Free Eden by Jamie McGuire Page B

his wrist. “You
don’t have to be jealous of a burger, honey.”
    “ Oh, brother,” Claire
said. She pointed at Ryan. “Do you see what I have to deal with?
Will one of you call OSHA?”
    “ I don’t know,” Jared
said. “You looked fairly pleased when we walked in.”
    Ryan took another bite and then
smiled. “She acts tough every time someone visits. She doesn’t fool
me, though.”
    “ Who else has visited?” I
asked.
    “ Mom. Kim. Beth. Chad.
Josh…yeah. That’s about it. No, wait….”
    “ How did that go? With
your mom?” I asked.
    Claire frowned, and Ryan winked at
her. “It went fine. She’s developed a theory. Since the last time I
was in a hospital you showed up, and now Claire’s here, Mom thinks
I’m getting myself hurt over girls.”
    “ Aren’t you?” Jared said
with a wry smile.
    “ Shut it, Jared,” Claire
warned.
    I handed Ryan his cup of soda. “You
know, this is becoming a habit.”
    His whiskers were far
beyond a five o’clock shadow, and his hair had grown downright
shaggy. He looked so much older than the
last time I’d seen him in that hospital, and nothing like the
Marine in the photos he'd sent with his letters. “Tell me about it. I thought I said two
hospitalizations ago that it was your turn?”
    “ I took a
turn.”
    “ Yeah, so you almost bled
out, big deal. I’m three to your one.”
    “ Well, I’m pregnant, so
I’m due for a hospitalization this year,” I said, processing the
words as I spoke them.
    Ryan laughed. “Wait…what?” he said,
his face morphing from amusement to concern.
    I looked to Claire. “You didn’t tell
him?”
    She shrugged, her platinum, angled
tresses bouncing when she did so. “It’s your business to tell. Way
to dump it on him, stupid.”
    I frowned. Ryan mirrored my
expression. “Congratulations,” he said. He glanced to Jared, sent
him a lightning-fast dirty look, and then returned his focus to me.
He pushed up in bed, sitting taller.
    “ Say it,” Jared
said.
    Claire watched the exchange, clearly
unhappy. I wasn’t sure if she was just sensing Ryan’s change in
mood, or if it was her own reaction to the sudden, unpleasant turn
in conversation.
    “ It’s not my place to say
anything,” Ryan said.
    “ You have my permission,”
Jared said. After his last word, he gestured for Ryan to
continue.
    Ryan rolled his eyes and looked to
Claire. “Isn’t this exactly what none of you wanted to
happen?”
    Claire seemed uncomfortable answering
for her brother, but she quickly shrugged it off. “Yes and no. Not
going along with the prophecy in Shax’s book would have been the
safer route—in theory—but Hell would more than likely still
anticipate its completion. Now that it’s happened, it’s a means to
an end. We have a better chance at getting Heaven on our
side.”
    Ryan was right to ask Claire. Jared
was well known for lengthy explanations. Claire went right to the
point.
    Ryan’s eyes drifted away from Claire
to me. “Are you okay?”
    I shrugged. “Great. Fantastic,
actually. I feel like I could run a marathon.”
    Ryan smiled. “That’s good.” He turned
to Claire. “That’s good, right?”
    Her nose wrinkled. “Why are you asking
me?”
    “ I don’t know,” Ryan
shrugged, “I thought you might know better than anyone
else.”
    Claire stood, laughing once. “I’m
hardly the expert. It’s never been an option for me, so I didn’t
bother asking my mother about the details.”
    “ Why wouldn’t it be an
option?”
    Claire rolled her eyes. “Because I’m
busy.”
    “ With what?” he said,
dubious.
    Claire placed both of her palms
facedown on the bed and looked at Ryan. “Keeping you
alive.”
    Ryan’s hand slid slowly across the
blanket. His fingers layered hers. “Well...what if we were
together? That could make it an option.”
    Claire straightened quickly and
crossed her arms. “Dream on.”
    The corners of his mouth turned up. He
enjoyed unsettling Claire far too much for his own