One True Heart by Jodi Thomas

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    â€œHow are you, Kare?” he asked. It wasn’t exactly a pickup line, but then if he picked her up, where would they go?
    â€œI’m worried, John. No one is listening to me about your innocence. I’ve consulted with the cards and called a ‘phone a spirit guide’ hotline. I’ve even talked to my brother. It appears we are the only two people who think you’re innocent.”
    â€œWhat about Scarlet and Max?”
    The fairy lady jumped up so fast he thought she might be levitating for a moment.
    â€œThat’s it,” she said. “All I have to do is find Scarlet and Max, make them come home, and then you’ll be cleared. I’m so happy I could kiss you.”
    Johnny didn’t get his hopes up, but he had to ask, “Does this mean we’re dating?”
    He’d expected a laugh, or maybe a yes, but Kare looked at him with those big brown eyes tearing up. “Oh no,” she cried. “Prison life is getting to you. The bars can sap your sanity. You’ve got to be strong, John. Don’t worry, you’ve got me out here in the free world fighting for you.”
    He tried to smile, but knowing she was helping frightened him more than the murder charge. He stood. “I need to go back to my cell.”
    Now tears were running down her cheeks. “I understand. It’s the one place you feel safe. Locked away from all the world. I’ve read about how not being free can imprison your mind as well as your body.”
    Johnny walked back to his cell thinking that after meeting Kare Cunningham, if he ever did get out of here and divorce Scarlet, he’d move to his farm and become a hermit.

Chapter 12

    T HURSDAY
    The noon sun was slicing through the blinds in the waiting room when Beau Yates woke. He lifted his hat slowly, taking his first peek at life circling around him. Several families, huddled in groups, were in the room or just outside the door in the hallway. They were talking quietly like strangers might as they waited for a train. Only the loved one about to leave was beyond the double doors.
    Apparently, Beau was as invisible as the silk plant in the corner. No one noticed him. They simply moved around him, sharing their grief with one another with hugs and pats.
    Standing, he walked to an empty desk near the entrance to the critical care unit. Any volunteer who might have sat there in the past had been replaced by a single sheet of paper with visiting times printed in bold letters.
    Fifteen minutes until he could go in again and stare at his father. Then, Beau promised himself he’d call for a plane to come pick him up. By the time he ate lunch and droveout to the airstrip, the plane would be waiting. It was time he got back to work.
    He leaned against the wall, watching the others. Most looked sad. A few seemed more worried or afraid. All appeared tired, weary of waiting, anxious of what would come next. Something about hospital air sucked hope out of all who breathed it.
    Beau wasn’t even sure what he hoped for. If his father lived, they’d just go on ignoring each other. If he died, Beau would have to stay a few days and at least offer to help out. Maybe if he survived this heart attack, Beau wouldn’t rush home next time.
    When a nurse started letting people into the critical care unit, Beau’s stepmother walked into the room. She looked smaller than he remembered. A little mouse of a woman void of any joy in life. She’d married his father when she was almost forty. Beau used to wonder how bad her single life must have been if she’d settled for his old man.
    â€œHello, Ruthie,” he whispered when she was three feet from him.
    She jumped, then met his gaze for a moment. “How’d you know, Beau? I didn’t know you’d be here.”
    Her words told him that she hadn’t asked that he’d be called. Which meant what he suspected: His father wouldn’t be happy to