Here to Stay Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’ll end up deaf!” she yelled, but Luke couldn’t hear her. His closed eyes, crossed arms, and hunched shoulders signaled total shutout.
    Scalding tears pooled in Mandy’s eyes. From dawn until well after midnight, she devoted nearly every minute of her day to Luke—helping him shave and dress, cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and then working long hours as a medical transcriptionist in the tiny bedroom she’d converted into an office. And this was the gratitude she got?
    Whirling away, she cut through the dining room to the adjoining kitchen. When she reached the chipped sink, she curled her fingers over the edge of the counter and stared out the window at the huge backyard, which was fenced and perfect for a dog. Her brother was such a blockhead. She hated to see him wasting his life this way.
    Her knuckles throbbed from the force of her grip on the Formica, the ache in her temples had shifted behind her eyes, and her chest felt as if it might explode. Take deep breaths. Don’t let him get to you . It was easier said than done.
    Mandy blinked and took in the view of the yard, which always calmed and soothed her. One of her passions was gardening, and seeing the tidy flower beds under a thick crust of snow filled her with a sense of accomplishment. The peony she’d planted last spring was trimmed close to the ground now. She hoped it would snuggle under the icy white and push up fresh green shoots again next summer.
    Central Oregon was experiencing a cold snap, the temperatures so low that the air sparkled. Condensation blurred the window glass. Her gaze shifted to the tiny pots on the windowsill. Hopefully the cold seeping through the pane wouldn’t stunt the growth of her starts: marigolds, pansies, baby’s breath, pink carnations, and chrysanthemums. She wanted them to be large and ready to bloom by June, when it would be safe to transplant them into the flower beds and patio planters. It was her dream to get a degree in horticulture and one day own a plant nursery, but for now all she could do was pore over gardening books and pretend she was an expert, yet another frustration in her life.
    Before long, it would be Valentine’s Day. With a fingertip, she drew a heart in the moisture on the glass, wishing the holiday were today. She could make fudge and applesauce bread. The smell of loaves hot from the oven made her feel festive.
    My fault . She always came back to that after a quarrel with her brother. It didn’t ease her conscience to remember that she’d been a child herself when she’d been raising Luke and only twenty-one when she’d finally gotten custody. Her brother had been her responsibility, and she’d made countless mistakes, end of story. Now he was a mess, and unless she could get through to him, he would remain a mess.
    She wouldn’t think about it now. She needed to focus instead on salvaging the rest of the evening. She had no applesauce for bread, but chocolate-chip cookies would fill the house with lovely smells. Even better, Luke would be forced to call a truce if he wanted some. Not that he’d give in that easily. Unlike her, he was a brilliant strategist when it came to cold war.
     
    Each evening before dinner, Mandy treated herself to an hour of television, her program of choice the local five-o’clock news. She wouldn’t forgo that today because Luke was in a snit. She made a cup of hot chocolate dotted with marshmallows, filled a dessert plate with cookies, and went to the living room. After lowering the blinds, she snuggled under a throw at her end of the couch. Holding the mug close to her chin, she breathed in the sweet scent, enjoying that almost as much as the drink itself. It gave her a wicked satisfaction to bite into one of the cookies when she knew Luke smelled them. Well, he could either politely ask for some or do without.
    Grabbing the remote, she turned on the TV. Luke’s sulky expression told her he was still pouting. Tough. This was her only downtime, and