Free The Heart Knows What the Heart Wants by Lori L. Clark

walked into the kitchen, Neona called out to her from her new temporary bedroom on the main floor. "Star? Is that you?"
    "It's me, Neona," she responded, already walking toward the former parlor. Star painted on a smile she didn't feel and handed Neona the mail. "You hungry?"
    Neona crinkled her nose. "Not really. These damn pain killers upset my stomach."
    "I'm going to fix a sandwich," Star said. "I'll be back, if you want some company."
    "That'd be just fine. I have a feeling you've got something on your mind," Neona said.
    Star shook her head. "How do you do that?"
    Neona chuckled and tapped her index finger against her temple. "Women's intuition."
    Star smiled and told her, "I'll be back in a few minutes. Can I bring you anything? Something to drink?"
    "I could go for a cup of coffee," Neona said.
    "Sure thing," Star said.
    Star brewed a fresh pot of coffee and made a cheese sandwich for herself while she waited. She peeked through the cupboards and noticed things were a little bare with Thanksgiving just around the corner. When she made her way back into Neona's room, she handed her the cup of coffee and sat down in the chair beside the pullout sofa bed.
    Star offered Neona half of her sandwich, but Neona shook her head. "No, thank you."
    After a few minutes of silence, Star brought up the approaching holiday. "Shane mentioned you were planning to have Thanksgiving here?"
    "Well, I was, but I don't see that happening now," Neona said softly as she sipped her coffee. "Maneuvering around the kitchen on crutches isn't a real efficient way to get any cooking done."
    Star put her plate with half of the sandwich on the end table and tucked her legs beneath her in the chair. "I'd love to do it for you. That is, if you don't mind some stranger finding her way around your kitchen?"
    Absentmindedly, Neona reached for the remainder of the sandwich and took a bite.
    "You're willing to do that? Dinner for six?"
    "I'd love to," Star told her. Star enjoyed cooking. It would be a welcome change to cook for people who might actually appreciate the effort. She was excited with the prospect of putting a large meal together. "Shane offered to bake the pies."
    Neona's face lit up, and she said, "That settles it. Shane makes the best pecan pie this side of the Mississippi."
    "Let's get a list together, and I'll go grocery shopping in the morning," Star suggested.
    "Top drawer of the desk over there." Neona nodded to the massive roll top desk across the room. "Grab me a pad of paper and a pen out of the top drawer. Then hand me the phone."
    Star hopped up and retrieved the items for her. They debated on how big the turkey should be, whether to make stuffing from scratch, or the kind from a box, as well as what other side dishes to serve. Neona reread the grocery list and said, "I think that's everything. Let me just call Shane and find out what he needs for the pies."
    Star's heart squeezed in her chest when she thought of Shane with that dark haired girl from earlier. She got back up and crossed the room to add another log to the glowing embers of the fireplace while Neona talked with Shane.
    Satisfied the fire was going to take off, Star sat back down and waited for Neona to finish the call. Neona added a few more things to the list before she said goodbye to Shane. She handed the list and the phone to Star. "Shane insisted on going with you to Hannibal tomorrow. He said to tell you he'll be here first thing in the morning."
    Star felt her pulse speed up, and she thought about protesting, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. She didn't want to draw any more attention to herself over the discomfort she felt being around him.
    "Will his girlfriend be joining us for Thanksgiving?" Star asked.
    Neona frowned and gave Star a curious look. "Girlfriend? I don't think he has one."
    "Oh. I was just wondering," Star said, shifting in her chair. "I saw him talking to some girl before I left work tonight. They seemed to be...friendly."
    "What