A Love to Call Her Own Read Online Free PDF

but on the inside, you’re warm, soft, and gooey just like the rest of us.” Knowing Jessy would resist, Lucy wrapped her arms around her and planted a messy kiss on her cheek. “You’re a good woman, Jessy Lawrence.”
    Sputtering, Jessy wriggled away. “And you’re insane. Cover for me while I make my getaway.”
    They approached the living room together, both stopping a few feet out of sight. Jessy eyed the front door as if gauging how quickly she could reach it and be gone, then turned her assessing gaze on Lucy, whispering, “Are you sure you can handle this?”
    â€œIt’s got to be easier than the first time around.”
    â€œI don’t know about that. If things get quiet for one minute, all I can think about…”
    Is Aaron. Practically like it was yesterday. Lucy knew how that went. Witnessing other people’s pain brought a new edge to hers.
    â€œWe all think about our husbands more at times like this. But we have years of scars over the wounds in our hearts. No matter how much we love them, no matter how much we miss them, we don’t hurt the way Patricia does because her wound is so fresh.” Lucy blinked away a sheen of tears. “Has anyone contacted her children?”
    Jessy snorted. “I called her son. He wasn’t jumping in his car to drive over here anytime soon.”
    â€œI knew there was some problem there.” That had been apparent more in the things Patricia didn’t say than the things she did.
    â€œYeah, there’s a problem, like he doesn’t give a shi—” Jessy shrugged. “Damn, I’ve got to get going. I’ve let my gooey side show for way too long. I need some red meat, some wild dancing, and a handsome cowboy or two to buy me a drink—” Again, she cut herself off, grimacing. Bumping against Lucy’s arm, she went into the living room and to Patricia, sitting on the couch near LoLo.
    Lucy smiled. Every woman could use some red meat, wild dancing, and handsome cowboys from time to time, but Jessy was no more likely to go out and indulge than Lucy was. She talked big, but the margarita club knew she hadn’t looked twice at an available man since Aaron’s death. Every person’s grief had its own schedule. When the time was right for Jessy to consider romance again, she would, and like Carly and Therese, she would be incredibly happy the second time around.
    Lucy could envision all her friends getting a second chance, but it was harder to put herself into that position. They were all smart, pretty, and talented at everything they tried. Most of them held interesting jobs or had interesting hobbies, while Lucy was a secretary whose only interest outside work was making tantalizing foods that put way too many pounds on her. She’d gone from average to fat, made worse by the fact that she was only two inches over five feet. In this shape, she wasn’t exactly dating material, and that was okay. Better to stay single the rest of her life than to risk a second time with what Patricia was going through.
    With a deep breath to fortify herself, Lucy walked into the living room. Upon seeing her, Patricia promptly burst into tears, sank into her arms, and sobbed as if her heart were broken. Sadly, Lucy knew, it was.
    *  *  *
    By the time Dalton turned off the computer and headed upstairs, the house was silent. His parents had gone out to the RV as soon as Dad saw the ten o’clock headlines, despite Dalton’s offer of a bedroom, and Oz dragged up the steps soon after. Normally, Dalton would have been asleep an hour ago, but restlessness had kept him awake. He’d thought catching up on his paperwork would settle him—it usually bored him comatose—but it hadn’t. His body was tired, but his mind wasn’t surrendering yet.
    Avoiding the creaky places on the stairs and in the second-floor hallway, he got ready for bed, shut off the light,