Her Sister (Search For Love series) Read Online Free PDF

me any farther, Shara, and that's exactly what I'll
do."
    Her
daughter looked horrified at the thought, and Clare felt elated that she'd
finally made a dent in her daughter's blasé attitude.
    Shara
got out of bed, plucked her robe from the chair and slid it on.  "You can't
come sit beside me in school.  You have to work."
    "If
I have to, I'll get my shift changed to evening.  And I'll find a babysitter
who can stay here with you to make sure you don't step out of this house."
    With
that threat hanging between them, Clare crossed to Shara's door, stepped into
the hall and closed it behind her.
    She was
shaking all over.
    Still,
she went to the kitchen, pulled her address book from the drawer and found her
gynecologist's number.  She'd make an appointment for an examination for her
daughter.  Maybe the doctor could give her some guidance.
    Along
with a prescription for birth control pills?
    Clare
dialed the number, shut her eyes and wished she could talk to her mother about
this.  But she couldn't.
    She'd
just have to talk to a stranger instead.
    ****
    Amanda's
doorbell rang Monday evening.  She looked around the kitchen in the apartment
above her shop as if she were seeing it through someone else's eyes.  It was
ten p.m. and everything was out of the cupboards—all the spices, all the canned
goods, all the packages of pasta, all the bags of beans.
    She'd
called Natalie and left a message.  She'd known her friend would be out with
the Red Hat Society tonight, but she'd had to talk to someone.  Natalie would
understand that when she heard the message.
    Fully
expecting to see her old friend, she stared through the peephole onto the
stair's landing and almost jumped back.  Max's face stared at her.
    She'd
actually thought about calling him yesterday and earlier tonight, but had
rejected the idea both times it had popped into her head.
    When
she pulled open the door and he stepped inside, he didn't seem surprised by the
condition of her kitchen.  "I should have known you'd be reorganizing. 
You always do that when you're shook up."
    "I'm
relining the shelves."
    "You're
trying to take control of something you can control."
    Max was
six-foot and mostly silver-haired now...but thickly silver-haired.  His
hairline hadn't receded one little bit.  His eyes were as dark brown as they'd
ever been.  Just looking at him—"
    Just
looking at him brought back too many memories.  "Don't psychoanalyze me,
Max.  It won't do either of us any good."  Crossing to the counter, she
began to stack spices on the shelf she'd just lined.
    "Have
you heard from Clare?" he asked her.
    She
shook her head.  "Have you?"
    "No."
    "She'll
deal with this in her own way, just like she's dealt with everything
else."
    Amanda
knew that wasn't right.  She knew the three of them should be handling this
together, should be holding onto each other, should be praying for the best. 
But when she and Max had fallen apart, Clare had been the casualty.  Neither of
them had realized it until she'd become an angry teenager—rebellious, defiant,
and intent on getting her way any way she could.
    "An
FBI agent named Jacobs called me this morning.  He told me basically the same
thing Grove did.  He said he wants to keep me informed.  Did he call you?"
    "Yes. 
This afternoon."
    The
silence stretched way too long between them, creating the awkwardness that was
always there now.  Max was dressed in black sweats tonight and she wondered if
he'd been working out to control his stress level.
    "Did
you work today?" she asked, just to make conversation.
    He
raked his hand through his hair and unzipped his jacket, as if he intended to
stay.  "This morning.  But I spent most of this afternoon on the phone.  I
called contacts to see what more they could find out about Luther Brown."
    That
would be just like Max, needing to be in the center of what was going on.
    "I
couldn't get any more than what Grove and Jacobs told us.  If I thought driving
to Pittsburgh or