Changing Her Heart Read Online Free

and Susan. Eric didn’t know about the countless times Susan had called her in the middle of the night, worried because Eric still hadn’t come home when she knew he was out drinking with his friends. On other days, Susan said she shouldn’t have let the moment get to her, that Eric’s drinking wasn’t that bad.
    Since those whom she loved wouldn’t listen, the only thing Lacey could do was to try to help strangers.
    As Lacey approached the display, a police officer was talking to the volunteer who would be working with her, as well as a woman who was packing up a few things, ready to leave.
    Lacey’s breath caught when she saw who she was to be her partner for the next hour.
    â€œRandy. Hello.”
    The officer smiled at her. “I see you two already know each other. That’s great. I’ll leave Randy to show you what to do, and I’ll get back to my area.” He returned to the Breathalyzer and other equipment that was only for police use, leaving her alone with Randy.
    Randy smiled as he wrote up a name tag for her. “We’re supposed to split our time between pointing out different focus areas for people who try out and keeping the tables tidy, putting new brochures into the displays as people take them and just smiling and looking friendly.”
    Lacey nodded. “I can certainly do that. It’s nice to see you volunteering your time.”
    â€œIt’s not really such a sacrifice. I have personal reasons for being here. A good friend was killed in a drinking-and-driving accident a few years back, and I want to do what I can to raise awareness. I know a lot of people, so maybe someone will recognize me and come and ask questions.”
    â€œOh.” Lacey’s throat constricted. The only person killed in her father’s accident had been her father, but she often lay awake at night, wondering if he’d ever caused an accident he either didn’t know about, or wouldn’t admit to, when someone swerved to avoid him. She didn’t want to think that there could be, but she had to accept that it might have happened. It wastoo long ago to have been a connection between the death of her father and the death of Randy’s friend, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t happened to someone else.
    The possibility made her even more angry at how some people could be so irresponsible, both with their own lives, and of the lives of others around them.
    She rested one finger on the schedule. “There are still a few slots not filled. I want to put my name down for another shift. What about you?”
    He nodded. “I’m on the list for Saturday because that’s the mall’s busiest day.”
    â€œBut you’re off on Saturday, aren’t you?”
    â€œYeah. That way I can be here for more than just the length of my lunch break.”
    Guilt raced through Lacey. She should have been giving up more of her time, too, but she had set Saturday aside to prepare for Bryce’s party. Now, thinking that all she was doing was getting ready to do something fun, she felt selfish.
    As she had been instructed, she began to tidy the piles of brochures, when a young couple entered the area. The woman approached her and asked for help to find a brochure that contained recipes for nonalcoholic punch. Lacey pointed to the Alternatives section and stepped aside.
    While she waited, the young man approached Randy.
    â€œCan you tell her that coffee is good enough, that she doesn’t have to make something without alcohol for people?”
    Randy’s hands froze above the display he was rearranging. “That’s a very common myth, but it’s not true. Coffee doesn’t make a person sober up, neither does food. If you have something in your stomach you don’t get drunk so fast, but you still get just as drunk. The only thing that sobers a person up is time.”
    The young man blinked. “That’s not true. Coffee