as the rest of the house. The room is so spacious; I could probably fit my entire house in this one room.
    “Yes, ma’am,” I answer politely, accepting my glass of sweet tea. “After graduating from Northern U, I worked on Providence General’s labor and delivery unit for a couple of years. Then I signed on with a travel nurse agency and took contracts for about a year before returning to Providence General. It was great to travel, see new places, and meet different people. Labor and delivery is my passion, and it’s always exciting no matter where I’m working.”
    “Indeed, my dear. It’s good to love what you do; I’m so glad my Alexandra found something that she loves. And something she does so well.” Sue Ellen smiles lovingly at Alexandra. Although these women are as different as night and day, there is no denying the love and adoration that flows between them.
    “Sara also helps to lead a committee at the hospital that is in charge of adoptions,” Alex adds.
    “Well, I work with the social worker to try and make all adoptions at the hospital go as smoothly as possible for everyone involved. It’s a very emotional time for the birth mother and the adoptive parents, so I help to make a plan ahead of time so things can go effortlessly on the day of the birth,” I explain.
    “How wonderful! I’m sure you have helped countless families. Oh, Alexandra, wouldn’t it have been wonderful if Emmett could have come home this weekend? He and Sara would have so much in common. Emmett, my son, just started his first year as a medical intern last fall, Sara. He’s very charming and very handsome …” Sue Ellen has a mischievous smirk on her face that tells me she’s up to no good.
    “All right, Momma, I don’t think Emmett would appreciate you trying to set him up again.” Alex chuckles good-heartedly. “Don’t you remember what happened last time you tried your hand at matchmaker?”
    “How was I supposed to know that lovely girl was a distant cousin? It was an honest mistake. This is