Military Heroes Bundle: A Soldier's Homecoming / A Soldier's Redemption / Danger in the Desert / Strangers When We Meet / Grayson's Surrender / Taking Cover. Merline Lovelace

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ I felt a natural urge to follow in my father’s footsteps, even if I didn’t know him.”

      “I can understand that.” She hesitated. “Do you ever wonder if your mother’s background and family were part of the reason she never told Micah about you?”

      “Yeah, it’s crossed my mind. They were a somewhat hidebound bunch. Maybe that entered into her decision. I don’t know. But she never hesitated to take me with her when she went to visit, so I doubt she ever hid her relationship with Micah.”

      “Interesting.”

      He gave her a little squeeze. “Some questions never get answered, not in any fully meaningful way. We keep hunting for those answers, but they stay just out of reach. Thing is, I think hunting for the answers is generally more important than finding them.”

      “So is knowing when to stop looking,” she said, thinking of Leo. “Some questions are only going to drive you crazy. Like why Leo beat me. He made me feel responsible for it. Maybe I was, in some way. But why he did it... I don’t think I’ll ever understand, even though I’ve heard all the psychobabble about it.”

      “Maybe he was just plain mean.”

      “There’s that possibility, too. But you still want to ask why.”

      “Not necessarily. Some folks are just born with something missing.”

      “Also true. God knows, I saw enough of it on the streets in Denver. But the thing is, in a particular case, you never know.”

      “Rarely,” he agreed. “But there’s another thing my uncle taught me.”

      “What’s that?”

      “That no matter what we are when we’re born, whether we’re missing a leg or missing something else, as long as we have a working brain, we make choices. Those choices define us.”

      Another crack of thunder rent the afternoon, loud, as if it was right overhead. Moments later a voice called from the doorway, “Mommy, I’m scared.”

      Before Connie could even sit up, Sophie had catapulted herself into the bed beside her. Connie at once turned her back to Ethan and hugged her daughter. “It’s loud, all right.”

      “It’s a bad storm.” Sophie snuggled in, seeming not at all fazed that Ethan was there. Seconds ticked by like heartbeats, and thunder cracked again, this time almost at exactly the same moment that lightning bleached the room.

      Not long after that, Ethan wrapped his arms around both of them and pulled them close.

      Throughout the storm, he sheltered them.

Chapter 17

      The storm continued to rage throughout the afternoon. Around three, Connie, Ethan and Sophie went downstairs to start dinner.

      “I think we should have something special tonight,” Connie said.

      “Yay!” Sophie clapped her hands.

      “It has to be something I already have,” Connie cautioned her. “I’m not going out in this storm.”

      Sophie immediately ran to check the refrigerator. Apparently she had something in mind, because in no time at all she’d pulled out a quart of her mother’s frozen spaghetti sauce, grated parmesan and a large container of ricotta cheese, then ran to get a box of lasagna noodles from the cupboard.

      “Well, that’s pretty clear,” Connie said, watching with a smile. “Make sure I have mozzarella.”

      A ball of same emerged from the cheese drawer in the fridge and joined the other ingredients on the table.

      “We seem to have everything essential,” Connie said.

      Sophie clapped her hands again.

      Connie looked at Ethan. “I hope you like lasagna.”

      “I love it.”

      Connie nodded and looked at Sophie. “So what do we do first?”

      “Thaw the sauce.”

      “Right. You know how.”

      Sophie retrieved a saucepan from a lower cupboard, filled it half full with water and put in on the stove over a low flame. Then she placed the container of spaghetti sauce in it to thaw.

      “Good job,” Connie said. “Let’s mix the filling, then put it in the fridge until we’re ready to use it.”

      Ethan volunteered to grate the parmesan and mozarella, saving Connie’s and Sophie’s knuckles. Connie and Sophie mixed the ricotta with seasonings and the mozzarella, and soon the bowl was in the fridge, covered by a plate. Then there was nothing to do but wait for the sauce to thaw.

      Sophie saw the cards and chips stacked neatly on the table. “Were you going to play a game?”

      Connie hesitated. “Well, it was a grown-up game.”

      “Oh.” Sophie didn’t appear at all deterred. “What kind of grown-up game?”

      Connie nearly sighed. Sophie could be insistent about getting answers. “Poker,” she said. “Not for kids.”

      “Why not, if you don’t play for real money?” Sophie asked, depriving her of speech.

      Connie looked at Ethan and realized he was trying not to bust a gut laughing. His face, carved as always, nevertheless seemed to be battling to remain impassive.

      Julia chose that moment to roll into the room. “The girl’s right,” she said. “What’s wrong with it, if you’re just playing for worthless chips?”

      “It’s gambling,” Connie said.

      “Most things in life are,” Julia retorted. “The chips are just a method of counting.”

      Connie didn’t have an answer for that, although she tried to think up a good one. Then it struck her. “In most games you don’t risk your points. You keep them.”

      “True,” Julia agreed. “But poker has lessons of its own. Like not risking things you don’t want to lose. Like making decisions and living with the outcome. Like reading other people.”

      Connie stared at her mother. She’d never seen this side of her before, and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.

      “And,” Julia wound up, “there’s not a thing to be lost at this table except some worthless plastic chips. In real life, when you make decisions, you have a lot more on the line.”

      Sophie spoke. “Don’t get mad at Mommy, Grandma.”

      “I’m not mad at her, child.” Julia smiled. “Not in the least. I just think her reaction to this game is more instinctive than valid.”

      Sophie’s brow creased as she tried to figure that one out.

      Julia СКАЧАТЬ