Free Heart Echoes by Sally John

“Your point?”
    â€œAnd now we have Tealie Sue. Want to tell me?”
    Her throat went dry and she shook her head.
    â€œLove . . .” River pressed with such tenderness. Not responding to his compassion was kind of like telling God to take a hike.
    Which she had been known to do on occasion.
    River said, “Owen called you that.” It was a statement.
    Her husband was a smart guy.
    When Teal was four, Owen Pomeroy had married her mother. Lacey was born soon after. From the beginning Teal refused to refer to him as her stepdad. He was always Owen, and at some point her mother became Randi, short for Miranda. Owen never adopted her. A huge blessing, in her mind. There would never be any legal ramifications with the scuzzball.
    â€œYeah.” She sighed. “I’ve told you how Lacey was so cute and funny when she was little. How everyone adored her. Well, she even got a special name, Lacey Jo, from our mom. I was six, not cute, not funny, not adored, so I nicknamed myself Tealie Sue. Lacey liked it. I told everyone at school that was my new name. Owen the moron got wind of it and made it his term of endearment.” She smirked. “Which was helpful, in a way. It gave me a heads-up that he was about to ridicule me or smack me.”
    â€œOh, Teal.”
    â€œHey, it’s not a big deal. I covered this ages ago. I actually hadn’t given it a thought in years.” She smiled. “God’s honest truth.”
    River wrapped an arm around her neck and kissed her forehead. “God’s honest truth, you are not only cute and funny and adored, you are beautiful inside and out.”
    He had said the words before, whittling away at those other words planted by her stepdad. On some days she imagined River’s were the true ones.
    â€œAnd one more thing,” he said. “I love you.”
    She laughed and kissed him. Those were the words she could believe any day.

Chapter 15

    â€œMr. Hinson died!” The blonde teen, a friend of Maiya’s, announced the news loudly, her dark eyes wide and her chin trembling, right there in the middle of Shoe Place. “A wall collapsed on him!”
    As Teal watched the girls whimper and hug each other, she murmured to herself, “Where do I go to resign?”
    Just when she thought the earthquake stories could not get any sadder, a new one slammed into her heart with debilitating fury. Mr. Hinson taught math at the middle school. Even now as high schoolers, the girls thought of him with fondness. He was like that.
    Had been like that.
    The mother of Maiya’s friend touched Teal’s arm. She couldn’t remember the woman’s name, but it didn’t matter. They exchanged subdued hellos and began the dialogue that had become commonplace the past three days with friends and strangers alike. “Is your family all right? Where were you when it struck?”
    Eventually she and Maiya made their way outside to the car with new shoes for marching band and a pair of everyday sandals for school. It was only because of her growing feet that Maiya had been granted a reprieve to exit the house.
    Well, that and Teal’s stir-craziness. Like most of her coworkers and much of the city, she was doing work from home or putting it on hold. Not that she wanted to stray too far from Maiya and River yet. Aftershocks had lessened in numbers and strength, but they were still strong enough to rattle her nerves.
    â€œMom—” Maiya spoke over the top of the car—“why can’t I drive?”
    â€œHoney, if you say ‘Why can’t I’ one more time, I swear I’m going to lose it. Do you really want me to explain again why you have no privileges?”
    Maiya huffed and tossed her head. Her long hair bounced over her shoulder.
    Teal got into the car and shut her door.
    Maiya slid in from her side. “But you know I have to get in more practice time so I can get my driver’s license in