Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Langhorne, Karyn (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

stay out there

in Los Angeles and live among the “beautiful people.”

Maybe I’ll even be one of them!

And no, I’m not avoiding your questions about Art

Bradshaw. I just don’t have anything to report. I haven’t

seen him at all since his daughter’s party and I don’t

plan to—not until after the surgery. Then I might just

call him up and treat him—and his daughter—to a nice

meal. I guess I owe them “thanks.” If it hadn’t been

for their one-two punch I probably wouldn’t have

called UD.

But then, again, maybe I would have. I don’t

know . . .

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Karyn Langhorne

Anyway, it’s great news that you might be given leave

to come to the Reveal—and even better news that one

or both of you might be home for good in December. Is

Michael seriously considering re-enlistment? Is he

insane? You’re not going to re-up, are you? Kiana

needs you guys.

So do I.

Be careful out there,

Audra

“Marks!”

His voice rumbled through the air toward

her, low and smooth as the bass line of a soul groove,

and Audra stopped short, struggling with the com-

peting emotions that welled up inside her.

Bradshaw.

She sighed. It was bound to happen, she knew it

as soon as she saw his name on the duty roster. For

whatever reason, Bradshaw was working the grave-

yard shift tonight, and Audra knew that tonight, af-

ter all these weeks and months, the thing that had

been opened with movie flirtation and the invitation

to his daughter’s party would finally, at last, be

closed.

She turned around slowly, searching her mind for

the angle, the character, the stance to play this

scene, feeling the need of the protection of a role,

the safety of an imitation.

“Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in,” she

drawled, slewing out a foot and lifting her chin,

dead diva style. “How are you, Bradshaw?”

He was as handsome as ever, every tall, muscled

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149

inch of him. There were smudges of fatigue under

them, but his amber eyes glittered a little and a bit of

a smile twitched the corner of his still-delectable lips.

“Heard you were cleared,” he said, as though that

answered her question. “Woodburn make you

switch to nights?”

No, you did, Audra thought, but kept the words in

her mind. Instead, she shook her head. “My idea,”

she said quickly. “How about you? What are you do-

ing here?”

But he appeared not to have heard.

“You look different, Marks.” Art Bradshaw

squinted down into her face, a puzzled expression

on his handsome face. “New makeup?”

Audra ignored the question, though she knew it

was true: She did look different. After some initial

irritation, Dr. Jamison’s dermabrasion, along with

her continued efforts with dieting, seemed to be

fading the acne and its scarring. And the daily ap-

plication of the doctor’s lightening cream was defi-

nitely beginning to show its efficacy. Her skin had

more browns and reds in its tone than blacks or

charcoals.

But unlike the weight loss, which brought com-

ments almost daily, to most people, the skin changes

weren’t really noticeable yet—only people who

paid regular attention to her face had commented

on it: her mother, mainly, and to a lesser degree,

Kiana. Audra was a little surprised that the tall

man had commented first on it and not on the fact

that there were nearly forty-five pounds less of

her—especially since she hadn’t seen him in over

two months.

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Karyn Langhorne

Instead of launching into a detailed explanation

she wasn’t sure he needed or deserved, she pulled

the cool mantle of an aggrieved dame around her

and quirked an eyebrow at him, lifting her foot off

the rickety break-room seat so the man could settle

into it across from her. “You’re the disappearing

man, Art Bradshaw,” she quipped, sounding exactly

like wisecracking Eve Arden in her own ears. “I

haven’t seen you since . . .” she furrowed her brow

as though trying hard to remember, as if the whole

incident weren’t as fresh as today’s bread. “Since . . .

Penny’s party . . .”

Bradshaw’s tawny skin seemed tinged with red.

“Penny’s party . . .” he grumbled, lowering his lu-

minous eyes from her face. “Sorry, Marks. About

Penny and the way she acted that night,” he finished

quickly. “Been meaning to make her apologize,

but . . .” He sighed. “We’ve been dealing with so

much shit lately—”

“No need to apologize. Doesn’t really matter

much now anyway, does it?” she said lightly, man-

aging to sound almost like she meant it. “Actually, I

guess you and your daughter did me a favor that

day. It was the last straw . . . just the last straw. I

mean, I’ve heard all that stuff before . . . but to hear

it from a sixteen-year-old girl . . .” She shook her

head. “It helped me to decide to send in my audition

tape. And now look what’s happened . . .”

“What stuff?” Bradshaw stared at her, puzzlement

creasing his face. “Audition tape? What did Penny

say?”

Audra quirked an eyebrow at him.

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151

“She didn’t—didn’t you just say you wanted her

to apologize—?” she began.

“I heard her being rude,” he said slowly, frown-

ing at her inquisitively. “Was there something

else?”

Audra opened her mouth to explain, then closed

it. There was no reason to get the girl in trouble with

her father for telling the truth—a truth that had

sparked so much change in Audra’s life. Instead, she

smiled at him and said, “No, of course not. You

haven’t heard my news? You must be the only one in

the whole prison—”

“I had a—a family emergency.” Bradshaw’s brow

curled into a frown of concern. “Had to take a few

weeks off to try and deal with it. Just got back today.”

“Emergency?” Audra sobered immediately, drop-

ping the aggrieved routine to stare up at him in con-

cern. “What’s happened? Nothing with Penny, I

hope?”

Bradshaw shook his head. “Not Penny. Her

mother. “

Audra blinked at him in surprise. “Her mother?

She showed up?”

“Showed up?” The frown deepened. “No, she’s al-

ways been around.”

“But I thought it was just the two of you. You and

Penny.”

“It is, for all practical purposes,” he muttered,

sounding bitter and defeated. “We’ve been di-

vorced for years. I take care of Penny. But she’s

around