Vegas Sunrise Read Online Free PDF Page A

Jeff is going to run the casino. I think he’ll accept it. It was his choice to stay away. Life goes on. Mom will never go back on her word.”
    â€œWhat do you think of Celia?”
    â€œDidn’t we have this discussion a little while ago? It’s a loaded question if I ever heard one. She seems pleasant. Birch is crazy in love with her. Sunny detested her on sight. They got off to a bad start, but I think Birch can make it right. No one wants to be on the receiving end of Sunny’s wrath. It doesn’t matter that she’s disabled—her brain is as sharp as ever, and that mouth of hers is still the same. She listens to Harry, though. Strange, isn’t it?”
    â€œThey’re so good for one another. I can’t tell you how much I admire Sunny.”
    â€œWe all do, Iris. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll find a cure for multiple sclerosis in our lifetime.”
    â€œSage, Birch must have told Celia about Sunny and Harry. Yet
    . . . I saw the way she looked at Sunny. It wasn’t distaste. It was revulsion. Sunny saw it, too. I’m not sure about Harry, though.”
    â€œIris, that’s a terrible thing to say. Sunny . . .”
    â€œI know what I saw, Sage. It’s not my imagination. It’s too nice a night to argue about something that . . . I was going to say that doesn’t concerns us, but it does concern us. Celia is now part of the family. You need to know, Sage, that I will step in if it looks to me like Sunny is getting the short end of the stick. I won’t tolerate it. Neither will your mother.”
    â€œJesus. It sounds like the three of you drew battle lines, and this is only the first shot. It is possible you misinterpreted the whole thing?”
    â€œWrong. Count us as four. Billie saw it, too; she was steaming. I’m afraid, Sage, and I don’t know why.”
    â€œFearless Iris. I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Sage said, trying to make a joke of the whole thing. When his wife’s expression didn’t change, he felt his own first stirrings of fear. No, second stirrings of fear. The first ones were at the airport and on the ride home. Dependable, down-to-earth, commonsense Iris never got rattled, never showed fear. She looked problems in the face, studied them, resolved them. He kissed her lightly on the cheek, praying his own fears would dissipate.
    Iris snuggled into her husband’s embrace. “I love you so much, Sage. There aren’t any words in my vocabulary to tell you how much.”
    Sage felt his heart start to pound. His wife was professing her love and yet the words had an ominous ring to them. Fear jumped into his throat. He felt the urge to roar like a lion, giving notice he was protecting his own. He almost snarled when Birch came up behind him. His voice was less than cordial when he said, “What’s happening?”
    â€œNothing. I came out to get some air. I guess I really did miss this place. I like Marcus Reed. Mom seems really happy. Now, tell me, how do you like Celia?”
    Sage’s heart continued to thump and grind in his chest. Birch looked like his answer was something he waited for all his life.
    â€œTrust you to pick a real looker. We just met and didn’t have a chance to get acquainted. By the way, where is she?”
    â€œPlaying twenty-one. This is all so new to her. She’s like a kid at Christmastime. It’ll wear off in a week or so. I figured I’d let her indulge herself. Iris, you’ll take her under your wing, won’t you?”
    â€œWell . . . ah . . . sure. I don’t have much free time with the kids and all. You know me, I cook and bake and take the kids on outings. Do you think she’ll like being around kids?”
    â€œAre you kidding? She loves kids. She can’t cook or bake or do that homemaker stuff. I was hoping you could teach her, Iris.”
    â€œFor you, Birch, anything. Give me some notice, and