Free Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay Page A

adulthood since I won’t be here to do it in person. I’m hoping that you’ll grow up to be a good man, someone people can depend on, look up to. I think those are important qualities to possess in life. I won’t be able to tell you exactly how to do that, but remember those traits when you make choices for your future and in your daily life.
    Huh, Joe thought. In most ways, he had grown up to be the kind of person his dad wanted, even though he’d done some things where he didn’t live up to his own expectations. He hoped he wouldn’t falter with Dana. Leafing through the stack, he came across a letter labeled embarrassment. Would Joe be embarrassed by Dana if they began to date? Jesus, he hated the thought.
Dear Son,
I want first to address an issue of how you’ve been embarrassed by me at your ballgames. I know you are, and I want you to know your reaction’s understandable. Don’t try to squelch your feelings. If you stuff them, they’ll surface at bad times. You have to admit how you feel. You have to face what’s going on inside you. On the other hand, know that you can get over feelings like that, too. Think about who really counts in your life. If they’d be embarrassed (by me or any situation you get yourself into), are they really worth spending time with?
    Well, that helped him some. He went on to another letter. Its topic was helplessness.
Dear Joey,
I saw again today how my being in this chair, how my disease, is affecting you. You feel helpless and you hate it. I truly believe you’re going to grow up to be a fearless individual, one who affects and controls things. That’s good, Joey, really good, but you’ve also got to remember that you can’t fix everything. Some things are way beyond your control…I know this now.
    Joe sat back into his pillows and sighed. This piece of advice was important. Because Joe knew in his heart he’d struggle with Dana’s condition—hell, he’d already felt it when they’d left the restaurant.
    Joe had to stop reading. The letters were always hard to get through, but he did it because it made him feel closer to his dad. This time, however, was completely different from before he knew Dana. His dad’s advice took on a whole new meaning. Once again, he was mesmerized by his dad’s strength of character, his wisdom from working on the streets, and the utter sensitivity the man had gained toward people. On the other hand, Joe felt like so much less of a person than his father for considering dropping out of Dana’s life because she was in a wheelchair. As he’d thought earlier, his dad wouldn’t be proud of him. With every word he read, Joe was sure of that fact.
    He also knew if he didn’t give his relationship with Dana a shot, he wouldn’t be very proud of himself either.
    o0o
    Ten days had passed since their lunch at The Red Apple, since Dana had confessed all to Joe, and he hadn’t contacted her with a decision. He’d emailed her once after the congratulatory one, saying he was thinking things over—he wanted to be sure, make the right choice—and he’d be back in touch.
    He hadn’t been. So when she was feeling particularly low one night, Dana accepted an invitation to meet Craig, whom she’d continued to email. Before agreeing, though, she told him about her disability. He said he was okay with it, that he still wanted to meet. He had a cousin in a wheelchair, so he’d understand her situation realistically.
    Unlike a certain cop.
    This time, she’d let him pick the place and was pleased that he’d chosen a beautiful city park. As always, she was early and pulled into the handicap parking space, noting there weren’t many cars in the lot. Usually, she was wary of grass—most people didn’t think about terrain in regard to wheelers and she’d had some bad experiences—but Craig knew better. He’d directed her to an accessible, paved entrance and told her he’d arrive early to claim an appropriate table, hopefully under a tree. The