Dust by Eva Everson (epub e reader .TXT) 📕

have children at any age. Not that Patterson was just any man. He was a man who wanted certain things to be certain ways. So …

“Sure,” she answered when she realized she’d left Kyle waiting long enough. “I guess I’ll need to start dating someone seriously first though, huh?”

Kyle stood, reaching for the mostly empty pizza box as he did. “Won’t we all …” He looked over at her. “Want the last slice?”

She stood with him. “No.” She pressed her hand against her stomach now paunchy from her dinner. “I really need to see if I can get out of here before too much longer.”

He straightened. Raised the box and gave her a nod. “Hey. This was nice. Kind of a shame we haven’t spent more time together before. Karen will have to go off to Chicago and you’ll have to run late more often.”

Cindie crossed her arms. “Yeah. It was nice.” She started around the coffee table and toward her bedroom. “I’ll—uh—I’ll just get my suitcase and then you can start your official Kyle weekend in earnest.”

Kyle was halfway to the kitchen when she crossed her bedroom’s threshold. “Let the official non-party begin,” he called out. “Woo-hoo!”

Chapter Thirty-one

Allison

“Look, Mama. Somebody spilled ink on the moon.”

I lay on my back next to Michelle in the cool backyard grass, my fingers clasped around hers. “That’s right, baby girl. And what kind of moon do we have tonight?”

“Full.”

“Very good.”

“And there’s Oh-RYE-on,” she said, pronouncing the constellation Orion in her own special way.

I turned my head toward her; she did the same toward me and I rolled over, gathering her, kissing her soft cheek and smelling the baby shampoo that lingered in her freshly washed hair. “I’m going to miss you this weekend,” I whispered.

“I’m going to miss you more,” she whispered back.

“But you’ll have a good time with your mommy,” I said, my throat closing in around the maternal moniker.

“I like my Aunt Velma,” she said, then rolled on her back with a furrowed brow. “Mama, is it okay if I lay on the grass in my new shorts and shirt?”

I laughed easily. Oh, my goodness, this child. “Yes, sweet baby. It’s okay. It’s not like we’re wiggling around or anything.”

Michelle said nothing back for a minute, then: “Do you see that start over there?”

“Star,” I corrected gently. “No T. Just star. S-t-a-r. Can you spell that?”

“S-t-a-r.”

“Very good. You’re the smartest little girl I know. Did you know that?”

“Uh-huh. But do you see it?”

I laughed again. “Yes, I see it. I actually think it’s Venus and Venus isn’t a star, but a planet.”

“What’s a planet?”

“What’s a planet?”

Westley’s voice brought me onto my elbows and Michelle scrambling to reach her father. “Daddy,” she squealed as she ran to him.

“You made it home,” I said. “I was beginning to think you’d decided to spend the night at the drugstore. What time is it anyway?”

My husband grimaced. “Felt like I needed to—after eight thirty—too much work, not enough time.” He kissed Michelle’s face, then neck, which brought a melody of giggles. “You packed?” he asked, as though she were heading out on vacation. “Mommy ought to be here soon.”

Michelle nodded and I pulled myself to my feet, brushed the grass from the back of my damp shorts, then crossed to my family. “Does Mama get one of those kisses, too?” I asked Westley.

“You’ll get more than that later on,” he said, bringing his lips to mine as Michelle wrapped her arms around us both.

“I love you guys zoo muuch,” she said in her way of over-emphasizing “so much.”

Westley turned. “Is that the phone?”

I paused, listening. “Yeah. I’ll get it.” I took off in a sprint, bounded up the back-porch steps and through the door to the kitchen. “Hello,” I panted into the wall phone’s bright yellow handpiece, the one that coordinated with the floral wallpaper I’d hung earlier in the spring.

“Let me speak to Westley.”

All joy rushed out of me. Cindie. I could imagine what she wanted, but I couldn’t imagine who’d taught her that Let me speak to Westley bordered on good manners at any level.

But at least my mama had raised me right. “Of course,” I practically cooed. “Hold on.” I turned as Westley—Michelle still cradled in his arms—entered the room behind me. “Cindie,” I mouthed.

Westley’s face became like stone. “Hey,” he said into the phone while transferring Michelle to me. I held her against me as he continued with, “All right... all right... yeah, okay … I’ll see you then.”

I set Michelle’s feet on the floor and suggested she go watch a little television. “Y’all gone talk?” she asked, straining her head backward to look up at us.

I raised my brow as Westley smiled. “You are a very smart little girl, Michelle Ma Belle. Do what your mama said now.”

She left us in a wake of giggles, her footsteps growing faint as she neared the front of the house.

“What is her excuse this time?” I crossed my arms, knowing Michelle would not see Cindie that night.

“Atlanta traffic.”

I sighed. “Doesn’t she care—”

“Don’t start, Ali. It’s not a big deal. She stopped at a phone booth south of Macon and called, meaning she’s not going to make it until way after Michelle’s bedtime, which …” He glanced at his watch. “ ... is about twenty minutes from now.”

I pursed my lips. “So, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll meet up with her in the morning.” He raised his hand to stop me from saying what he knew I wanted to say—that a mother—a good mother—would know that Atlanta’s traffic on a Friday afternoon was bumper to bumper. That a mother—a good mother—would leave early enough to beat it. But Cindie had some perfect excuse, no doubt. She always did, especially over the past couple of years.

“All right,” I said. “Are you going to break this news to Michelle, or will you leave that for me?”

Westley shook his head, his hands coming to his hips. “Stop it, Ali. It’s not that