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“I don’t know. You just seem kind of tense.”
John walked into the kitchen at that moment.
Lou sighed loudly and smiled at him. “Thank God you’re here. Can you help me get breakfast on the table?”
“At your service, ma’am,” he replied as he filled the coffeepot and started setting the buffet.
“Well, hell,” Brody said. “I could have done that.”
“Never mind. We have it under control.” Her smile did not quite reach her eyes.
“If you say so,” Brody said as he walked outside and sat down on the steps of the porch.
“You guys okay?” John asked.
“Why wouldn’t we be?”
“You seem kind of tense.”
“Must be your imagination.”
The three of them ushered the hands out and cleaned up after breakfast with Brody pitching in as he saw what needed to be done. Lou wiped the sink dry with a towel and hung it over the edge.
“You feel like running today?” Brody asked.
“No,” Lou replied, touching her forehead. “I have a headache. I’m just going to go and lay down for a minute.”
“I’ll go with you,” he said, starting to approach her.
She held up a hand and pressed it to his chest. “I won’t be able to rest if you’re with me. Just give me an hour.”
Brody stepped back and quietly said, “Whatever you say.”
She turned and walked upstairs alone.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lou quietly closed the door to her room and reached under the mattress to remove the envelope full of photos Wes had given her. She dumped them onto the bed and thumbed through them. She smiled as she saw the solemn teenager and her worn-out mother, looking so alike yet so different. Her mother had looked tired even after a full night’s sleep. She didn’t look much older than Lou. She had gotten pregnant at such an early age.
Lou stood up and looked into the mirror, comparing her image in the photo with the one in her hand. She had changed. She had grown. She had become more than she had ever dreamed of being as a child. Her bleak existence had become rosy, filled with love and laughter. Instead of living in squalor, she lived in a fine home with wonderful people whom she could call family. They cared for one another, worked side by side and went to bed looking forward to each new day.
“This, too, shall pass,” Lou mumbled as she put the photos back in the envelope and tucked them back under the mattress. These feelings of hopelessness and worry would soon pass. They would be over. Something had to happen to change it all. Now she just had to wait and see what the climax would be.
Lou lay down on the bed and fluffed the pillow beneath her head. She closed her eyes and thought of her daughter and Jeb and Sadie, all of whom were safe. Then she thought of Brody and John, who were downstairs, keeping a watchful eye. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
Lou woke a short time later to the feel of a hand brushing the hair from her forehead. She felt strong fingers linger over the scar at her temple. She reached without opening her eyes and clasped the fingers in her own hand, squeezing gently.
“Ready to get up, sleeping beauty?” Brody asked.
“Why?” Lou groaned.
“I need to run some errands. I wanted you to go with me.” Brody said. “John is going, too.”
“So, you don’t have anyone to babysit me?” she asked.
“You don’t need a babysitter. I just wanted your company.”
“Yeah, right,” she said, swinging her legs off the side of the bed. Her stomach protested the quick movement and she covered her mouth.
