The Pick Up Wife Read Online Free PDF Page A

at the café again in the morning. Why did she need to work two jobs anyway?

    ****
    Symmone flinched at the heavy thud behind her and glanced over her shoulder to find Amanda frowning at her. Not what she needed while she was on break.
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    “Why in the world would someone want to send you flowers?” Disdain oozed from every syllable Amanda spoke.
    “Maybe I have a better attitude.” Symmone turned around.
    Amanda sniffed and spun on her heel, nose tilted to the ceiling. Symmone scooted her chair closer to the arrangement of flowers before briefly wondering if the woman’s neck ever got a cramp from holding her nose in the air.
    More roses. She plucked the card from the holder and the corners of her mouth quirked upward. “Have Dinner With Me.”
    She shook her head. Dinner was out of the question, especially after the kiss they’d shared last week. Just thinking about the touch of his lips, 66
    the heat of his body, left her yearning for one night in his arms. She couldn’t let it go any further.
    She tapped the card against her hand. Or could she? Maybe she would call him after the kids went to bed and plan something for the weekend.
    Even if only to test Leo’s sincerity, she had to tell him about the children.

    ****
    Chaos reigned when she arrived home.
    Throughout the day she’d expected Leo to show up at the café—after all he’d stopped by every day—
    but he hadn’t. Despite the slight relief of not seeing him, she was surprised to find disappointment lurking. Now that she was home all thoughts of her ex were pushed from her mind as she watched the scene unfold before her. LJ
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    chased Jewel, brandishing half a toy car, while they screamed at the tops of their lungs.
    “Stop it, LJ!” Jewel shrieked.
    “You broke it!” he shouted.
    “You two. Hey. Hey!” Symmone waited until they came to a reluctant stop, only to indulge in a shoving match. “Stop it. Now.”
    “But Mom–”
    “No. You, in that corner.” She pointed to LJ, then to the wall near the front door. “You in the other corner.” She waited until both children were at opposite ends of the hall, with their noses to the drywall, before she heaved a sigh. “I want you to think about what you’ve done and I’ll be back in five minutes to hear what you have to say.”
    Jewel turned around. “Mom.”
    “What?”
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    The little girl looked at her feet then at Symmone. “I did break his toy. Don’t make him stand in the corner.”
    Symmone studied her daughter for a moment. “And you’re willing to accept all the consequences of your actions?”
    Tears puddled in Jewel’s eyes, but she nodded.
    “Fine. Go to your room, and I’ll be up there in a minute. LJ, have a seat on the couch. And no TV.”
    “Yes, Mom,” they said in chorus.
    Once things had quieted down, the faint drone of water running drifted to her ears. Now where was that coming from? A quiet thud and the droning morphed to rumbling, almost like water 69
    hitting the floor. “Did you leave the water running?”
    “Symmone! I could use a hand,” Melvin hollered.
    She looked up in time to see water drip from the ceiling. She dashed upstairs and into the bathroom. Water cascaded over her shoes and a stream shot from the wall beneath the sink.
    “Melvin! What happened?” She grabbed a handful of towels and fought her way through the deluge.
    “The pipe broke.”
    “So why didn’t you shut it off?”
    He held up a pair of vise-grip pliers, then went back to work. “There is no knob for the shut-off valve to the main line.” He fought with the pliers some more; the water slowed to a trickle and 70
    finally stopped. “You really need to find someplace else to live.”
    Symmone slipped on the water and fell on her butt, banging her wrist against the toilet.
    “Are you okay?” Melvin scrambled to her side.
    “No!” Tears stung her eyes as she cradled her arm in her lap.
    Footsteps pounded in the hall and she glanced over her shoulder to find her children