A Beautiful Wreck (Second Chance #3) Read Free Page B

whole life ahead of you. You need to get out and quit moping about in your room. You can’t give up now! You have to find your smile again.” Miranda’s eyes lingered on her face, but Cassie only frowned.
    Shaking her head, Miranda walked over to the sliding glass door. Her vanilla perfume wafted over Cassie as she passed by. Memories of Sunday mornings at the pancake house flashed in Cassie’s mind, stirring a nostalgic sadness. My biggest problem back then was choosing what kind of syrup I wanted.
    “Wait! Hang on for a second.” Cassie jumped to her feet from the swing to follow her sister. “Look, I don’t want you to be mad. I love you, and I love how much you care about me. And you’re right. Something does have to change.”
    Miranda’s shoulders softened, her hand pausing on the slider’s handle. Eyes filled with concern, she looked back at Cassie.
    Cassie released the breath she was holding. “I feel like I’ve been disappearing here. I feel like I’ve been caught in a whirlpool just sucking me down, and I’m never going to get out.”
    “Awww, sweet baby. I know. It’s been so frustrating watching you suffer, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”
    “This sounds so weird but, even now, out of nowhere it’ll hit me that he’s gone, and I’m in shock all over again, like I’m hearing it for the first time. I really feel….” Don’t say it. Don’t say you’re afraid you’ll die here. It’ll freak her out. “Uh, I’ve been thinking I’ve just got to get out of here for a while. Maybe get on my own for a bit. I still have that life insurance from Dad.” Cassie smiled half-heartedly.
    Miranda’s eyes fluttered closed, and she nodded. She opened them and leaned over to tuck a stray blonde wisp behind Cassie’s ear. “Chickee, I don’t love the idea, but I get the need for an escape. Go, then. Find your peace. I know you believe it’s out there somewhere.”
    Cassie’s lip quirked at the corner. “And now you’re about to tell me that it’s really something inside of myself. You’re always so helpful with those little tidbits of advice.”
    “You know me so well.”
    “Anyway, I don’t want you to worry. I think I’ve got a goal. Leif was trying to track down his cousin, Luke, before he died. I’m going to find Luke and give him the bible. It was his grandma’s and, honestly, I don’t know anyone else to give it to. I want Luke to know his cousin was searching for him, that Leif cared. It makes me feel like I’m completing Leif’s mission. Who knows? Maybe that will help me move on. I’ve got to try something.”
    “Okay, so I hate that idea. Why can’t you just get an apartment in town? You’ve just gone from escape to crazyville.”
    Cassie snorted. “Really? You just said it was a good idea.”
    “I did not say it was a good idea. I said I could understand the need to get away, not traipsing around alone on some missing person’s search. What if you can’t find him? Will you still be able to move on?”
    “I don’t know, sis. That’s the truth.”
    Miranda opened her mouth to say something. Shut it again. Finally she blurted, “Just keep in touch. Like, every night. I’m serious.”
    “Whatever, Mom. Now, don’t ask me if I have clean underwear.”
    “Please, Cassie, just call. Please for my sake. I’ll worry if you don’t.”
    Cassie rolled her eyes. “I’ll text you, Facebook you, whatever. I’m not dropping off the planet. Just going to leave town for a bit.”
    “Don’t act like I’m overreacting here. I’ve been gearing up all week to have a talk with you about going on a date with a nice guy from my work. You kind of dumped this on me out of the blue.”
    “You shouldn’t talk,” Cassie arched an eyebrow.
    Miranda blushed. Cassie could tell her sister was remembering her own vanishing act nearly five years earlier. “All right. Don’t rub it in. That’s why I said I understood what you’re going through. Can you at least tell me