Change of Heart by Jennifer L. Allen

Author:Jennifer L. Allen [Allen, Jennifer L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B015LDXASE
Publisher: Jennifer L. Allen
Published: 2015-11-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Casey

To say my mother had been excited when I called is an understatement. When I’d told her I was coming home for the summer, she shrieked in my ear for a good five minutes before Decker finally took the phone away and promised her he’d get me home safely.

Twenty-seven hundred miles in the car with Decker Abrams. That’s going to be interesting. It’ll be nice to share the drive, but there will be so many hours in close quarters with him. I have no idea how I’m going to keep my cool, in more ways than one, but I’ve got two weeks to figure it out.

On my way to work, I dropped Decker off at the campus library so he could work on his finals. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving him at the apartment for eight hours. It’s not that I don’t trust him—I do—I’m just afraid he might find something I don’t want him to find. He’d actually suggested the library, so it was perfect. Now I’ll just need to figure out what to do with him for my other five shifts over the next two weeks.

I arrive at the clinic fifteen minutes early so I can meet with Sharon, my supervisor, and give my notice for the summer. I’ve worked here for almost two years now, and, with the exception of my dad’s death, I’ve never requested a day off, let alone two months.

I quietly knock on Sharon’s open door. She looks up from a mess of paperwork and smiles at me. “Casey! Come on in!” She gestures to the chair in front of her desk as she neatly stacks her papers and sets them aside. After I’m seated, she turns on her concern. “You doing okay?”

I nod at her. This is my first time back at work, my first time speaking with her, since taking the time off to go home. “It’s still hard to think about…to talk about…but I’m okay.”

She smiles sadly. Sharon isn’t one of the clinic’s staff with the “Ph.D.” at the end of her name, and she doesn’t need it as the facility’s manager, but she is a licensed therapist. She’s never tried to shrink me, though I’m sure she wants to. Everyone who knows my story wants to. She’s in her mid-thirties, tall and very beautiful, with wavy brown hair and bright blue eyes. But, she’s surprisingly single. With her positivity and confidence, I’m certain it’s intentional.

“So what’s going on?” Even though she hasn’t seen me in a couple weeks, she doesn’t make small talk, which I appreciate. My dad’s passing is still pretty raw, and I’m not quite ready to talk about it, especially with a counselor—paid or not.

I make eye contact and see in her eyes that she knows exactly why I’m here. She’s really good at reading people. “I’ve decided to go home for the summer.”

The smile on her knowing face brightens. “That’s great.”

I give a small smile, agreeing with her as I fidget my hands in my lap.

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