Barefoot Season. Сьюзен Мэллери

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Four

      The knock on the back door of the kitchen had Gabby scrambling out of her chair and racing toward the sound.

       “I’ll get it! I’ll get it!” she yelled.

       There was no point in telling her to be quiet, Carly thought. Gabby was a morning person. Most days Carly didn’t mind, but after a night of tossing and turning, her daughter’s high-pitched voice pierced her brain like glass.

       Gabby fumbled with the lock, then threw open the door.

       “Uncle Robert!”

       She flung herself toward the man in the doorway, arms open, her entire being expectant. Robert caught her and swung her high in the air.

       “How’s my best girl?” he asked before kissing her cheek.

       “Good. We’re having blackberries on our pancakes.”

       Robert chuckled. “And that’s news why?”

       They laughed together, then he lowered her to the ground. Gabby returned to the table and Robert closed the door.

       “How was it?” he asked, walking into the kitchen.

       Carly knew what he meant and didn’t know how to answer. She shrugged, then busied herself getting him coffee. Robert took his usual seat—he was a regular at their breakfast table, joining them a couple of times a week.

       “Thanks,” he said, taking the cup of coffee. He turned to Gabby. “Ready for school?”

       She nodded eagerly, her blond hair bouncing with the movement. Gabby adored school, both the classes and her friends. At least there she was happily social.

       “So what are you studying this week?” he asked. “Calculus? You’re in college, right?”

       Gabby giggled. “Uncle Robert, I’m nine.”

       “Really? You look older. I would have thought you were twenty.”

       The conversation was familiar. Gabby adored her uncle and the feelings between them ran deep. Family was good, Carly told herself. Although it had taken having Gabby to convince herself of that. Her daughter was a blessing she wasn’t sure she deserved, but the rest of the familial relationships were iffy at best.

       Robert had been more than kind, more than giving with his time and attention. Some of his actions were fueled by guilt, she knew. Robert was a good man, someone who took commitments seriously. Someone who expected the same of others. His brother, Allen, hadn’t shared Robert’s sense of obligation, walking out on Carly long before Gabby was born.

       The leaving had been shocking enough, but having him clean out her bank account, taking every penny she had, had been worse.

       Robert had stepped in, offering to let Carly live with him. She’d refused and instead had come to work at the inn. Robert had tracked his brother down, but Allen had refused to return and he’d already blown all the money. Their divorce had followed. He’d never paid child support, but he’d signed away his rights to his daughter. While Carly could use the money, she figured having him gone was a good exchange. He was one of those men who created trouble, then walked away without bothering to think about the shattered lives in his wake.

       Gabby finished her breakfast and carried her bowl to the counter. She set it in place.

       “I’m going to brush my teeth,” she announced before dashing from the room.

       Robert’s gaze followed her. “I can’t believe how big she’s getting.”

       “She’ll be ten soon.” Collecting her own coffee, Carly sat at the table.

       “You saw her yesterday?” he asked.

       There was no reason to ask who “she” was. Carly had confessed her concerns about Michelle’s return to Robert. He’d also been witness to the trouble between them ten years ago.

       “Yes,” she admitted. “Briefly. She’s…different. Thinner. She walks with a limp, which isn’t a surprise.”

       “She was shot in the hip, right? That’s what I heard.”

       Carly nodded.

       “Did you talk?” he asked.

       “Not really. She was tired.”

       Or so Carly had assumed. She wasn’t going to admit what Michelle had said. Wasn’t even going to think about it until she had to. Then she would make plans.

       The panic returned, but she ignored it. Time enough to lose it later, she told herself. When she was alone. To give in to the fear now, to worry in front of Robert, was to invite something she didn’t want.

       He looked enough like Allen to be both intriguing and to make her want to bolt. Medium height, dark hair and eyes, with broad shoulders. Allen, younger by nearly six years, had the allure and easy smile of a man who lived on charm. Him leaving was as inevitable as the tide that lapped against the rocky shore of the island.

       Robert was nearly as good-looking, but without the destructive bent. He owned an auto shop on the far edge of town. He was a good man who wanted to take care of her and Gabby, and she’d let him. Because it was easy. Because he didn’t demand a real relationship and she didn’t want one.

       But she was starting to wonder if easy had a higher price than she’d realized. If they were using each other to avoid having to find what they really wanted with someone else. Of course, if Michelle really did fire her, it would be less of an issue. She had a feeling that being homeless would make her less attractive on the dating scene.

       “Are you okay?” he asked.

       “I knew she was coming, but it was still a shock to see her.”

       “I’m sorry. About all of this.”

       “Stop saying that. It was never your fault.”

       “He’s my brother.”

       “I’m the one who married him. I knew what he was and I married СКАЧАТЬ