Free A Healing Heart by Melissa A. Hanson Page A

hand and held it while we walked between rides and waited in lines. I was also discovering that Lacey could be quite the chatterbox. It warmed my heart, as I knew that Lacey needed a mother’s attention. I looked up at Collin and could see he was thinking the same thing, his face marked with pain but also relief that she was truly having a great time.
    I caught his eye, and he smiled. “She really likes Eileen. This is good for her. I’m so glad Eileen invited us.”
    “ Yeah, me too. This is by far my favorite trip to Disneyland.”
    “ Mine too.”
    Our boat arrived to take us through the waters of pirates, treasures, and battles. I worried a bit about the darkness on the ride and hoped the kids wouldn’t get scared. Lacey was a little unsure of the drops, but Riley was fascinated, and after the ride was over, he spent most of the afternoon singing “yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!”
    After pirates, we explored Tarzan’s Treehouse and the Jungle Cruise. When we finally walked out of Adventureland, Lacey’s little feet were getting tired, and Collin had been carrying her the last little bit, so we decided to rent her a stroller. Riley had already fallen asleep, and I was pretty sure Lacey would not be far behind, and sure enough, she hadn’t been in the stroller more than ten minutes before she was fast asleep.
    Eileen suggested that Collin and I hit some of the other rides while the kids were sleeping. The Matterhorn was first on our list; we found the end of the line and slowly began moving our way around the mountain. As we walked, Collin snagged my hand and interlinked it with his own.
“So, I have to ask, what’s the story on Eileen?”
    “ You mean her background?”
    “ Yeah, how’d you meet her, that kind of thing.”
    “ Her husband was in the military and was killed overseas a little over two years ago. He never got to meet Riley. She grew up in Riverview, and after her husband was killed, she moved back to be near family and friends. Riley was only three months old at the time.”
    “ Wow, that had to have been hard.”
    “ Yeah, my aunt and Eileen have been friends for years. After Eileen moved back, she needed a baby-sitter and I was available. I had just moved down here, and it worked out well. Eileen and I both were suffering over our losses. My being with her and Riley helped both of us. Baby-sitting helped keep me occupied, and Riley has been so much fun. Watching him grow and learn new things has been an amazing experience for me. I love kids, but I know one thing for sure, they are a lot of work and I’ll be waiting to have my own for a long time!”
    “ Totally! Lacey can be quite a handful sometimes.”
    The line moved fairly quickly at the Matterhorn, but I hardly noticed. Collin’s hand was still linked with mine; I could not get enough of the closeness. Every time he touched me, my stomach would turn topsy-turvy. Every nerve and all of my senses were on high alert. I felt alive and electrified, and I craved it more and more. Words were unnecessary; all we seemed to need was contact with each other.
    Climbing into our bobsled, we ended up in the back car by ourselves. Collin climbed in first and I sat in front of him, leaning against his rock hard chest. His arms wrapped around me, and I nestled my hands on top of his. Soon we were off, climbing and twisting through the mountain. As it got cooler inside the artificial mountain, I was glad for Collin’s warmth radiating through my cotton T-shirt. When we whipped around another corner, the Abominable Snowman appeared, and a scream ripped from my throat. I could feel the ripple of laughter as his chest moved behind me. I had been on this ride so many times, yet today I’d forgotten about the big white beast with the bright red eyes. The ride came to an end and we climbed out, Collin jumping out first and pulling me out beside him. We walked toward the exit and then around the mountain toward where Eileen was waiting for