Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8 Read Online Free PDF Page A

disbelief, and Renae rolled her eyes. Hadn’t Dalton said the same exact thing? Maybe she needed to start listening to her friends. Claire and Alyssa were both transplants to Serendipity, but Renae considered them both really good friends, especially since Alyssa had loosened up so much after meeting and marrying Dalton. In fact, aside from Jessie, they were really the only close friends she had.
    “No. I want to make Kelly a scarf for Christmas.”
    “I’ll buy Kelly a scarf for Christmas. Get your ass in the shower.” Claire slapped Renae on the butt, so she scooted.
    Following directions had always been Renae’s forte. She washed her hair and shaved her legs, which was already more than she’d ever done for Les. She couldn’t believe her friends were doing this to her. She had planned on going out. There was no reason for all this hoopla, but they were hard to say no to. It was easier to just go along with them.
    When she came out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel, Claire was holding up a microscopic minidress.
    “No. Absolutely not. I will not go out wearing Kelly’s clothes to pick up men.”
    Claire’s face fell, and Alyssa held up a pretty white skirt with ruffles on it with a tight red top.
    “All right, let me see something…” Renae rummaged around in her closet, until she found a shirt that went with the white skirt, but wasn’t as revealing. “Will this work?” She held it out.
    “Try it on. Let’s see.”
    She tried on both pieces, and while the top was off the shoulder and a little low, which was why she’d never worn it to work, it looked really good with the skirt, which fell just above her knees but wasn’t too short. She pulled the towel from her hair and shook out the shoulder-length auburn curls. She caught herself getting into the spirit of the evening.
    “Okay, who can blow dry this hair and not make it look like I should be housing birds in it?”
    Claire jumped at the task, as she had a similar hair type.
    “I’ll do your makeup,” Alyssa announced.
    They all perched in her bathroom, Renae feeling a little goddess-like, being pampered the way she was. She smiled at the idea of a night out with the girls. When Claire had finished with the blow dryer, she had a curling iron and some sort of gel stuff and was playing with Renae’s waves while Claire spread some sort of lotion all over her face.
    “So, how’s life in the fast lane?” Alyssa asked.
    “Les has asked me out twice, and by the way tonight is not a date. I’ve been kicked out of the quilting circle at church.” She pursed her lips as she thought. “Oh yeah, Mr. O’Niel is in a wheel chair because he broke his foot, and he wants me to meet his son who’s in town. I think that’s about it.”
    “Mr. O’Niel is crazy,” Claire declared.
    “Shut up. He’s a sweet old coot. His son’s probably cute. Mr. O’Niel isn’t bad for an old fart. Can you imagine what he used to look like?” Alyssa blew on the brush she had just loaded up with blush. “Suck in your cheeks for me.”
    “When are you going to take off your wedding ring?” Claire’s eyes were glued to the simple gold band that Renae had been wearing half her life.
    “I don’t know. Do you think I should?” Renae twisted it, without realizing what she was doing.
    “Are you still loyal to the unfaithful scumbag who robbed your daughter of a life with a dad?” Alyssa asked.
    “Wow. Way to put it bluntly, ‘Lyssa.” She didn’t even know the half of it.
    “I’m just saying. I wasn’t around when it all happened, but Dalton’s told me. And you’ve been a wonderful role model to your daughter. I hope I can be like that with my own kids. But you’ve done enough for that man’s memory. It’s time to make some of your own. That’s all I’m going to say on the topic.”
    Renae was silent for a while, while the girls made her up. It was true. She hadn’t ever told Kelly the entire story of how her father died — in a drunk