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

Esmeralda, but . . .” His

handsome head wagged from side to side. “Truth is

she wants to be just like her and can’t figure out why

Esmeralda treats her the way she does.” His eyes

found Audra’s again. “I took a few days off, let her

skip a few days of school. Took a little road trip. Out

to the Poconos. To clear our heads.”

“Did it help, you think?” Audra asked, feeling a

strange empathy replace her annoyance with the

girl. “She was already dealing with a lot of stuff—a

new school, being sixteen and tall—she needed this

like a hole in the head.”

“You’re right about that,” Bradshaw agreed.

“Don’t really know what to say about any of this

anymore.” His eyes searched hers. “I want to tell her

mother, ‘That’s it. Stay away from her. From us.

We’ve given you enough chances . . . but there’s an-

other part of me”—he shrugged—“believes people

can change. Stupid, huh?”

“Not stupid . . . but

. . . Bradshaw,” she began

slowly, “can I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” he said, focusing his amber-eyed interest

on her.

Audra hesitated, searching for the best way to ask

the questions burning in her heart. “Penny shared

something with me as I was leaving. She thinks you

think she’s . . .” she began hesitantly, “too tall. You

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know . . . ungainly.” She paused. “Ugly.” Her eyes

found his. “Do you?”

Bradshaw was silent for a long moment, his big

fingers curving protectively around the coffee mug.

Audra imagined those fingers, cupping his new-

born daughter . . . and then imagined the feel of

them stroking her own skin.

“I think she’s beautiful,” he said bluntly, and Au-

dra read emotion in his eyes. “Just beautiful.” He

frowned. “She knows that. Did I say something?

Something she misunderstood?”

“I’m sure it was something like that,” Audra said

quickly, pretending ignorance. “What about Esmer-

alda?”

“What about her?” Bradshaw growled.

“Well, as angry as you are with her, you have to

admit you think she’s beautiful. I mean, you were

married to her once.”

“Yeah, I thought she was pretty, once. But

now . . .” He shook his head. “Penny says her

mother is ugly on the inside . . . and she’s right.” He

locked eyes with Audra. “Why?”

Audra shrugged. “No reason.” Apparently Penny

hadn’t shared anything of her I don’t want to be like

you conversation with her father. With her mother’s

betrayal, Audra suspected the whole incident had

been blown to the furthest corners of her mind.

Somehow knowing that Art had no knowledge of

what had transpired between them and the true rea-

sons for his absence erased the last residue of her

anger toward him. She debated with herself for a

split second, then decided, turning her face up to

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the man with a broad I’ve-got-a-secret smile. “You’ve

heard my news, right?”

Bradshaw shook his big head and waited.

“You didn’t hear about the television crew that

was here yesterday?”

“Oh yeah,” Bradshaw nodded. “One of the female

officers is going to be on some reality show, right?”

Audra let her grin widen across her face until real-

ization dawned in Bradshaw’s eyes.

“You?” The big man sounded awed, impressed.

“What for?”

“I’ve been selected for one of those makeover

shows,” Audra said proudly. “It’s called the Ugly

Duckling and basically they take ugly women, do a

lot of plastic surgery and—and—other stuff and

change them into beautiful ones who compete for a

grand prize. I’m leaving in a few weeks. Off to Cali-

fornia, where I’ll be transformed into a swan. Isn’t

that a kick?” she said impishly. “Me, a beauty queen.

Can you believe it?”

The smile drained bit by bit from Bradshaw’s face.

“Ugly Duckling?” he said, his brow creasing with

confusion. “Transformed? You? Why? You’re beauti-

ful the way you are—” He stopped, chewing on his

lips like he’d revealed a deep secret.

Audra’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Beauti-

ful . . . Had she actually heard that word fall from the

man’s lips . . . with herself as its intended subject?

“But I thought . . . didn’t you want me to talk to

Penny because . . . I mean . . .” Audra tripped over

the words, trying to find her way through her con-

flicting understandings. “I always thought you

thought I was ugly.”

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“Never said any such thing,” Art bristled. “And

as for Penny, why wouldn’t I want her to know a

woman who carries herself with grace and humor?

And that’s what makes you—or any woman for that

matter—beautiful.”

Audra stared at him. “Is—is that from a movie?”

“No. Sorry,” he murmured into his big hands

as though too embarrassed to meet her gaze. “I

shouldn’t have said that.” He pulled a few crumpled

bills from his pocket, threw them on the table and

rose, suddenly as nervous as a geeky band nerd. “I

have to go. Gotta make sure Penny gets to school

okay.” He turned toward the street, then turned back,

eyes on a spot just under Audra’s chin. “You’re . . .

good to talk to, Marks. I mean about stuff other than

movies. D—do you mind if I call you sometime?

Maybe we could . . . do something?” And the re-

markable amber eyes slid upward from her chin until

they captured her eyes.

Audra’s heart skipped, irregular and undisci-

plined, doing a sweet-and-low-down in her chest.

“Sure . . .” she said breathlessly. “That would be

great.”

He nodded, and gathering up every millimeter of

his handsomeness, he strode out of the diner and

into the Manhattan morning, disappearing into the

foot traffic of the beginnings of the traditional work-

day.

It took Audra a solid twenty minutes to get herself

together, processing everything she’d learned about

Art Bradshaw, Esmeralda Prince and Penny. When

she finally slid out of the booth, thrust her baseball

cap on her head and stepped out into the cool light

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of dawn, her hands stuffed deep into the pockets of

her too-hot-for-the-weather jacket to conceal them

from the bright morning sun rays, a new feeling had

crept into her heart.

Chapter 13

“Shamiyah . . . it’s Audra.”

It was about