Free One Chance To Love (Christian Romance) by Katie Ingersoll Page A

one. Now all she had to do was wait for the notice that she’d been
chosen—or not.
    Of course, she didn’t expect to get
any of them instantaneously. She knew it was more probable a notification
wouldn’t come for a day or two, but that didn’t stop her from being hopeful.
    Two hours later, with still no
word, she finally stopped checking for messages every five minutes. Besides,
her stomach was launching a campaign to get her to feed it. That’s when it
dawned on her she hadn’t had any breakfast, and lunch time was upon her.
    Giving in to hunger, she went into
the kitchen in search of nourishment. A can of vegetable beef soup would do
just fine. She’d have to do some grocery shopping afterward if she wanted to
eat for the next few days.
    With her lunch finished, she
decided not to concern herself with the computer or any messages that may or
may not come in. A mission was upon her. She had a need to walk the four blocks
to the local store and procure items for her cupboard and refrigerator.
Starvation was not going to claim her this week—at least, not if she could stop
it.

 
     
    Chapter Nine
     
    The weeks seemed to go past as if
on a wild dash to usher in the Spring that was to follow. Allison had gotten
all three of the freelance jobs she’d applied for. Each of the clients loved
her work enough to keep giving her more. She didn’t question it—or even wonder
why it was happening—but simply accepted it.
    Although she wouldn’t have admitted
it aloud to anyone, Daniel was never far from her thoughts. If nothing else,
he’d taught her to be thankful for everything, and she was trying. Yes, she
even confessed to herself that God knew how hard she was working to change her
life. It was oddly interesting how good everything turned out when she let Him
in and accepted His help.
    Only two things saddened her just a
little.
    The first was that she had to give
up the apartment she’d come to love. But she’d found another—though smaller—one
in a nicer section of Greenwich Village. The kicker was that her rent went down
a considerable amount. That was good, because even though she was making money
with the freelance thing, it wasn’t as much as she’d made before. But she could
pay her bills, and that’s what mattered.
    The other issue that brought her a
touch of sadness was that the crystal angel she wanted so much was no longer in
the window at Tiffany’s. She’d waited a few days after the incident with the
media before daring to venture out again. A desire to reconnect had pulled her
there, only to find the figurine was gone. A salesperson inside—was her name
Taylor?—had told her it was sold not long after Allison had last seen it.
    When she thought about the bigger
picture, however, she couldn’t complain. She felt happier than she could
remember. Even calling her mother was becoming less of a chore and more
heartwarming. Yes, it would be a while before she could handle a deep
discussion with Mom on anything to do with faith, but she was making slow
progress.
    Even Marcy seemed to notice the
change when they talked on the phone or met for lunch. Oh, and Allison even
talked her friend into joining the website, so now Marcy was bringing home a
paycheck again.
    All things taken into account, life
was wonderful. With only one exception.
    Most nights she’d lay in bed for
hours thinking about Daniel. Sure, she had his cell phone number and she could
call him. But he’d been so irate the last time she’d seen him. What if he was
still upset with her? No. Best not to bother him further. Besides, he also had
her number, but did he bother to call her? Nope. He’d likely forgotten all
about her, anyway.
    She tossed and turned on those
nights, restless dreams interrupting her sleep, waking her up too many times
before morning. One of those mornings was particularly difficult for her.
Although she wasn’t aware of the fact, it was February 14 th .
Valentine’s Day.
    Dear Lord, why couldn’t she