this off at the restaurant and maybe a trip to the playground if Cory’s super-duper good.”
“I will be, Mommy. I pwomise this much.” Cory spread her arms wide, her sincere look matching her tone.
“Prrrrrrromise,” Alyssa corrected, stressing the R sound.
Cory nodded. “Pwwwwwwwwwwwomise!”
“Good girl.”
Susan exchanged a grin with Alyssa. “She sounds just like you did at the same age. A little trouble with R’s and L’s.”
“Really?” Her mother’s assertion pleased Alyssa. She had a hard time seeing much of herself in either child and that just seemed wrong after nine months of pregnancy. On the other hand, considering the way she’d mucked up her life, maybe taking after others was a good thing. “I’ll be back later then. Rocco’s doing afternoon/evening like always and I’m closing.”
Rocco was the head cook at The Edge, a tough-as-nails, my-way-or-the-highway–type guy. Her mother moved forward, her voice soft. “Is he still giving you a hard time?”
If by hard time her mother meant was Rocco an overbearing chauvinist jerk, then the answer would be an overwhelming yes. Still the cook knew his stuff and Alyssa couldn’t afford histrionics in the kitchen. Rocco’s fits were renowned and Alyssa didn’t have the time to mollify him like her father would.
Or the guts, but that was a different story. “Rocco’s Rocco. I just stay out of his way.”
Guilt stuck in her craw.
Wasn’t that exactly what she’d tried to do with Vaughn? Mollify things once they’d gone bad and stay out of his way? Self-recriminating memories churned inside her. If she’d stood her ground and left Vaughn when she should have…
She felt gutless for good reason. Standing her ground didn’t come naturally. She’d been a mouse, quiet and cowering long past the time when she should have made a stand. If she had, things might be different now.
Shame cut again.
She’d done everything she could to make sure Jaden didn’t suspect his stepfather’s temper. That meant no crying, no begging, but it was a small price to pay to protect Jaden’s formative years. And Vaughn had changed after Cory’s birth, her sweet, baby face giving him something to work for, to build for until another financial bad turn brought him down shortly after her first birthday.
She caught her breath, refusing to revisit those months, hindsight clarifying what seemed so muddled then.
Get out. Save your children.
If she’d only had the courage to do that sooner…
But she didn’t and there would always be a gap in her heart, a chasm, a small yawning space that could never quite be filled.
She’d made up her mind she’d never be fooled again, that she’d never be the object of another man’s anger. Vaughn’s crash put an end to that bout of craziness, but financial ruin brought its own share of troubles.
She was stronger now. She knew that. Made sure of it.
And right now Rocco’s finesse in the kitchen was important to the well-being of her family, her father’s health and their restaurant. She wasn’t about to do anything to mess with that, not after a long, tough winter.
“I’ll be back later. Jaden’s practicing this afternoon.”
“With Chris and Trent. I remember.”
Susan’s upthrust brow showed her concern, but she said nothing more. “Bye, Gwammy!”
“Goodbye, sugarplum. I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”
“’Kay.”
Susan sent Alyssa a sideways glance and kept her voice low. “She’s wide awake now.”
“And then some. The cold and the move must have really tuckered her out.”
“I’ll say.”
They’d had to wake Cory up the last several mornings, long after her normal greet-the-sun rising. And her afternoon naps were elongated as well, but Alyssa knew illness and change taxed little ones. Now that they were here and almost settled, Cory would have time to relax, be the preschooler she was meant to be.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
