The Good Mother. Shelley Galloway

Читать онлайн книгу.

The Good Mother - Shelley Galloway


Скачать книгу
sound like it.” Before he thought better of it, he said, “What happened to Dad?”

      “Your father is buried at Park Hill, thank you very much.”

      August blinked, amazed at just how much her words could hurt. “He’s barely been gone a year.”

      “He was sick for a long time before that.”

      “And your point is?”

      His mother jabbed one French-manicured finger toward him. “Watch your mouth.”

      “Watch my mouth? You watch yourself.”

      “I need companionship.”

      Companionship? Was she talking about sex? For a split second, he recalled the last time he and Erin had gone to bed. When had that been? Two months ago? Three?

      It felt like a hell of a long time. “It’s not my business if you want to join Harmonious Haven,” he said slowly, doing his best to try and forget about his own lack of love life and focus on his mother’s. “I just think this is coming from out of the blue.”

      “For you, maybe. For me, I’ve been thinking about joining for a while. I’ve been surfing the Web site.”

      “Surfing?” When had she gotten so computer-savvy?

      She continued as though he’d never spoken. “I even called the number and asked some questions. HH is a member of the Better Business Bureau.”

      Now that he thought about it, his mother looked…fresh. Like she’d gone somewhere besides Suzy’s Salon to get her hair done. Like she’d gone to one of those fancy counters at the mall and gotten her makeup refreshed. Like she got one of those BOTOX injections and was looking better for it.

      It all made him a little squeamish. “You’ve got a heart condition.”

      “But it’s still beating, August.”

      “But—”

      “I’m better, August,” she said more gently. “The doctors say I’m better. I feel better. I’m ready to do things again. That’s why I need to join now.”

      Somewhere in the back of his mind, August realized just how hard it must have been for his mom to have to come to him for money. And to tell him the truth. After all, she certainly didn’t owe him any explanations.

      Picking up the pen again, he said, “Is three thousand enough?”

      “It’s enough.”

      August pretended he didn’t notice that her eyes were shining. That she looked…happy. Signing the check, he handed it to her. “Will you be mad if I asked you to be careful?”

      Her eyes softened and she stood, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’d be sad if you didn’t care. Thank you, dear.”

      When he was alone again, August picked up the phone and started dialing Evie’s phone number. Obviously it was time to take some risks.

      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.

