Matthew's Choice by Patricia Bradley Page A

to the tip of his ears. Ashley...something or other. She always knew the answer to everything, and she never stumbled over her words . Noah dug his fingers into the hard vinyl. Maybe if he squeezed his eyes hard enough, when he opened them she’d be gone. Nope, she was still there.
    She stared at him. “What are you doing? You look like you’re going to be sick or something. Why are you here?”
    “What’re you doin’ here?” he snapped.
    “My granna’s real sick.”
    Oh. He never had a grandmother. “Do you get to go back there to see her?”
    “Of course, but with my mother.”
    She tilted her head up in that superior way girls had, and he quit feeling sorry for her. “Well, when those doors open, I’m going through ’em.”
    “They’ll just make you come back if you don’t have an adult with you.”
    He crossed his arms. “No, they won’t.”
    She gave him a sour look and picked up her book again. “Whatever. But you’ll see.”
    Noah spied the man he’d walked in with standing in line. He had one of the boys with him. “See ya,” he said and nonchalantly strolled over to the boy. If Ashley told on him, he’d... He fisted his hands. She just better not.
    The doors opened with a soft swish, and people streamed through them and down a hallway with glass enclosures. His heart pounded against his chest until he thought it’d pop out. He didn’t see his mom in any of the first rooms. What if she’d died?
    Then he noticed each room had a name on the door, and he kept walking even though his legs had turned to spaghetti, peering at each name. Mariah Connors . He inched inside the room and approached the person in the bed. Black hair fanned across the pillow, just like his mom’s, but this couldn’t be her. This person had tubes and wires everywhere . And her face was so big. Then he spied the little black mole next to her lips. “Mom?”
    He touched her hand that lay elevated on a pillow. “Mom. Wake up.”
    The rhythmic hissing in the room and the steady beep, beep, beep over her head answered him. He blinked back the tears that threatened to flood his eyes. “Mom, please.”
    “I figured I’d find you here.”
    Noah recognized the cop’s voice and whirled around to face him. Jason didn’t look too happy.
    Suddenly, the beeping increased and just as fast it stopped. One long beep scraped against his eardrums. Alarms went off. Jason grabbed him up and carried him into the hall as nurses swarmed the room.
    “Mommm!”
    * * *
    A LLIE ’ S HEART PLUMMETED . Who was this person Matt had turned himself into? The man she had loved would never turn his back on his family. But that was the reason they broke up. He’d been so bent on shedding everything about his life in Cedar Grove, including his values, that she couldn’t bear to watch.
    He just proved she’d made the right choice, and now every second in his presence picked at the scab on her heart, reminding Allie that the Matt she’d known was truly gone. Why had she even bothered? She should have just let Peter handle the whole matter.
    For the first time, Allie noticed the closed blinds, the fancy dishes on the dining room table. We’re kind of talking about getting married. Uh-oh. Heat crawled up her spine and across her face. Could the floor just open and swallow her right now? “I’m sorry—”
    “Matthew...” Jessica’s soft voice held a touch of steel. “Would you please explain about this sister you never told me about? And why you don’t want to help her?”
    Allie stared at him. Yeah, Matthew, why didn’t you tell this woman you’re about to propose to that you had a sister? Exactly what kind of relationship did they have?
    A wince flitted across Matt’s face. He sat a little straighter and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “She’s not anyone you would want to know. She hasn’t made the best decisions in life, and I rarely hear from her...I didn’t even know she had a son until Allie told me last