Free Please Don't Die by Lurlene McDaniel

me. The closest motel is a good half hour away. Jenny House is really set off by itself.”
    “It’s a fabulous place, Josh. I’m glad I came.”
    They walked hand in hand back to the big lodge, and once inside, Katie led the way to the director’s office. She could tell by the expression on Richard Holloway’s face that news of Josh’s arrival had already reached him, and although he was courteous, Katie realized he wasn’t too pleased. “I know Josh has come a long way to see you, Katie, but Jenny House isn’t for outsiders,” Mr. Holloway said, affirming her suspicions.
    Clinging to Josh’s hand, Katie said, “Josh isn’t just my boyfriend on a two-day vacation, Mr. Holloway.” Quickly, she told him about how she and Josh had met.
    “Katie was given your brother’s heart?” Richard Holloway looked incredulous.
    Once everything was explained, the director agreed to let Josh remain for two days and join them on the picnic. After they’d left his office, Katie told Josh, “I’ve got group rap session in thirty minutes.”
    “What’s that?”
    “I wrote you about groups. Rapping is when anyone who wants to can sit around with special counselors and talk about their illnesses. Everyone’s beento a rap session. Everyone except Lacey. She says talking about it won’t make it go away, so why bother.”
    “She’s right, you know.”
    “Not true! Talking about it, getting your feelings out into the open, really helps you feel better. But Lacey refuses to believe it. She’s taking her insulin shots regularly, but otherwise, she refuses to admit she’s got a medical problem.”
    “Too bad.” Josh stifled a yawn, and Katie insisted he go up to Jeff’s room, get some sleep, and meet her in the cafeteria for supper.
    “Tell Jeff I sent you.” She raised on her toes and kissed Josh quickly. “Get plenty of rest. You’re going to need it.”
    “Promise?”
    She offered a flirtatious smile. “Promise.”
    By suppertime, everyone at Jenny House knew about Josh’s surprise visit. “It’s so romantic,” Amanda said with a sigh as they sat eating in the cafeteria. “I wish I had a boyfriend like Josh.”
    “You’re lucky, Katie,” Chelsea added. “Not only about Josh but about your heart too.”
    “There are easier ways to meet guys,” Katie told them both with a laugh, but she couldn’t have been happier.
    When Josh joined them at the table, Jeff was with him. She introduced Josh to her friends, and while they ate, he entertained them with stories of his summer job. Katie thoroughly enjoyed hearing how he was spending his summer, but she couldn’t help noticingthe covert looks Amanda kept giving Jeff.
How could the guy be so blind as not to notice?
she wondered.
    The rest of the evening and the following morning flew past. Katie and Josh took a long run through the woods together and swam laps in the pool. They played standard video games, along with a three-way match with Chelsea on the VR game, which Josh proclaimed “awesome.”
    “This is the most fun I’ve ever had,” Chelsea confided at game’s end. Bright spots of color made her cheeks glow, and Katie thought the girl had never looked healthier.
    Josh put his hand on Chelsea’s shoulder and said, “It’s only the beginning. Once you get your new heart, we’ll have a foot race.”
    At noon, a team of horses was hitched to a huge hay wagon, and everyone at Jenny House piled in. They sang songs and stuffed straw down one another’s shirts all the way to the lake, and once there, those who felt up to it played a softball game while the staff laid out an old-fashioned picnic including an enormous cake decorated with frothy white frosting, blue and red icing flags, and sparklers.
    Katie and Josh took a canoe out on the lake and paddled every twist and turn of the shoreline, and when they were positive they were out of sight of the others, Josh took her in his arms and kissed her. The canoe dipped precariously, but Katie didn’t