AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ate? Heck, I have no idea. She hadn’t been able to choke down food since Daddy took to the hospital. Then Daddy passed, and Uncle Jeff—Daddy Jeff—showed up and took her inheritance. Scrambled eggs appeared in her brain. Yes, Rafe had fed her a bite of eggs. Then he’d dropped the bomb about being married, she got engaged to Frank, and now she found out her daddy wasn’t her daddy after all. Had she truly only eaten scrambled eggs since…since…
“Can you answer, Angie?” her mother asked.
Angie shook her head. “I… I’m not sure.”
“I didn’t see you eat anything at the memorial service, or at the party we gave for the men.” She smoothed Angie’s hair off her forehead. “Jeff, I think we need to feed her.”
“I’ll call room service.”
“This is Bakersville. Small-town hotel. There’s no room service here.”
“Fine, fine.” He sighed. “I’ll go down and find something for her. Wait here.”
The door squeaked lightly as it closed.
“Angie, darling, I’m so sorry,” her mother said.
Doesn’t matter. I hate you. I hate him. I’ll never forgive either of you. Her vocal cords seemed fused. Couldn’t bring the words out. She wanted to say them. Lord, how she longed to say them. She had nothing.
Nothing.
“Angie, I hope you can forgive me.”
Angie turned her head to look away from her mother’s face. She focused on the beige wall of the hotel room.
Icky plain beige.
“All right. I won’t force you to talk,” Maria said. “We’ll wait till Jeff gets back with some food.”
You’ll be waiting a heck of a lot longer than that. I’m through with you. Through with Uncle Daddy Jeff. Through with men I don’t love. Through with the man I do love. Through with everything. What left is there to live for?
Maria smoothed her hair back again, but Angie jerked her head.
Don’t touch me.
She closed her eyes. The soft breath of her mother’s sigh met her ears.
“I’m so sorry, Angie. This will work out. I promise.”
I promise.
Right.
The door squeaked open. “I’m back.”
Jeff’s voice.
So like her father’s…
It was her father’s…
“I got her a turkey sandwich and some water. Something easy for her stomach.”
“Good thinking.” Her mother’s voice. “Can you sit up. Angie?”
Go away.
“Come on, sit up.” Her mother urged her forward, and she leaned back upon several pillows. “You have to eat something, sweetheart. Please.”
