Free Need by Joelle Charbonneau Page A

always the best policy.
    He pictures himself racing down icy streets, leaving explosions and chaos behind him. Then he presses Enter.
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YOUR REQUEST IS BEING PROCESSED.
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    He smiles.
 
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    NETWORK MEMBERS—690
    NEEDS PENDING—686
    NEEDS FULFILLED—122

Kaylee
    M OVIE NIGHT IS a hit with DJ. Less so with me, since I seem to jump and squeal more than usual with each scary sequence. The man in our yard and Amanda’s ‘accident’ have put me on edge.
    But I’m glad that when DJ goes to bed, he is smiling and laughing and leaves his door unlocked. Nate’s magic works again. Mom, having assured herself that DJ doesn’t have a fever or isn’t huddled in tears, has long since turned in, so Nate helps me turn off the lights and straighten up.
    â€œDJ seems like he’s doing okay, all things considered,” Nate says, as he puts the empty popcorn bowl in the sink.
    I nod. “He’s gotten good at getting back up after being knocked down.” A skill I could learn from him, because the shock and upset I felt earlier that day have segued into a white-hot rage. At whoever did this. At my father, who could have stayed and prevented it. And at myself. Because if Richard Ward is behind the hole in the yard, I, too, am to blame. “Nate.” I jam my hands into my back pockets. “Do you think it was my emails about my father that caused this?”
    â€œWhat? No.”
    His denial is emphatic, but the guilt I’ve been holding at bay breaks free and threatens to overwhelm me. “If I had listened to my mom and trusted her to handle finding a donor—”
    â€œKaylee, this isn’t your fault.” Nate grabs my hand and squeezes so tight that it hurts. “No matter what you’ve done, there’s nothing wrong with trying to save your brother’s life. Anyone who says different is lying. Trust me, you’re one of the best people I know.”
    â€œRight. You don’t need to lie to make me feel better.”
    â€œI’m not.” Nate loosens his grip but doesn’t let go of my hand. “You’ve always put other people’s needs in front of your own. You never even stopped to consider if the surgery would hurt or what it would mean for you to live your entire life without one of your kidneys. The minute you heard DJ needed a transplant, you volunteered. No questions asked.”
    â€œHe’s my brother.”
    â€œIf it had been me or someone else in this town, you would have still volunteered. Remember Kristen Rothchild’s ninth birthday party?”
    â€œVaguely.” It happened over seven years ago.
    â€œWell, I remember that more kids showed up than were supposed to and Kristen’s mom was short a cupcake. You realized the problem before she did and said you didn’t want one.”
    â€œI must have been full.”
    He shakes his head. “You didn’t want one of the other kids to be upset, so you fixed it. That was the day I decided I wanted to be your best friend, and I bribed you with half of my chocolate cupcake.”
    â€œI remember now. It was vanilla.”
    â€œIf it had been vanilla, I would have given you the entire thing. Who needs vanilla cake?” Nate grins, but his eyes are dead serious when they meet mine. “My point is, the only person to blame for what happened in your yard is the jerk who dug the hole. Not the person who sold him the shovel. Not your father for having such crappy taste in friends. Not you for trying to help your brother. The person who, for whatever reason, made a choice and dug that hole. He’ll have to live with the consequences. And who knows. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a good thing.”
    I flinch and yank free of Nate’s grasp. “I can’t imagine how.”
    â€œThink about it.” Nate folds his arms across his chest. “This kind of story gets people fired up. People are going to talk.