Weeding Out Trouble Read Online Free PDF Page A

tended to smother. All in the name of love, of course.
    "Drive safely," I said.
    "I will."
    He opened the front door, and I waited for my mother to follow.
    She didn't budge.
    To me, my father said, "Good luck," and ducked out.
    My gaze snapped to my mother. "Luck? Why would I need luck?" I asked. "And shouldn't you be going too?"
    "It's like this, c hérie . . . "
    It was never a good sign when sentences began that way.
    Kevin grinned. "I'm moving in."
    My head spun. "I need a drink, a snack, and a seat. It doesn't have to be in that order."
    My mother led me to a large comfy chair, sat me down.
    "Is that my pillow?" I asked Kevin. It was propped behind his back. "And my throw?"
    "Very comfy. Is this down?" His green eyes sparkled as he fluffed the pillow, obviously toying with me.
    Okay, on one hand I was glad to see he was doing better. On the other, I wanted to kill him, to put my pillow over his face and suffocate the smile from his lips.
    "Cocoa?" my mother asked me.
    It made me feel slightly better to finally be offered. I nodded, and she hurried to the kitchen.
    Riley sat on the edge of the couch, near his father's legs. "I can explain."
    I looked between the two of them, amazed by their resemblance. Riley had the same shape face, the same hair, the same build. He had his mother's eyes, though, a bright blue. Leah Quinn had died years before I met Kevin, in a mysterious accident I knew nothing about. And recently I'd come to the conclusion that her death was none of my business, no matter how curious I was about it.
    "Okay," I said to Riley. "Explain."
    My mother brought me a hot chocolate. She must have had milk warming on the stove because she was back in a flash, sitting on the edge of the coffee table, smack dab in between Kevin and me.
    I had a sudden flashback to my childhood, where she'd do the same when my brother Peter and I would go at it, or when I tried to shake some sense into my sister Maria.
    "Now, Nina," she said, "this is temporary."
    I sipped at the cocoa. No one made it like my mother. Just the right blend of chocolate, milk, and whipped cream. The mug warmed my hands, but the rest of me still felt cold. "Define temporary."
    Riley shifted on the couch. His cheeks were still red from the cold. He'd probably been at Mrs. Greeble's. He'd been spending a lot of time there since starting work for her over the summer as a handyman. It warmed my heart, since as far as I knew, she had no other family in the area.
    "A few days. Maybe a week," he mumbled.
    "A week? Uh-uh. No way." Bobby's whole family was coming for Thanksgiving in six days. A week wasn't happening.
    "He doesn't have anywhere else to go. I'm all he has left, and he needs my help," Riley said, his eyes wide, his voice cracking with emotion.
    Jeez. The heavy guns right away? It wasn't fair. "Why not stay in the hospital another few days?" I asked Kevin.
    "Because I was going crazy in there."
    A small price to pay, in my opinion.
    "Nina, please," Riley said softly.
    I closed my eyes. Oh, Lord. I could deny Kevin in a heartbeat, but Riley? I felt myself caving, and latched onto my last hope. "Where's Ginger?"
    Seemed to me Kevin and I were past the whole "in sickness and in health" vow. My turn was up. It was hers now. I didn't care if they were married or not—some things were just understood.
    Like your lying, cheating ex-husband's postmedical care should be handled by his current bimbo.
    Simple.
    The microwave dinged, and my mother jumped up. Her lustrous blonde bob shimmered in the dim lighting, swaying in time with her footsteps. "Riley, come help me."
    "But—" he protested.
    "Come," she said sternly.
    Once they were in the kitchen I looked at Kevin. "Ginger?" I prodded.
    "Does it matter?" Kevin asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "Aren't you happy to have me here? Haven't you missed me?"
    At my look, he laughed, then suddenly paled, grabbing at his chest. Fear pushed me from my seat to the edge of the couch.
    "Are you okay?" My hand touched his