Torn Apart Read Online Free PDF Page A

bed, playing one of his computer games.
    “Bobby, you’re still in your sock feet. Where are your good shoes?”
    He laid down the DS and pointed toward the shiny brown loafers.
    “But, Mama, if I wear those shoes, they’re gonna stick on the slide.”
    She smiled. He had a valid point. The gym set at their church was an amazing assortment of swings, ladders, slides and tunnels, and he loved to play on it.
    “Okay…but make sure you wear the tennis shoes you wear to school, not the ones you wear when Daddy takes you fishing.”
    His smile, so like his father’s, pierced her heart as he bounded off the bed.
    “Yes, ma’am,” he said, and raced to the closet.
    “I’m going to the kitchen to get the cake. I’ll meet you at the front door,” Katie warned.
    “I’ll hurry,” Bobby said, and dived into the back of his closet in search of the shoes in question.
    A few minutes later they were on the sidewalk, heading along the shady path on their way to church. The weather was warm and muggy—typical Louisiana weather for this time of year. Katie was carrying the cake she’d made for the dinner—a three-layer coconut with creamy orange filling—in her best Tupperware cake carrier.
    She couldn’t help smiling at she watched Bobby bouncing along beside her, then in front of her, then off to the side to investigate interesting rocks and flowers in the yards they passed. It was like walking with a puppy off a leash.
    “Look, Mama!” Bobby cried, as he pointed to a large rosebush blooming in a neighbor’s yard. “We’ve got a rosebush with flowers that color at our house in New Orleans, only bigger.”
    Katie’s smile slid sideways as a bit of her good mood disappeared. She couldn’t stop the twinge of envy, knowing he had already adjusted to the fact that his parents lived in different houses. It reminded her of a dream she’d had Friday night after J.R.’s call.
    In the dream, her mother had come and crawled in bed with her, and told her not to be afraid. Then she kept telling her to go, go, go. She didn’t need to wonder where it was her mother wanted her to go, or why she’d had the dream. The guilt she’d lived with was overwhelming. But the dream had set the wheels in motion.
    She was beginning to realize she was the only one who could fix the break in her marriage, and was going to tell J.R., when she saw him again, that if he didn’t mind, she would like to see the new house. It couldn’t hurt to visit. If she was still afraid, she could always come home. She just hoped to God J.R. still wanted her there.
    Bobby skipped a few yards ahead of her and pointed to another yard.
    “Look, Mama. Wisteria. Your favorite. Daddy planted some of that for you last month.”
    “They are beautiful,” Katie said, as her conscience kicked again.
    J.R. was always thinking of her. Why hadn’t she been able to do the same for him? Just like that, another bit of her good mood was gone.
    Bobby didn’t notice the shift in her emotions. He was too preoccupied with sharing his news.
    “Yeah. And Daddy’s going to buy me a puppy. I have always wanted a puppy, haven’t I, Mama?”
    Katie bit her lip to keep from crying. “Yes, you sure have.”
    “It would be good to have a dog. He would keep me safe from monsters and stuff,” Bobby said, and then squatted down to examine a line of ants crossing the sidewalk a few yards ahead of her.
    Katie frowned. It was the first time he’d mentioned monsters since the night he’d had that nightmare. She shifted the cake carrier to a more comfortable position, then clasped his hand as he moved back into step beside her.
    “Bobby?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Do you still have bad dreams about monsters?”
    He frowned. “Sometimes.”
    “Do you have them at Daddy’s house?”
    “The monster doesn’t live in New Orleans. The monster lives here.”
    Katie’s stomach knotted. Lord! She’d had no idea he’d been living with this fear. This was terrible! Now she felt guiltier than