My Surprise Next Door (Sweet Mountain High Book 4) by Stephanie Street & Sweet Heart Books

Author:Stephanie Street & Sweet Heart Books [Street, Stephanie & Books, Sweet Heart]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Multi-Author Collection, Sweet Mountain High Series, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, Forever Love, Christian Stories, Faith Based, Inspirational Reads, Love Inspired, Bachelor, Single Woman, Hearts Desire, Clean & Wholesome, Life-Changes, Second Chance Reunion, Honesty & Trust, Home & Family, Lifetime Love, Romantic Schemes, Love-Family & Forever, Action & Adventure, Small Town & Rural Area, Beautiful & Feisty, Sweet Teen Young Adult Romance
Publisher: Sweet Heart Books LLC
Published: 2020-05-20T04:00:00+00:00

10

Taggish

Mara was clearly conflicted. But didn’t everybody have to skip school once in their lives? This was a big jump from a harmless prank, but I knew it was the right jump. I’d already seen a change in Mara, like a weight being lifted from her shoulders. Instead of nagging at me about making noise or doing things wrong, when she poked her head out her bedroom window, she smiled.

I’d been giving her space—okay, I’d been avoiding her when in reality, all I wanted was to spend more time with her. Maybe today’s activities were somewhat self-serving, but I wasn’t going to worry about it.

“I won’t try to talk you into this either. You need to decide. If we go back to school now, the worst that will happen is you’ll get a tardy slip.” And I’d be horribly disappointed, but I tried not to let that show.

Mara chewed her lip, a sure sign of the conflict going on in her head. But I wouldn’t pressure her. She’d had enough of that.

“What’s it going to be, Mara?”

I saw the moment she’d made her choice, and my heart lifted a little.

“Let’s go. I want to go with you.”

My breath hitched a little. I want to go with you. I tried not to read too much into that.

“Okay, then. Let’s go.” I quickly drove back out onto the main road.

“Go where?”

“Ah, ah, ah. I’m not telling.” Not that where we were going was a big deal, but it was good for her to enjoy the surprise rather than worry about it. At least, that’s what I hoped.

The drive wouldn’t take long. I turned my stereo to a top forty station and made small talk.

“So, those kids who come over . . . ” I’d been wondering about her family.

“My niece and nephews. My brother, Matt, has three kids, and my sister, Marie, has one. I’m the youngest.”

“That’s cool. They come around a lot?” I didn’t have any siblings. I had a bunch of cousins, but few of them lived locally. Dad and I traveled to visit my grandparents and aunts and uncles once or twice a year, but that was about it.

“A few times a month. About once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. What about you? Any brothers or sisters?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Just me.” I’d always wondered what it would be like to have siblings, but Mom got sick the first time not long after I was born, and there weren’t any more kids after that.

“Lucky,” she muttered. I almost said something, told her she was lucky to have a brother and sister, but she beat me to it. “Actually, I don’t mean that. I love Matt and Marie. They get on my nerves and make me want to scream most of the time, but I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

“I don’t know any different. I’ve always been an only child, but I think you’re lucky to have them.”

Mara’s heel tapped nervously on the floor. Like I’d done the other night, I reached out and placed my hand on her knee.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.