Free Point Hope by Kristen James Page B

and loving as he murmured to her. There was love in his eyes. The image might have warmed her heart at another time, but after her conversation with Angel, he looked different to her. She felt different about him. She wondered how life could change so quickly, but that seemed like a very dumb question given recent events.
    He looked up at her. “I talked to the social worker. The birth certificate is filled out now…with Hope Amanda.”
    So he had decided to go with her choice for a middle name. Tears poked at her eyes, surprising her. Thank you . She wanted to say it but couldn’t. She nodded and left, her feelings too raw to talk to him.
    Candice and Jake were lying on the floor in the family room watching Cars again. (Again? Did they convince Alex to let them start that one? She had every line memorized.) It was at the scene where Mater took Lightning McQueen cow tipping, only the cows were actually tractors. Alex was flopped across the couch, busy with some device, either texting his friends or playing on his DSi. She couldn’t see to tell which.
    She kept going until she reached the office, where she shut the door and sat down. This was her home, but today she had the weird feeling that she didn’t belong here. She had painted the rooms, decorated the walls, and hung her driftwood carvings on the outside, but now it felt like Trey’s home and not theirs.
    What if Trey were in love with someone else, and that’s what all this was about? Maybe he was picturing another woman here with him. Maybe he was eager to be with her. Maybe he had been with her.
    What would he think if he knew she had kissed Ricky? Maybe it had been that easy for him too. Had she lost her marriage before all this… and just hadn’t known it until now?
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    Alex was standing in the living room, peering through the curtains, when Rosette walked into the room. It was Saturday morning and she’d slept in, which felt like a miracle with so many kids and a baby in the house. Trey had gotten up with them, and she guessed Alex had helped. The extra sleep probably saved her sanity.
    “Alex?”
    He stepped back in a hurry. After a glance at her face, he blurted, “There’s this girl walking by…”
    She smiled, and it felt so good that she wanted to start laughing. Or crying.
    “No, it’s not like that. I mean, she is pretty, but it’s the second time I’ve seen her walking by.”
    That did sound like it was a teenage boy kind of thing. Rosette crept up to the curtain and peeked through. A girl was just past the house, looking back. She wore a knitted green hat, pulled down over long blond hair, and a green jacket with jeans. Just a typical high school kid. She turned away just before Rosette could get a good look at her face.
     “So you’re stalking her while she’s stalking us?” Rosette started to laugh, but Alex’s face was so serious.
    “She watched the house a long time.”
    Hmm. Maybe the girl had heard about Ricky and Amanda, and how their baby was an orphan, but why would she be walking by their house twice and staring? And maybe she had walked by more times than that. Or, what if that wasn’t it? What if that girl and Trey… She shivered but it turned into a shudder. Of course, she couldn’t mention that possibility to Alex.
    “You know, she probably lives around here. Maybe she’s just curious about everything that’s happened. Or maybe she thinks you’re cute!” She didn’t want him dwelling on it, not when it could be…
    Alex fought off a blush and noticed she was holding two ping pong paddles in her hand.
    “You promised me a rematch.” It’d been a month or more since that last game, and she wanted to spend some time with him.
    He grabbed one of the paddles. “I can’t promise I’ll let you win!”
    She followed him through the house and out the back French doors, feeling like life was normal for a minute. He got several balls from the small bin and stuck a few in his pocket