Indivisible Read Online Free PDF Page B

she been gone?”
    “Nine years.”
    “Nine years? Did it occur to you she might not be coming back?”
    “No, Piper. It never entered my mind.” Her tone bit.
    “Right. Sorry. It’s just a long time to mind someone else’s business.” She’d obviously hit a nerve, and there was more to it than Tia was saying.
    “After the first grandchild, there was the next and then a third.”
    That could explain the sadness that sometimes crept in. Had they all made a new life and left her behind? Maybe she hadn’t wanted to go. “You miss them?”
    Tia hesitated. “Yes.”

Four
The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.
—PEARL S. BUCK
    T ia sank onto the chair Piper had vacated. She didn’t feel bad for not going out to eat with her. The times they had gone, guys had vied for Piper’s attention and even the privilege of paying. Her beauty and high spirits strummed a chord that had the male population humming. Tia half smiled. Only six years between them, but it felt like ages.
    She pressed her palms to her eyes, thankful the discussion had ended before she had to cut it off. She had no intention of wallowing. Truth was, she didn’t even know how to tell it anymore without sounding pathetic. When was she going to live her own life? How had she forfeited the right? Or maybe she’d never possessed it.
    Her parents had borne one perfect child; what did they need with an inferior model? Her colicky, strong-willed nature had acted like a repellent. Her smart mouth had reflected a smart mind, if anyone had cared to notice. Her energy and spirit needed channeling, not crushing.
    Her parents had made no effort to hide their feelings from her teachers, her friends and their parents. Here’s what you can expect from that child. Reba had tried to make up for the glaring discrepancy in affection by buying her lip gloss and trinkets. She adored Reba for trying.
    Her cell phone rang, the tone designated for the number on her fliers. She picked it up. “Hopeline.”
    “Yeah, um.” The caller sniffled. “Do you, like, listen and tell me what to do?”
    “I listen and pray, and together we consider your possibilities.”
    The voice was young. “Well. It’s my friend. My used-to-be best friend …”
    This took her back to Rachel Muerrisey, who through some faux pas had lost her standing at the top of the order. “What do I do? You’re used to no one liking you. I don’t know what to do without friends.”
    Tia had shaken off the barb with a toss of her head. “Pretend you’re me, a wild pirate child more fleet of foot and deft of hand than any sailor who scaled the masts. You need no one, but seeing your fearsome, spirited ways, they will clamor back to you, seeking your favor.”
    It had worked, and in the ruthless way of children, Rachel had no further need of Tia Manning.
    Closing her eyes, she emptied herself now and listened, confident that her words would give this caller comfort and courage, while in the back of her mind a voice cried hypocrite. She gave callers hope, helped them forgive others and themselves, yet she could not free herself. No—would not.

    Jonah roughed up his hair and stood. His knees felt creaky from sitting so long, but he’d been able to concentrate without being called out more than a handful of times. He checked his watch. Officer Donnelly was late. Jonah frowned. He didn’t run things with a heavy hand but expected punctuality. Newly, McCarthy, and even the rookie, Beatty, were fairly reliable. Moser ran like a clock, but Sue …
    She rushed in, snapping on her weapon belt. “Sorry. Sorry, Jonah. I had to get Eli to his grandma’s.”
    “Where’s Sam?”
    “He had a conflict.”
    Normally he’d let it go at that, but Ruth’s comment had stuck. “Of the bender sort?”
    She looked up, startled, then