Chance of a Lifetime (Anderson Brothers) Read Online Free Page A

pier at the far end of the marina.”
    “Well, that was clever.”
    “I thought so at the time. It turned out to be a stupid mistake. When we got to the end, his phone rang and he told me I needed to go hang out with Walter for a few minutes because he had to do something—an errand. He said it would take less than five minutes.”
    “What was the errand?”
    “I don’t know. It didn’t matter. In my fifteen-year-old mind, the only thing that mattered was me.”
    “Hah! I’m still that way.”
    “No, you’re not.” Sherry was the kindest, most giving person she knew. “Anyway, I refused to go hang out with my brother. It had been hard to get Chance alone on the pier, and I was sure it wouldn’t work again. I convinced him to just leave me there while he ran his quick errand. I scolded him for treating me like a little kid who needed a babysitter. I could tell he didn’t want to leave me alone, but I was the whine master and he relented once I promised to sit down and not budge from the spot. I really wanted that kiss, and at the time, I thought I was as able as a sighted person.”
    “You are.”
    “Most of the time, yes, but I was in an unfamiliar place.” She could almost smell the salty air and hear the laughter of people on the boardwalk and music from a live band.
    “Still listening. Nothing slap-worthy yet.”
    Aware her friend was studying her, she consciously relaxed her face and arms. “Well, he’d promised it would take less than five minutes, but after half an hour, I got mad, imagining all kinds of crazy reasons he’d left me there.” She still imagined all kinds of reasons. Over the years, she’d pondered every scenario from him leaving to avoid her, to his meeting up with a girl and forgetting about her until the next morning. “I also worried he wouldn’t be back before midnight and I’d miss that kiss, so I decided to set out to find him. Show him I was like any other girl and not handicapped. The fireworks went off the moment I stood. I didn’t have a cane because I wanted to look normal and cool and maybe make people think Chance was my date—maybe make him think it.” She’d lived it over and over so many times in her head, it was like it had happened yesterday. Her breath caught as it played out in her mind. “The fireworks were loud and I became disoriented and headed the wrong direction, right off the side of the pier.”
    “In January.”
    “Technically, still December for a few minutes, but yeah. It was freezing. I tried to get out of the water, but couldn’t. My down coat, boots, and heavy sweater were deadweight, so swimming was hard. If there was a ladder, I couldn’t find it, and all the pilings were covered in barnacles, so I got cut up as I hung on.”
    “You must have been terrified.”
    “I was pretty freaked out. Hitting the water was a shock. Not finding a way out and being sliced up was worse. Eventually, some cops came and fished me out. I’d been in the water about fifteen minutes and everyone was worried about hypothermia. I also had a lot of gashes from the barnacles, so I was taken by ambulance to the hospital.”
    “Did Chance come in the ambulance with you?”
    “No. That’s the worst part. He didn’t show up until the next day.” Whatever reason he’d left her for had obviously been more important. Tears stung her eyes and she turned her head toward the door pretending to be interested in a family that entered the ice cream shop, making way more racket than seemed necessary for three people—maybe four if there was a kid being carried. With her heightened sense of hearing, she could identify number with excellent accuracy.
    Sherry’s foot tapped against the base of the table. “And?”
    “And he didn’t give any excuses or explanations as to why he didn’t come directly to the hospital. I assumed he’d left to do something somewhere else or he was mad at me for not staying where I said I would. When he finally appeared, my parents