Reach for Tomorrow Read Free Page A

said, but she meant it in many other ways.
    He smiled. “Hey, I’m tough. I can take it.”
    “And I’m sorry because I didn’t call you while I was home last week.”
    He studied her face, released her arms. “The phone works both ways, Katie. I could have called you too, but I didn’t.”
    She didn’t know why he would have wanted to; she hadn’t been very pleasant to him. “I guess that’s true.”
    He offered his lopsided smile. “Don’t think I’vebeen sitting around pining away. I got your message last summer and at Christmas that you wanted to move on with your life and that the advancement didn’t include me.”
    She started to protest, but he held up his hand. “It’s all right; no hard feelings. We had a wonderful time together while it lasted. Maybe it’s time both of us moved on.”
    “Are you seeing somebody else?” The question was out before she could stop herself.
    “I’m dating someone, yes.”
    The news startled her and gave her a sick sensation in the pit of her stomach. She should feel glad for him. Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? For them both to go their separate ways? “That’s good,” she said with a smile she didn’t mean. This wasn’t the time to remind him that only at Christmas he’d told her he still loved her.
    “How about you? Anyone special out there in Arizona?”
    “Um—not really. College was harder than I expected, and then with track and all …” She let the sentence trail off, remembering all the mornings he’d met with her after her transplant, encouraging her to run again. He’d hold the stopwatch, time her, cheer for her—
    “I know what you mean.” He interrupted herthoughts. “But at least I’m going to college. Gramps left me enough for my first two years, if I’m careful. Maybe by the time I’m an upperclassman, I can get some scholarship money.”
    “Well, if hard work is a determinant, then I’m sure you’ll get it. I know how hard you work, Josh.”
    He smiled again. “I’m glad we ran into each other. I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate me working here this summer, what with you not wanting to be around me and all, but the truth is, I can make more money doing this camp than I ever could working back home. Besides, it’s more fun here too.”
    “She’ll miss you, I’ll bet.”
    “Who?”
    “Your girlfriend.”
    His face reddened. “We’ll write. We’ll keep in touch.”
    Curiosity about Josh’s new girl was eating at her, but Katie knew she couldn’t start pumping him for information right here in the middle of the hiking trail. He might start thinking she cared more than she did. She and Josh were broken up. They were friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend anymore. “I—um—should get back, I guess.”
    “Me too,” he said. “It’s going to be a good summer, Katie.”
    “Yes, it will be.”
    “See you, then.”
    “Yeah, see you.” She started jogging away from him. It was definitely over between them. Katie sighed. If that was true, why did she feel so empty inside?
    “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see all of you.” Richard Holloway was talking.
    Meg looked around the rec center, fascinated by the group that had gathered. She knew that many of them had been there before, but even she, a Jenny House first-timer, was caught up in the importance of the summer ahead, and in the camaraderie she’d already experienced. Katie, Chelsea, and Lacey had made her feel like a welcome addition to their team, and Meg wanted to be part of the team in every way.
    Mr. Holloway’s talk was preparing her for the days ahead. These weren’t ordinary campers coming in, but special kids fighting diseases, sometimes fighting for their very lives. She recalled her days as a candy striper and realized these kids wanted the same things all of them did—to be accepted and liked for who they were. They already had strikes against them: They were different, set apart by illness. This camp was going to try to makethem feel