Read Online A Letter for Annie by Laura Abbot - Free Book Online Page A

chair. “It’s my time, dear. I’m doing what I can for your sake. But the day is coming when I will no longer be able to fight.”
    “I can’t bear to lose you.” Annie laid her head in Geneva’s lap to conceal her tears.
    “I know.” Auntie G.’s gentle hand caressed Annie’s head. “But dying is part of life. We’re none of us given any promises, and I’ve lasted longer than most.”
    They sat like that for several minutes, suspended in a silence broken only by the wheeze of Geneva’s oxygen tank and the intermittent sound of hammer blows on the roof.
     

    I T TOOK over an hour to get Auntie G. dressed and ready to leave for the doctor’s appointment. Twice she had changed her mind about what she wanted to wear, opting finally for a colorful yellow Mexican dress, which only served to emphasize her pale complexion. She spent considerable time at her dressing table and, with a trembling hand, applied mascara, rouge and lipstick. She completed her outfit with a turquoise andsilver necklace. When she sat back to appraise the result in the mirror, she blew out a disgusted breath. “I look like hell.”
    As if to underline the comment, a loud blow sounded from the roof. In her imagination, Annie raised a fist and shook it at Kyle Becker. She had been fighting a headache all afternoon and didn’t need any further aggravation.
    Before they could leave, Geneva insisted on dumping the contents of her purse on the bed and selecting a different handbag. Rifling through her billfold, she located her insurance cards. Only then did she fill the new bag and pronounce herself ready. Glancing surreptitiously at her watch, Annie saw they would be cutting it close to make it on time.
    “Wait here while I pull the car up to the door.” Annie collapsed the wheelchair and stowed it in the trunk, then returned to help Geneva down the steps. Balancing herself with the walker and supported by Annie, who tucked an arm around her waist, Geneva started across the porch. Just then Kyle rounded the corner of the house carrying another load of shingles from his pickup. Dropping the shingles, he bounded toward them. “Here, let me help.”
    He handed Annie the walker before swooping Geneva up and heading for the car. Annie managed a smile when she heard her great-aunt say, “I always did fancy a strong man.”
    By the time she’d folded up the walker and stowed it and arranged the portable oxygen tank in the front seat, Annie was even more concerned about the time,knowing that she would face the cumbersome unloading process on the other end.
    “Thank you,” she murmured as she brushed past Kyle, his warm, metallic scent turning her knees to rubber.
    He reached out and grabbed her arm. “Where are you going? Do you need me to follow you?”
    She could hardly trust herself to look up, because she knew his eyes would be full of sympathy. And they were. “That’s not necessary, but I appreciate the thought. Geneva has a doctor’s appointment.”
    Before releasing her, he ran his hand down her arm, setting up goose bumps. “This can’t be easy for you, Annie. You can ask for help, you know.”
    Ducking her head, Annie slithered behind the wheel. His thoughtfulness had unnerved her. Before closing the car door, she nodded. “I will if I need to,” she said, praying she would never have to ask.
    Kyle stood in the driveway watching Annie’s vintage Honda lurch over the rutted road to the highway. Geneva Greer was light as a feather. In the short time he’d been working on the house, she had faded like a late-autumn bloom. Annie’s devotion to her great-aunt was evident, but he could tell it was sapping her energy. In her oversize shirts and sweaters, she looked like a wraith trying to escape notice. This picture was at complete odds with the animated, sparkly eyed teen she’d been. Kyle wondered what it would take to restore the person he’d once known.
    Why did he care? Shaking his head in bewilderment, he picked up the