A Man to Hold on to (A Tallgrass Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

pleasure.
    “I noticed your car was still in the parking lot Wednesday night. Or was it Thursday?”
    “I picked it up Wednesday night. Very late Wednesday night.”
    “I guess sex isn’t on the list of things you miss anymore.”
    A loud rumble came from across the room, and Therese looked up to see Jacob coming down the last few steps. His scowl was tinged with red. “There are kids in the house, you know.”
    A comment from Jacob when normally he would have walked past without noticing her. Better, a comment lacking the sullen tone both kids affected so well. “Sorry, Jacob.”
    “He asked me to marry him, Therese,” Carly said with a sniffle.
    “I know, sweetie. I was there.”
    “He wants to set a date. He wants to buy a ring. He wants to meet Jeff’s family and mine. He really wants to marry me.” She sounded so full of wonder and awe. Therese understood. She’d felt that way when Paul had proposed to her. It seemed an eternity ago, so special and amazing that she wondered if she could possibly ever feel that way again.
    At that instant, a door slammed upstairs and footsteps that would do a dinosaur proud headed down the steps. She couldn’t be in a worse possible place for even thinking about falling in love. She had nothing of herself left to offer. It took all her strength to get through everyday life, and even that required medication. Her only list right now consisted of things to survive. Romance, sadly, didn’t make the cut.
    Abby stomped down the stairs and turned down the hall toward the kitchen. She didn’t spare even a glance toward the living room, but Therese felt the hatred radiating from her. A direct look from her enraged brown eyes probably would have pulverized Therese where she sat. Nothing left but a layer of dust, the cops would say, shaking their heads in amazement while sweet, angelic Angry Girl looked on from the sidelines.
    Forcing her stepdaughter from her mind, Therese concentrated on Carly. “Have you set the date yet?”
    “We’re thinking the first weekend of June. I know that seems fast since we only met in March, but…”
    She didn’t need to say it. Life was short, time was fleeting, and so on. No one had ever expected Jeff and Paul and all the others to die as young as they did. That was why so few of them had started a family. They had plenty of time. One deployment here, another there, the war would surely end, the troops would draw down, their husbands would come home. There was always next month, next year, the next duty station.
    Except when there wasn’t.
    “Will it be here in Tallgrass?”
    “Yes. My friends and church are here. His friends are all over the world. His mom can come up from Texas, and it’ll do my family good to come out of their labs into the real world for a few days.” Carly hesitated. “I told Mia and Pop. We cried. But some of it was happy tears.”
    Carly had remained very close to her former in-laws. Therese envied her that. About the only contact she had with Paul’s parents involved their grandchildren, whom they didn’t want to raise, but they didn’t believe Therese was doing a competent job, either.
    Her latest decision regarding the kids would probably sever contact between them forever. At the moment, she couldn’t decide whether that would be a good thing or a bad one.
    “You know Jeff’s parents will always love you, and it sounds like Dane’s willing to include them in your lives.” I want to have little Jeff Juniors and Dane Juniors and Carly Juniors to chase after with you, he’d said when he’d proposed. He knew she’d loved Jeff dearly, and he didn’t feel threatened by it because he also knew she loved him dearly.
    Could Therese ever have that again? Maybe when the kids were gone. Maybe when she’d regained control of her life. But perfect loves weren’t out there floating around for the taking. She’d already had one. Unlike what happened with Carly, one might be all she was entitled to.
    “They’re