A Rescued Heart (Rescued Heart Romance) Read Online Free

delight. Ava had a twinge of jealousy—or was it nausea—for just a split second and then pushed it out of her thoughts.
    Kate must have seen something in her face because she kindly brought it to the surface. “I’m sorry if this is hard to talk about. I haven’t seen or talked to you in a week. I’m sure there is something else we can discuss.”
    Ava regretted her selfishness on mentally turning their conversation back on her. “Kate, I love talking about your happiness. I am so glad that you and Kyle found each other. Your wedding is going to be wonderful and I’m looking forward to being a part of your special day,” she replied with sincerity.
    Kate’s smile confirmed her contentment with the answer. “Thank you. So since you are okay, do you want to hear about where we’re staying on our honeymoon?”
    “Absolutely.”

After finishing up a few more things at her desk, Ava headed out to her car, a red Honda Accord, clearly dated by the rust that covered the bumper. Nothing fancy, it got her to where she needed to go and that’s all that mattered. Ava stayed simple when it came to vehicles. She wanted to look around for something different, but her finances just didn’t allow it at this time. Her brothers constantly nagged her to buy something newer and cooler, but so far she held firm and ignored their digs.
    As she reached her car something caught her eye at the corner of the building. It looked to be one of her students, Tessa Davis. She threw her books into the car, shut the door with a loud slam and jogged over to the small child. Tessa was one of her students that walked home after school and she recalled watching her head home earlier that day.
    Tessa was a shy and introverted child. Ava continually questioned her home life. The girl’s father left awhile ago, but her mother always seemed nice and invested in her daughter’s life. During the last few weeks, though, something just didn’t seem right.
    “Hi Tessa, why are you not at home? Is everything okay?”
    “Well, I did go home, but my mom wasn’t there and I didn’t know what to do.”
    Concern jumped first into Ava’s mind, since this had happened before.
    “Okay, let’s go see where your mom is together. I’m sure she is very worried about you.” Ava directed Tessa into the office to call her home. Ava smiled when Tessa reached for her hand while they walked. These little moments made the long exhausting days a little brighter. Ava asked her a few questions to brighten the mood and had Tessa giggling by the time they reached the office.
    Tessa’s mother answered, quite upset about the situation and apologized for the mix-up. Ava sent the little one home, frustrated that her hands were tied. She decided to mentally keep an eye on Tessa and observe her more carefully, maybe even prod her into answering a few questions that swirled around in her mind.
    Ava drove to the store to pick up some groceries needed to make dinner, trying to fight the distraction of Tessa in her mind. Jules would be at her apartment soon for their weekly meal together. Between the two of them, Jules was the better cook, which wasn’t saying much. At least her critic didn’t have a high scale to judge from. Grilled chicken salads … she couldn’t screw that up too badly.
    Hectic traffic and a packed grocery store put Ava behind schedule. By the time she got home the clock showed six. She threw the chicken on the George Foreman grill and ran back to her room to change clothes. Sweat pants, a comfy shirt, and slippers—her girls’ night wardrobe.
    As she opened the bag of salad Jules knocked and stuck her head in. “Hi. Sorry I’m late, traffic was horrible.”
    “I know. I just got in myself. My downfall started when I got caught up talking with Kate after school.”
    “Is this the weekend she’s getting married?” Jules asked as she plopped down at the kitchen table, resting her head on the back of the chair. Her autumn colored hair spilled down