Potter Springs Read Online Free PDF Page A

shut.
    Chain-smoking. Not a good sign.
    “Now, if you would date other men-it’s not like I don’t
care
for Mark-but more
professional
men like I’ve introduced you to, maybe you would have some frame of
reference.
Instead of limiting yourself.” Katy shook her head at the pity of it all. “So exclusive.”
    “Is it the exclusivity that bothers you? Or the fact Mark doesn’t take home six figures?”
    “Don’t use that tone with me.”
    “Mother, I don’t need a frame of reference. I know. We love each other.”
    “Well, of course he loves you, Amanda. You are beautiful, gifted, smart and
young.
Far too young to tie yourself to a preacher who will never be able to support you in the way you are accustomed. Trust me.”
     Katy took a deep drag, the thin burn line pulling halfway down the cigarette. The tower of ashes, a miniature Pisa, held on,
     leaning, before she flicked it in the marble ashtray. The tower didn’t disintegrate but fell, broken in two, atop the other
     ashes.
    “Mother.” Amanda twisted the linen napkin in her lap, making a storkish-looking bird shape. “I love him,” she repeated. She
     met her mother’s gaze. “We’re getting married.”
    Through the elegant swirls of smoke, Katy Thompson’s deep blue eyes widened, then narrowed.
    Amanda brought forward her hand to reveal the ring. The marquise tilted to the side and slid upside down. She balanced it
     so the diamond would show.
    Katy squinted at the ring as if to assess the quality of the stone, then leaned back and brought the dying cigarette to her
     matte red mouth. “It doesn’t fit.”
    “We have to take it in.”
    “He didn’t know your size? Nice.” Katy ran a buffed fingernail over her lips, examining her daughter.
    Amanda felt like a one-celled microorganism under her stare, with no supporting skeletal structure.
    “Are you pregnant?” Katy’s voice broke the quiet. Almost a whisper, but piercing.
    “Yes.” Amanda hooded her eyes and fiddled with her fork.
    “On purpose?”
    “Mother!”
    “I know how much you want to have a family. It’s what you’ve always wanted since you were a little girl with your dolls.”
    The ones you wouldn’t let me play with, high on the shelf, too precious for my awkward hands.
    “No, not on purpose. But I’m not sorry.” Amanda lifted her chin. “I’m ready for a family, with Mark. To make a life together,
     build a marriage.”
Not like yours
went unsaid.
    “I understand about the baby. It happens.” Katy sniffed. “To the best of us.”
    The Thompsons’ shotgun wedding still sent kicks through the family, aftershocks Amanda felt on nearly every birthday. Ben
     Thompson, a redneck pilot from nowhere, landed a society bird dripping in oil money. Opposites attracting, but not sticking.
     Loosely jointed for two and a half decades, always on the verge of collapse.
    Amanda had asked her father once when he knew for certain he loved her mother. “Why, I guess when her daddy left her all that
     money,” he drawled, then popped the tab on his beer. The worst part was she couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. The idea
     of being locked in a marriage like her parents’ kept Amanda awake some nights.
    Which is why she knew Mark was perfect for her. She made him laugh and he loved her for it, flaws and all. He didn’t hide
     out in the garage, like her father, but reveled in all the world had to offer. Effortlessly gliding through the social channels
     with the skill of a chameleon. Everyone loved him, so how could she not? Goldenboy.
    Besides, Mark and Amanda had
it.
Whatever it was, that intangible thing, a gut-level connection. They didn’t seem to struggle as much as other couples, but
     had an almost rhythmic, unspoken communication.
    They faced their first real hurdle with this early pregnancy, and Amanda could admit, it was a doozy. Still, she thought they
     both handled it rather well.
    Katy sighed, and sat silent for a moment. “So, it’s a done deal