Daniel's Gift Read Online Free PDF Page B

Dad coming home?" William asked.
    "I don't know. But dinner is ready. Let's sit down and eat."
    "I don't have time to eat," William said. "If I don't start now, I'll never get my homework done." He walked out of the kitchen, snatching a carrot off the counter.
    Constance shrugged as she looked at Merrilee. "You know how I feel about dead animals," she said as she left the room.
    Merrilee looked down at her game hens and felt like crying. Richard was working late. Her children hated her cooking, and nothing in her life was going right. She was supposed to be the perfect homemaker, and she would be, if the rest of her family would only cooperate.
    Squaring her shoulders, Merrilee took the game hens into the dining room and set them on the table. "William, Constance. Come here," she said.
    Her children strolled out onto the upstairs landing. Constance peered over the banister, and William looked through the railing.
    "It's dinnertime," Merrilee said. "We're a family, and we're going to have a family dinner."
    "I don't have time," William argued.
    "You can do your homework after dinner."
    "This is such a farce, Mother," Constance said. "Daddy isn't even here."
    "Just because your father isn't here doesn't mean we can't share the news of our day together."
    Constance walked down the stairs. "As if you care about what I'm doing."
    "Of course, I care, I'm your mother."
    The doorbell rang, and Merrilee bit down hard on her lip. "I can't imagine anyone with any sense of decorum would come calling at dinnertime."
    Constance ran to the front door and opened it.
    Jenny walked in, her hair frizzed with moisture from the fog, her eyes dark and worried. Merrilee felt her heart sink to her stomach. "What's wrong?"
    "I'm looking for Danny."
    "Looking for Daniel? Here?" Merrilee asked in amazement.
    Jenny nodded, drops of water flying onto the carpet at her motion.
    "Good heavens. You're wet. Look what you're doing to my rug," Merrilee said.
    "I don't care about the damn carpet." Jenny paused, forcing Merrilee to meet her eyes. "Danny found out that Luke is back in town."
    "Luke? Who's Luke?" Constance asked curiously.
    Merrilee stared at Jenny, furious that she would mention that man's name in front of her children. "Go to your room, Constance, William," she said, noticing her son hovering at the edge of the dining room.
    "You told us to come down for dinner," Constance protested.
    "I said go."
    "I'm hungry. Why should I have to starve because that stupid Danny is in trouble again? He's a pain in the neck. He always has been. I wish he'd never been born."
    "Constance. Go to your room."
    "Fine." Constance stomped up the stairs in righteous indignation. William followed quietly behind her.
    When the doors slammed shut on the upstairs landing, Merrilee turned her attention to Jenny. "Tell me what's happened."
    Jenny stared into her sister's hard, unforgiving face. Merrilee had always hated Luke. She hated him for what he had done to the family, the shame he had brought on all of them. For Merrilee, pride was more important than love.
    "Danny has been obsessed with finding his father the last few months. I've been stalling. Unfortunately, Danny found an article I cut out of the paper last month. Luke is living in his parents' house in Hillsborough. Danny put everything together and went to find him."
    "Oh, my word." Merrilee shook her head, her mouth tightening with anger. "If Danny's gone to find his father, then why are you here, Jennifer? Why aren't you at Luke's house?"
    Jenny felt the blood recede from her face so quickly she thought she might keel over. Apparently, Merrilee thought so, too, because she shoved her down in a wing-backed chair in the entry.
    "I can't see Luke again," Jenny whispered. "Besides, Danny left hours ago. He wouldn't still be there. I thought he might have come here."
    "If he had, I would have given him quite the lecture. That young man needs a strong hand in his life. You need to be firm with him, set limits. He's