In His Good Hands Read Online Free

about school. Now and then he murmured “yes” or “uh-huh.”
    “Cool!” Tegan said after one such response. “Thanks, Dad!”
    “You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he replied automatically, then sent her a swift glance. “What did I just say yes to?”
    Her eyes widened, all innocence. “Me getting a new dress for the dance.”
    “You’ve got dozens of dresses in your closet. Why don’t you wear one of those? It’s not like anyone in Summerside will have seen them before.”
    “I only have two party dresses and I’ve grown out of both of them. Besides, I’m older now.”
    He swiveled to look at her, noticing her developing figure and the way, sitting side by side, her head now reached his shoulder. “I guess you’re right.”
    The older the girl, the more expensive the dress. He’d learned that during his marriage.
    Slowing to a halt for the single stoplight in town, he spied the Community Bank on the corner and frowned. Charm had always been his biggest asset, but it hadn’t worked with Renita. His efforts to renew their friendship had fallen flat. If that’s the way she wanted it, he would stick to business in the future. But he needed his loans manager to be onside to make the gym a success.
    His eye fell on a poster erected on the grass verge, advertising the Diabetes Week Fun Run. Renita had been touchy about her father’s condition. She was likely worried and feeling helpless, wishing she could do something to fix the problem.
    “That’s it,” Brett muttered. “Two birds with one stone.”
    He got out his phone and punched in her number at the bank. Her office was the last one on the end, he realized.
    “Renita Thatcher.” She sounded preoccupied.
    “I just wanted to let you know about a special deal the gym is offering,” he said, making it up on the spot.
    “Brett? Is that you?”
    “Two-for-one memberships. I’ll throw in five free personal training sessions if you sign up before the end of the week,” he added recklessly. She’d said she wasn’t into exercise, but when people caught the bug they usually came to love the feel-good high of being fit.
    “And you think I’m interested because…?”
    “Your father is diabetic. I’ll bet his doctor has told him to exercise. Does he already belong to a gym in Mornington or Frankston?”
    “No,” she said. “But he walks his dog, Smedley.”
    “You and Steve can get fit together. You’ve got six weeks before the Fun Run—”
    “No, no, no,” Renita protested. “I told you, I’m not entering the run.”
    Undeterred, Brett pushed on. “Your dad would be more likely to work out if he had a partner to encourage him, wouldn’t he?”
    “Brett—” She broke off.
    In the silence that followed he could feel her frustration. He thought he understood her reluctance. “Having a personal trainer, you won’t have to keep up with all the gym bunnies in a class,” he said. “You work at your own pace, with a program tailored to your needs.”
    “Pushing a little hard, aren’t you, Dad?” Tegan murmured from the passenger seat.
    Brett motioned to his daughter to be quiet. There was another long pause. Had he pushed too hard? Embarrassed Renita? He didn’t want to do that.
    “It would be good for Dad,” she conceded finally. “I’ll think about it.”
    Satisfied, Brett put down his phone and moved through the green light. “She said she’d think about it,” he said to Tegan. But she was really saying yes.

    “I’ M MISSING THE cricket match on TV,” Steve grumbled as Renita dragged him through the doors of the fitness center.
    “This won’t take long.” She hoped not, at least. Gyms were alien territory, bristling with strange machines and hard bodies. And spandex. Oh, God, she could just imagine what she would look like with every blubbery bulge outlined by spandex.
    But she had to admit Brett was right—her father needed a concrete goal in his quest to improve his health. “If the place looks good you can