Fireside Susan Wiggs (best free ebook reader for android .txt) 📖

“Hear, hear.” Penelope pulled out of the bank parking lot. Even her driving felt smoother, more confident. Dino Carminucci had been giving her lessons. Penelope said he was a natural coach, but Kim suspected a deeper appeal. It was a bit of an adjustment, this idea that her mother might be dating.

“You went quiet, all of a sudden,” Penelope said. “What are you thinking about?”

“You, dating. That’s what you and Dino are doing, right? Dating?”

A pause. “We’re enjoying each other’s company. Very much. You’re not troubled by that, are you?”

“No, of course not,” Kim said quickly. “God knows, you deserve your happiness, Mom.”

“I know you’re angry about the things you’ve found out about your father. But I hope you’ll remember, his way with finance was only one aspect of him. I didn’t spend our thirty-five years together in a state of constant suffering. Nor did you grow up in misery. In many ways, we were a very happy family.”

“Were we? I know it felt that way at the time, but now…there was no foundation, Mom. It was all a big pretense.”

“We weren’t pretending to be happy. We simply…were.”

Kim’s father had been demanding, judgmental. She could see that so clearly now. Yet pleasing him had brought her something she thought was happiness. To know how much she’d yearned for his approval, how much it had meant to her, all for an illusion—that was what made her angry.

“Mom, you’re kidding, right?”

“I spent more than three decades of my life with your father. And for the most part, they were happy times. I suppose we had our ups and downs, same as everyone. When I look back through the years, I can see little signs along the way that something wasn’t right. I ignored them. Or perhaps I was too preoccupied with all the work that went into maintaining appearances. I forgot to come up for air. I did love your father, but being left that way, with all his secrets coming to light after he was gone…Everything’s so different for me with Dino. Not to compare him with your father, but the man’s entire life is an open book. He has four adult children and an extemely bitter ex-wife. He’s been very honest with me about his past. He was no saint. But I think he’s wonderful.”

“And I think he’s a lucky guy, being with you,” Kim said. She was happy enough for her mother, though Kim herself was buoyed by the knowledge that for once in her own life, happiness didn’t depend on pleasing some man, or bending over backward to make him look good. What a novel idea.

Back in L.A., she used to think in terms of what would be good for Lloyd—from his needs in bed to his looks in front of a camera. It was humiliating to realize she had actually rationalized that way of life to herself. No more, she thought. Never again.

They stopped at Wegman’s and, true to her word, Penelope didn’t stray from her budget.

Although she never expected it of herself, Kim was getting used to small-town life. She was even getting used to Fairfield House. It was all a matter of adjusting her attitude and making sure she was modestly covered when she stepped out of her room. At first, her mother’s enterprise had seemed the height of insanity, filling the house with unrelated strangers. Yet before long, Kim found a sense of community with the residents of the big, rambling house. Well, with most of the residents, anyway.

The jury was still out on one of them.

Not now, she reminded herself. She was not going to think about Bo Crutcher now. She shouldn’t be thinking about him at all, but for some reason, her mind kept going there. Her earlier sense of cautious triumph frayed into an unsettled feeling. She wanted to move on to new things, but kept circling back to what she was best at—finding the upside of any situation. That was really what her career had been all about, and she was good at it. She ought to be able to give herself a positive spin—she was reconnecting with her mom in a way she never had before. Helping Penelope through a financial crisis. Finding the charm in small-town life.

Daphne McDaniel was getting back from work when Kim and her mother arrived home. The sight of her always lifted Kim’s mood. In only a short while, Daphne had become a good friend. In other circumstances, she and Kim might have nothing to do with each other; on the surface they seemed to have nothing in common. It made Kim wonder how many other people she’d overlooked in the past.

“Can I help with the groceries?” Daphne offered.

“Thanks.” Kim handed her a sack, and hefted two of them herself. The three went to the kitchen and began unloading. In one sack, she came across a pocket puzzle game, and handed it over to her mom. “Check it out,” she said, and took out a balsa wood airplane she herself had bought. “We’ve both got AJ on our minds.”

“That makes three of us.” Daphne reached into her shoulder bag and produced a hand-sized ball made of rubber bands. “This has been two years in the making. I decided to bring it home for him.”

Everyone in the house seemed determined to give AJ extra consideration. Running away had been an act of desperation, and the boy’s sadness and his yearning for his mother touched them all. “We can give these to him when he gets home tonight,” Penelope said. “Dino took him to get pizza for dinner. Bo and Early are out with friends, so it’s just the three of us.”

“Then you shouldn’t go to any trouble,” Daphne said. “I’m fine with cereal.”

“Oh, no you’re not, young lady,” Penelope said. “I thought I’d make a salad with spinach and mandarin oranges. The sort of thing men don’t care for.”

“A girly salad,” Kim said. “My favorite.”

Daphne went to her room to get out of her