Unexpected Attraction. Stella MacLean

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       CHAPTER THREE

      SHANNON LIMPED AHEAD of Andrea into the house, dropping her backpack on the kitchen table before heading to her room. Needing answers, Andrea followed her. “Shannon, you have to understand. I can’t ignore what you’ve done. I can’t.”

      Shannon stopped and stood perfectly still. “Mom, I wish you would trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”

      What was she saying? Why the secrecy? “Would you please explain that statement?” she asked, refusing to accept Shannon’s determination to shut her out.

      Shannon turned. “Kyle and I were just walking along, fooling around, when I fell.”

      “Who else was there?”

      Shannon’s gaze dropped to her hands. “No one. Like I said, we were teasing each other. I stumbled.”

      There was that evasiveness again, that guarded tone. “Why didn’t Kyle grab you? He’s bigger and stronger. Why didn’t he break your fall?”

      Shannon continued to study her hands.

      A horrible thought occurred to Andrea. No! “Did Kyle hit you?”

      Shannon stared at her in shock. “Kyle isn’t like that,” she said. “Why can’t you just let it go? He wouldn’t do that.”

      “How do you know?”

      “Because he is my friend—a good friend. He would never do anything to hurt me or anyone else.”

      Then why did Andrea feel so unsure about Shannon’s explanation? Something didn’t ring true even though her daughter hadn’t changed her story after being punished. Her head pounded as she considered the possibilities.

      She peered at Shannon’s face, the unfamiliar lines of tension evident around her eyes and mouth. Andrea wanted to hug Shannon close and tell her that everything would be okay. But would it? Was there something seriously wrong in her daughter’s life, or was she simply overreacting?

      “I love you, sweetie, and we’ll work this out. Let’s talk in the morning after we both get some rest.”

      “Mom, I don’t want to talk about it tomorrow or any other time. It’s over. I promise. Okay?”

      Anger fueled by fear welled up in Andrea. “As far as I’m concerned, until you tell me what’s really going on, it’s not over. But it’s up to you. Without the truth, you’ll miss out on school and your friends. But if that’s the way you want it...” She shrugged as a show of bravado, but one look at her daughter told her in no uncertain terms she’d created a distance between them she might not be able to cross.

      Shannon turned away, went into her room and closed the door.

      The closed door and the change in Shannon’s attitude fed Andrea’s fear. Should she go after Shannon and insist on answers? Or would that only drive her further away? Should Andrea apologize to see if they could find a way to talk about what happened? They always talked before bedtime. Always.

      A part of her wanted to scream in frustration. Another part of her simply wanted to forget everything in the hope that it would all go away—wishful thinking, but easier to deal with than the alternative.

      She locked the house and put the security system on before going to her bedroom. As she passed Shannon’s door, she listened for any sign that her daughter was still awake. There wasn’t a sound. Making her weary way to her room, Andrea ran a bath and took the portable phone in with her. She’d talk to Gina, get her advice on what all this meant, then try for a little sleep.

      * * *

      THE NEXT MORNING, Andrea went in to the office. “What are you doing in here? You should be home with Shannon,” Gina said with concern as she met Andrea at the door.

      She and Gina had talked for over an hour last night as Andrea tried to work out how to handle what was going on with her daughter. As they’d arranged, Gina had taken Shannon to her hair appointment then dropped her off at the house, unaware that Shannon had planned to go out again. All Andrea could figure out was that Shannon had returned to the school, probably with Kyle.

      “There’s not much point in staying home when Shannon won’t talk to me.” Andrea rolled up the sleeves of the old white shirt she’d tucked into her faded jeans. She couldn’t be bothered dressing up this morning. She was too tired, and she didn’t have any clients coming in. Last night she’d called the doctor and his wife, explaining that she couldn’t show them the house today, apologized again and rescheduled the showing for tomorrow. She was simply too distracted to do a good job of presenting the property to a prospective buyer.

      To ease her mind away from her problems, she had decided to come in to work and make a list of cold calls. She needed more sales if she was to meet her goal for this year. Her plan to take Shannon on a vacation was even more urgent, given the current situation. As she’d tossed and turned last night, she’d decided that a СКАЧАТЬ