A Reason (A Reason, Season, Lifetime Series) Read Free Page A

weight room.” Brenda moved here a couple of years ago from Texas. She is a pretty blond with big blue eyes and dimples. She is the baby in a family of boys, and loves sports. She started a girls’ basketball team in our little school. She was right, no boys would want to life weights if they could play basketball with her. I mouth “Thank you” to her, and Ryan, with his arms still around me, turns us and walks into the weight room.
    There a re a couple of guys in there. “Guys, Brenda wants to play basketball. Are you in?”
    The guys look up, looki ng from Ryan to me. He still has an arm around me and a big smile on his face. “Hell yeah, we do. You two behave now, ya hear?” Curt says to Ryan. Ryan shakes his hand with some stupid secret wrestler’s hand shake, Curt winks at me, and they leave.
    “So let’s see what you can bench and leg press, shall we?”
    “Why did you put on that act? Now they all think I’m cheating on Danny with his best friend! I don’t mind being secretive, but aren’t you a little worried about hurting Danny’s feelings with that little act?”
    “Tell me this, Emma. Why don’t you kiss Danny in school? Or anywhere for that m atter? I’ve never seen you kiss him.”
    S hit. Well he has me there. I am not about to tell my boyfriend’s best friend how I really feel about his best friend. “I do kiss him, I’m just not really into pda, okay? You should respect your best friend and not want rumors running rampant in our little town! We have three churches , Ryan! Three! Let’s not forget that a graduating class is only forty kids. Which means?”
    “That our little show will be replayed over and over by tomorrow? Because good Christians and small towns love gossip.”
    I laugh , but he is so right. “Exactly! By 3pm today, at the bus stop, we’ll be trying to tell a whiny Danny that we were not flirting behind his back!”
    “No, we won’t. Because at 3pm, while he is getting on the bus, you will be here for your first training session. Your mom had to have plastic surgery. Knowing what I know about the asshole you call father, he won’t let you go see her most likely. We have no idea how pissed off he is. It’s Friday. You and Eva will stay after school. You’ll call home that you are spending the night with Brenda and you will stay away until he can calm down. Danny told me you always keep an emergency bag of clothes at school. Does Eva?”
    Damn him, he was right. “No, she doesn’t, but I plan ahead. I have an emergency bag for both of us with a week’s worth of clothes. I keep them in my gym locker. Since I’m a lead cheerleader, I get a bigger locker. I hoard stuff in there in ca se we ever have to run.” Why am I trusting this guy with all of this? Because I trust Danny as my best friend, even though he has a big mouth, and I trust this guy. I trust that Ms. Rivers trusts him, and from the moment I saw the tears threaten to overflow in his eyes in her classroom, I knew I could trust him with everything I am and have. Call it women’s intuition, or something, but I feel like this guy has a reason for being in my life. I can feel emotions coming off of him, and I know he is being honest.
    “I don’t know if Brenda has any plans tonight.”
    “That doesn’t matter because you aren’t going to her house anyway, you’re coming home with me. Can we get started on the workout? I would love to know if you really are as strong as I’ve heard. “
    I punch him in the stomach, hard. He bends over as air escapes his lungs. “Firstly, no one tells me what I’m doing. Secondly, I am not a shiny toy to be passed from dog to dog, though like a dog, I am loyal. I don’t care how fucking gorgeous you are, or think you are, I am not going to spend the night with you!”
    “Well, that’s nice to see, and hear. Though you may change your story in a few minutes. I warned you she had a hell of a punch, dude.” I turn at the sound of Danny’s voice. In he walks, with