Belonging Read Online Free PDF Page B

familiar,
sympathetic adult face, his hands lifted in a pleading gesture, and
he toddled toward her.
    "What! Are they drowning you?" Angie laughed.
Lifting him onto her hip, she turned to go back into the house.
    "Oh, no!" Janice's eyes grew wide, and she
rushed over to retrieve the baby. "He'll get you all wet!"
    Chuckling, she gave him back into his
mother's care, unmindful of the wet spots on the cap-sleeved dress
she wore. "Wash-and-wear has been around for some time now. It will
dry, you know."
    After Janice had put Eric in dry clothes, she
settled the baby in his high chair and sat down across from Angie.
"All ready for the game tomorrow?" Janice laid a graham cracker in
front of Eric, who wasted no time stuffing it into his mouth.
    Angie nodded, a smile touching her lips. Kim
and Nancy had both joined a girls' summer softball league. Baseball
was one of the few things that quiet Kim grew excited over, and it
warmed Angie's heart to see her happy and eager again. Both she and
Janice were coaches for the team, and like the girls they
supervised, they brought a good deal of enthusiasm, if not
know-how, to the team.
    But she shook her head at the thought of what
would come before tomorrow. "What I'm not ready for," she mused
aloud, "is tonight."
    Janice spooned a generous amount of sugar
into her tea. "What's going on tonight?"
    "There's a dinner for the new police chief,"
Angie told her. "I'd rather sit through a dozen chamber of commerce
luncheons, but I'm afraid if I didn't go, Blair Andrews would have
a field day with it." At Janice's inquiring look, she explained how
she'd been put on the spot, both at the press conference earlier in
the week and later that same day when Matthew Richardson
discovered he hadn't been her primary choice.
    When she had finished, Janice rested her chin
on her hands, her brown eyes sparkling merrily. "Just think— a cop
from the big city here in Westridge! It's like having Kojak in town
or something!"
    "Kojak!" Against her will, Angie felt her
lips twitch as she thought of Matt Richardson's dark good looks.
Her mother had adored the series. As for possessing the suave,
smooth manner of the TV detective... well, that remained to be
seen. But Kojak had been a little on the tough side, too, she
recalled. Maybe it wasn't such an inappropriate comparison after
all.
    She turned her attention back to Janice.
"Anyway," the other woman was saying, "I can't believe you'd
rather stay home than go to a party—"
    "Party?" Angie recalled the brief encounter
she'd had with Matthew Richardson earlier in the week. If it wasn't
for the fact that dozens of other people would be present, she
might even consider the dinner something of an ordeal. "I can
guarantee this isn't going to be 'Some Enchanted Evening,'" she
told Janice with a slight smile. "All anyone does at these
functions is talk shop."
    "Then make something happen! With all the
local big shots in attendance, I can't think of a better place to
snag a rich husband!" The words were delivered with Janice's usual
zeal. Her short dark curls danced as she bobbed her head
emphatically. Janice was very open and honest, unafraid to show her
feelings.
    Angie's eyes grew wistful. She had once been
like Janice, though perhaps never quite so buoyant. But that had
been a long time ago.
    "You know I don't need the money, Jan," she
said with a shake of her head. She had made some excellent
investments during the past few years, and she was thankful that
she had no financial worries. But there was a time, and not so long
ago, when money had been both a curse and a blessing. "As for
finding a husband—" her laugh was forced "—I'll leave that to
someone else." Rising, she busied herself with pouring another cup
of tea.
    She knew by the small silence that followed
that she hadn't fooled Janice. She heard the click of the high
chair as Janice lifted Eric out and set him on his feet. A second
later she heard the screen door slam behind Janice as she took the
baby out