/9j/4R9VRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABAfQAAAEBAAMAAAABArwAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgADqYAAAAnEAAOpgAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNiAoTWFjaW50b3NoKQAyMDE1 OjA4OjEyIDE3OjM0OjE4AAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAH//wAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAXcoAMA BAAAAAEAAAg0AAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAHc8AAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+0A DEFkb2JlX0NNAAL/7gAOQWRvYmUAZIAAAAAB/9sAhAAMCAgICQgMCQkMEQsKCxEVDwwMDxUYExMV ExMYEQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMAQ0LCw0ODRAODhAUDg4OFBQO Dg4OFBEMDAwMDBERDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAz/wAARCACgAHID ASIAAhEBAxEB/90ABAAI/8QBPwAAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAwABAgQFBgcICQoLAQABBQEBAQEB AQAAAAAAAAABAAIDBAUGBwgJCgsQAAEEAQMCBAIFBwYIBQMMMwEAAhEDBCESMQVBUWETInGBMgYU kaGxQiMkFVLBYjM0coLRQwclklPw4fFjczUWorKDJkSTVGRFwqN0NhfSVeJl8rOEw9N14/NGJ5Sk hbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2N0dXZ3eHl6e3x9fn9xEAAgIBAgQEAwQFBgcHBgU1AQAC EQMhMRIEQVFhcSITBTKBkRShsUIjwVLR8DMkYuFygpJDUxVjczTxJQYWorKDByY1wtJEk1SjF2RF VTZ0ZeLys4TD03Xj80aUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9ic3R1dnd4eXp7fH/9oADAMB AAIRAxEAPwDj4RmY178e3JZW51GOWC6wD2sNkivd/W2qAC6XomUx3Q7serG9W6oWVvp9N7q7/WHq NsuyWPb6b6/R/mNn6T9Hs/nVsZZyhEGMeL1AHyLShESNE1oXmdE8Baza7TUyt/RLiW1mtzxVY1x3 VU47r/5n+kMfTbk0fmV35H6Rltn6Swjn2PtL29Fta5rXt2NoO2XsZUHub9m+lW6v1mf8JbYncZ7f jFHD4/gXGATgLcADmgnpGQxzH+o1n2WQRDm/Y/U9Fu7GZv8A0T7a/X/Pu9VV7qc2yn06+k2VOdo+ wY7y4gel6e39C30LW+k71baf6RXZ769/rWXoTs7V9UGB739HMATwrI6b1H/uHk/9sW/+k1IdO6j/ ANw8n/ti3/0mncQ7hFHsWtCUK1+zuo/9w8n/ALYt/wDSaX7O6j/3Dyf+2bf/AEmlxDuFUezWhPCs /s7qP/cPJ/7Yt/8ASacdO6h/3Dyf+2Lf/SaXEO4VR7FDVj32x6VbrJO0bR3O0bf/AARiZ9T63bbG lroBg+B+irldOZjM3vwL27JcbXMurA1nc52xrPZH5yBdZ61ps27BAAbuc+AP5dkvQBJPSlFDCSnt STkav//Q5UBaWMHHplFQvdjNfm3Avb6jtfQxNv6LHmyx7/oVqhCs0ZltNPoCumysWG1vrV7y15ay tzmP3Mc3cyqtbZG1dHP0oju6WLhV/bGYtmVkX5JDnWUvJqqoYwb7r+pW15XqbaKt77cOi2u//A23 U3/q6PnY/Ws+2nFrt+zVY7aWYuHZZ6dgdkuin7TXjj0aM/Jl2V9j/wC02H/xf6TMo6jkgPx8fFxY ygKn1148mxu5r20+12/a61rP0bP51Td9tprde/ptFNdW1zrXYzmBvqFra373Pb/OusZsf/wn/CKM iXECSL/Rvv5K04aF/RsV9F6i5wrfnFl3o2XPqDrXbSytuRXQ60FtG99b9172Wejh/wCG/S20U2r9 hdZ2sa697Mh4J9IusIAYGPynXWslmOzCY/Zk+p9PJZZjYnr7FR+2jvi4ftEfzXDfD+c+giPsvqrD rOn49VZOhdjlrZLd35zx7nVf+Bf8GnH3O4/xQjhh2P2lO/ovVRk1U15XqV5L2V4tpscDcbGMt3UY 7XWXvqq9XZddt9Gr/C2V7LPTBgNZbnijKzXtxgbA7IZY/adjXOrewn3ena9rdn6Lf/IUW5gaQWYu G1x4LaYPyc2zcpi5xY14wcQse41sd6Egvbt31t/SfTb6lft/4RR58eTJARE/bNj1x9J9P92UPmbH J5sODKZzwjmImEocGSqjKfy5I+5jzR4sf6PobH2bDAyp6jYTVZayn9IRLGMdZjXfSd6/2u0fZ/Tp /o387Ymsx8UdPF9We92W5tX6sbSCHuJ9bc+dnptZ6Wz3b2fpvW/mv0lf1/pE4OIAww/9X+iSS3a/ 3+x25j/a79xPVd61jKqsHDsssIbWxtElziYa1v6T85yq/cuY1/pU/wDn/wDq50v9LcnY/wCDsO4O 2D1V+j/uP9JsHGw25b6j1Gx2OaWOqva92lhdXU9t1e7f6bH+t/N/pfs/6z+l/m0C1lQw3XV5Nr7v Usb6XrEbGtNfou2n3ZPrtfZ/M/zfpqIyqiJGJhEHQEUj/wBKJxk1njDwj8Kf/UiX3HmP/FWT/n/+ rVD4vyQIv4bhNVv7Hq4e/Dyn6SbqL6MHKtr6fk3XCbK23OtFlb6bGOoe304/nHte9Zge8K+zLdXu NWPi0vcx9ZfXTDg2xrqbdrt7tu6p72oACX3DmCSfvUx/j/8Aq1kx/G+RhARPwvDMjeR9nXx/3K19 9iSswkj9w5j/AMV5P+f/AOrV3+nuQ/8AMTg/8Z/+BX//0ecDSnDUUMT7Fs8TmIthggaea1sLqRqu uurxHWMtbgVObuaGxg+jY6p2m17s7H6fZ+h+myv1v52ulP8A83e

Скачать книгу