AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I only seem like I’m obsessed because you don’t try to be healthy at all.”
“It’s hard to believe we came from the same gene pool,” Janessa said, then popped a chip into her mouth and chewed.
Jay was used to his siblings ragging on him about his focus on exercise and healthy food. He would never apologize for it because he could hardly tell the young men he coached to be healthy while he sat around eating junk food.
“So you’re a regular at the gym?” Misha asked.
“I am,” Jay agreed. “I usually go to the gym in town. When it’s basketball or volleyball season, I’ll work out with some of the players at the high school.”
“Setting a good example for the young men?”
“I try,” Jay said. “I want to teach them balance in their lives.”
“Funny that you’re more focused on health than the medical personnel,” Janessa said with a laugh.
“If I wanted to stay on the basketball team in high school and college, I needed to be on the top of my game. Exercise became a habit. One I never got out of.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t made everyone work out with you,” Misha said.
Gareth laughed. “Oh, he’s tried.”
“I got so tired of the whining that I gave up.”
“Do you exercise, Misha?” Janessa asked.
“I did in high school when I played soccer, and then for the first couple of years in college. But my schedule kind of went nuts after that with medical school and then my residency. I barely had time to sleep.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Gareth said with a nod.
“Well, if you ever want to work out, let me know,” Jay offered.
“I might take you up on that,” Misha said. “I didn’t have much interest in working out in Atlanta, but things here are… different.”
“Different bad?” Aria asked. “Or different good?”
“So far, the main downside to being here is missing the friends we had in Atlanta,” Misha said. “Pretty much everything else has been positive.”
“So, was it just a change of scenery that brought you here?” Aria asked. “That was certainly the case for me.”
Misha considered the question for so long that Jay wasn’t sure she was going to answer. Finally, she said, “That definitely played a role in our decision. I worked in a pretty rough area of Atlanta, and I was being targeted by some not so great people. Leaving was a matter of safety.”
“Will you be safe here?”
“Yes,” Misha said without any hesitation. “We were careful to limit who knew where we were going, and Doctor Martin also helped us make the move, so he made sure our destination was kept secret and that we had new phone numbers and such.”
Janessa lowered her sandwich. “That had to be difficult to deal with. I can’t even imagine.”
“It was stressful living that way, so it made the decision to move here pretty easy.”
“Well, I’m glad you, your mom, and Ciara are here,” Aria said. “I understand what it’s like to leave a place that’s not safe, whether the concern is for physical safety or emotional stability. Serenity is a great place to land, I have to say.”
“Mom and I have already discovered that,” Misha said with a smile. “And Ciara has loved all the new faces in her life.”
“She’s so cute,” Janessa said. “Kind of like her mom.”
“Actually,” Misha began, “I’m not her biological mom.”
“Oh.” Janessa frowned. “I’m sorry for making that assumption.”
