Just to See You Smile Read Online Free Page A

brother Ryan at the farm—it was a tradition to haul Christmas things down from the attic the day after Thanksgiving. Shoot-around with the team—the girls looked good, their attitude was topnotch, their free throws out of sight. Brady and Gina’s announcement—Brady loved that woman so much. She would complete him, fill in the empty patches of his life. Helping at Isabel’s—knowing her had enriched Britte’s life. Perhaps Lia or Gina would fill in at the girls’ Bible study. God, of course, wouldn’t drop the ball in the teens’ lives. And, above all, Jesus beside her every moment of the day—
    Britte grinned and laughed softly.
    â€œIf I’m all that lonesome, I can always drink a jug of tap water.”

Three
    The hotel room’s door handle rattled.
    Anne Sutton uncurled herself from the plush armchair and, with her nose still buried in a paperback book, walked across the room. She pulled open the door. “Hey, mister.”
    â€œYou’d yell at the kids if they did that.”
    â€œDid what?” Turning the page, she moseyed back to the chair.
    â€œOpened the door without asking who’s there.”
    â€œOh, Alec,” she objected with a little smile, eyeing him over the top of her reading glasses. “You’re the only one who would be standing out there in the hallway fiddling with the card key.”
    â€œMost ridiculous thing ever invented.” He tossed it onto the desktop and unfastened his watch. “Why are you still awake?” Not waiting for a reply, he headed toward the bathroom, peeling off his long-sleeved, sage green polo shirt.
    Anne returned to her reading, eager to finish the chapter. It was a thrilling courtroom scene. Who was the bad guy? Oh no! Cliff-hanging last sentence. She peeked at the next chapter and then smacked the book shut. Save it! She set it aside with her glasses and scurried to the bathroom, where her husband stood at the sink, splashing water on his face.
    She slipped her arms around his middle. For a 39-yearold, he had a nice waist. She spoke to the back of his head, at the naturally wavy nut brown hair. He needed a haircut. “I’m awake because it’s our annual one night in a hotel without the kids. I want to savor the awareness that I do nothave to listen for them in the night, that I do not have to hear cartoons at the crack of dawn, that I do not have to juggle carpools tomorrow.”
    Alec wiped his face with a towel. “You need to get out more, sweetheart.”
    With a sigh, she straightened and leaned against the doorjamb, watching him brush his teeth. He’d change his tune when he saw what she wore beneath the hotel’s complimentary white terry cloth robe. Her new nightgown was red silk. Well, not silk. It was polyester, but just as soft as silk. He liked her in red; he liked the contrast with her black hair. She pulled the scrunchie from her hair, loosened the ponytail, and snuggled against him again, this time shoulder to shoulder.
    He edged away.
    Their eyes met in the mirror.
    â€œIt’s late,” he mumbled through foaming toothpaste.
    â€œIt’s only,” she glanced over her shoulder at the bedside clock’s red digital numbers, “twelve-seventeen?! Twelve—! What have you guys been doing? We finished dinner hours ago. I thought the meeting doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
    He lowered his face and rinsed the toothbrush. “It doesn’t. I’ve been talking with Kevin.”
    â€œUntil midnight?”
    He swept past her.
    She turned. “Okay, help me out here. What is wrong with this picture? On the one hand, we have Kevin,” she held out a hand, palm up, “the podiatrist, whom I love dearly as the husband of my best friend. A guy who seldom strings more than two sentences together in a social setting.”
    At the closet door, Alec pried off his loafers.
    â€œTalking for two solid hours— Where? In