Catching Serenity Read Online Free PDF

kind of closure and move on with their lives.
    The horizontal creases marching across Clinton’s brow deepened. Leaning his head against the chair, he squeezed his eyes tight and pinched the bridge of his nose. The cigarette was still clenched between his fingers. “God help me, I do.” Opening his eyes, he lowered his head to meet her gaze straight-on. “There’s days when I don’t want to go on without her.”
    What possessed her to bring up the subject of her mother when she had an appointment to keep in less than twenty minutes? Getting all emotional wouldn’t be the best thing before meeting a potential client. “I inherited things more important than looks from you, Dad.”
    “ Yeah? Like what?” How she’d missed his smile, the one that hinted of the handsome man he’d once been. Then he spoiled the image by taking another deep drag from his cigarette.
    “ For starters, how to save money for what’s most important,” she said. “Not to judge someone based on the color of their skin, their bank account or what they do for a living. How not to take anything or anyone for granted.”
    “ Don’t you forget those lessons either, girl.” Clinton shifted in his chair. “Why are you really back in Croisette Shores, Serenity? Are you finally here to stay?” Her dad’s voice caught. Coughing again, he thumped his chest a few times. While she waited, she grabbed the water glass and refilled it and then retrieved the remains of scattered newspapers and stacked them in a neat pile on the brick hearth. From the corner of her eye, she saw him take a long drink and empty the glass.
    “ I hope you know I didn’t run away from you .” She hesitated. “I just couldn’t—”
    “ I know.” His eyes met hers again. “We’ll get through it together.”
    She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. “I brought your dinner. Cashew chicken from Mr. Wong’s. It’s in the fridge.” She checked her watch. “Listen, I’ve got an appointment soon and should scoot. Do you need anything else before I go?”
    “ I’m good. Thanks for spoiling me, girl. Don’t know what made you finally decide to come back, but I’m glad you did.”
    His statement confirmed what she already knew. No way he’d mailed that note urging her to come home. The scrawl was nothing like Clinton’s small, squeezed-together letters. Her trip to the post office last week had proved pointless. The postmistress—a girl from her graduating class named Tina—could tell her nothing other than confirm what she already knew: the Croisette Shores postmark was authentic, but without a return address, there was nothing to go on. Even if Tina did know anything, privacy rules trumped personal relationships. Until someone stepped forward or she figured it out, the sender’s identity would remain a mystery.
    “ Croisette Shores is my home, Dad. Always has been.”
    Clinton shook his head. “You’ll have to do better than that. You should have found a rich man in Atlanta to take care of you and give you lots of beautiful babies. You deserve better after all you’ve been through.”
    “ People in big cities aren’t immune from heartache, Dad,” she said. “God has nothing personal against us or this town. You could have left, too, you know. Other than memories and a few buddies, you haven’t had much to keep you here.”
    D eep-set eyes met hers again. “I do now.”
    Blinking hard, she stemmed the tears . How could he be so gruff one minute and steal her breath with unexpected sentimentality the next? “God’s been teaching me I can’t run away from my problems. Besides,” she said, patting his arm and sniffling, “you gave me this name for a reason. It’s about time I lived up to it, don’t you think?”
    “ Elise named you. I wanted to name you Prudence.” His lips upturned. “Your mama always had a way of convincing me to come around to her way of thinking. But since when did you start thinking about God? Find yourself some