A Trusting Heart Read Online Free PDF Page B

somewhere safe and beautiful. Convincing her to move was almost impossible. But, this way, he was killing two birds with one stone. Bribery could be so useful.
    “Hold it, hold it! I’m way ahead of you, Mom.”
    Cora closed her mouth slowly, eyed her son, and searched for the teasing light in his eye. He looked dead serious. At thirty, maybe he was ready to settle. Maybe she would have grandkids after all. Cora’s face lit up as if a sun had burst inside her. With tears gleaming in her eyes, she rushed over to her son’s side and cradled his head in her arms.
    “Oh, you don’t know how long I’ve been needing to hear the pitter-patter of little feet running around my house. And how long has it been since I’ve had a little sticky handprint on my window? They’ll have dark hair and eyes like you, I bet. You have strong genes, Trev, just like your dad. Oh, you’ve made me so happy, I’m going to make you your favorite dessert! Coconut cream pie!”
    Trevor felt a little hitch in his heart as he watched his mother float around her small, immaculate kitchen, dreaming of grandchildren. He shouldn’t have waited so long.
    “There are a couple of conditions you might want to consider before you start making that pie.”
    Cora turned slowly around and stared at her son with a steely gaze.
    “What conditions?”
    “You might want to sit down for this. I already have the contract written up, and I have it right here with me. If you agree to the terms, then I will do all in my power to make your dreams of sticky fingers come true.”
    Cora stomped over to the table with a frown on her face and her hands on her hips.
    “You know, you’re too much like your father! Who else would make his own mother sign a contract? Just one or two is all I’m asking for! If I wanted four or five, I could see the need for a contract. What kind of conditions?”
    Cora sat down at the table, still glaring at her son, but took the contract quickly, scanning the pages as if she had been a lawyer all of her life.
    “I have to sell my house? Forget it!”
    Trevor picked up a stray olive off of his plate and threw it in the air. Although he opened his mouth, ready to catch it, the olive bounced off his nose and dropped onto his brand-new leather shoes.
    “I have to use the services of Megan Garrett? I don’t even know her. Dennis’ son is working for Wardley. I’ll use him. He’ll cut us a deal on the commission. I’ll see to it.”
    Trevor shook his head and continued throwing olives in the air and missing them. Cora sniffed and returned to the contract.
    “I have to be as kind and as motherly to this Megan Garrett as humanly possible? What is this?”
    Cora dropped the contract as both hands went to her mouth. “She’s the one. You want to marry this Megan Garrett! I see! Oh, of course I’ll be nice to her. Why did you have to put that in the contract? You think I don’t have good manners? You think I would be mean to the person who will bring my son so much happiness and give birth to my grandchildren? Shame on you!”
    Trevor grinned at his mother but shook his head.
    “You definitely have polite down pat, Mom, but when you treat all the women who I introduce you to as if they were convicted felons hiding a secret, wicked past, then yes, I do need to put that in the contract. For heaven’s sake, when I introduced you to Allison, you made her cry!”
    Trevor took one look at his mother’s crestfallen face and quickly backpedaled.
    “Hey, now don’t get me wrong! That’s one of the things I love about you. You’re a mother bear and you always have been. You’ve been protecting me from bullies since I was two and now you’ve taken on suspicious females. All I’m saying is I want you to look closely at this woman. Look into her heart. Besides, it’s a little difficult to get you those grandkids without a wife first. Not impossible, but very difficult.”
    Cora smoothed the pages of the contract out on the table,