Read A Child's Heart (Trent & Cassie's Story) A River City Novel for Free Online Page A

surprised to see him return with a book on
geology. “Oh, you do have problem. But I think I know how to handle
it.”
    Trent stepped into the conversation. “I said one
book, and the puzzle is too expensive.”
    She held her hand up to Trent. “Shawn, you need to
make a decision. You may have the book. It’s something you can read
over and over again. Or you may choose the puzzle. You’ll need your
father’s help to assemble it. When it’s done, you can keep it as a
reminder of the fun you and your dad had putting it together.”
    “Geez,” Trent muttered half under his breath.
    She turned around and beamed at him, except he didn’t
smile back.
    Shawn took the puzzle and the book she was holding,
and disappeared around the corner with Trent behind him.
    When Shawn returned, he was only holding the puzzle.
“Daddy said I had to pay half of the cost.” He reached in his
pocket and withdrew a small wad of folded money held by a large
paperclip.
    “You have a lot of cash there. Let’s see. Do you know
what is half of thirty four dollars?” She flipped through the money
he was holding.
    “No. I know four quarters make a dollar, and that two
fives make ten.”
    “Well, this costs more than ten, so let’s make it six
dollars and we’ll call it even, okay?”
    “That’s a five and a dollar.”
    She held the box and grinned while he carefully chose
the two bills. She’d never met such a gifted child. Her heart went
out to him, as if she could in someway protect him just with her
love. Tears began to fill her eyes, and when she turned, she found
Trent’s biceps next to her face. She leaned into his arm and
whispered, “How do you cope?”
     
    ***
    At nine that night, as the parents and children were
leaving, Cassie discovered Trent waiting for her. “I’ll be a few
more minutes.”
    He nodded and sat on a bench while she finished her
job. It was twenty minutes to ten when she appeared with her
briefcase.
    She looked at her watch. “I’d suggest that you follow
me home, but I’m starved. I skipped dinner tonight. I need to eat,
and I don’t do fast foods. There’s a little waterfront restaurant
that still sells food at this hour. The menu is limited because the
restaurant is closed, but the bar is open. Would you like to follow
me there?”
    “That’s fine. Is it a place where we can talk?”
    She nodded. “If it’s too noisy, we can walk in the
park.”
    A few minutes later, they were sitting at a small
table on the café’s patio. She’d ordered the club sandwich and
raspberry lemonade, and he’d ordered a beer.
    “You’d better help me with this sandwich, because
I’ll never eat all of it.”
    He grinned at her. “I’m sure I’ll find room for
whatever you don’t want.”
    She fiddled with her glass and then gazed up at him.
“I know you wanted to talk to me, but I also want to talk to you. I
want you to be straight with me. You’re the father, where’s the
mother?”
    Trent looked up and swallowed. “My wife died in
childbirth. My life shattered, and it’s never been the same.”
    “Ohmigod, I’m so sorry.” She took his hand and held
it.
    “So am I. Later I found out that Shawn had the same
heart problem. The difference was, she never knew she had one. They
don’t routinely check children for such things, but Shawn’s
pediatrician knew the situation and ordered a few tests. The first
time the tests were inconclusive, but when they did it again, they
knew he had a problem.”
    “How old was he when you found out?”
    “Nine months.”
    “And he’s just now getting the surgery?”
    He nodded. “My insurance didn’t want to pay because
it was congenital. I got a lawyer who fought with them, but they
refused to pay for this surgery because it’s cutting-edge
technology. It’s robotic and the least invasive. Tate’s dad found
out about Shawn and went back to the company where he works and
explained the situation. They had just started using the robot on
adults, but Shawn