Read Online A Silken Thread by Brenda Jackson - Free Book Online

engagement party would have taken precedence over any business matters.”
    Erica leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Her mother was always trying to chomp away at her and April’s friendship. “April didn’t have to be here for me to know I have her support. Besides, I’m sure she figured she would make things easier on you by not showing up.”
    Other than rolling her eyes Karen didn’t make a comment. Erica knew there was nothing her mother could truly say. At fifty-seven her mother would never change her way of thinking. It was an ingrained part of her. Erica’s position was and would always be that her mother’s opinion wasn’t her own. Ninety-nine percent of the time it wasn’t.
    Erica gathered the papers together in front of her, slid them into her purse and stood up. “Since you don’t seem to have anything nice to say today, Mom, I’d rather be somewhere else. Your negativity is draining and I’m still tired from this weekend.”
    “Before you go there is something we need to discuss.”
    “What?”
    “Brian’s mother and that outfit she wore. Makes me cringe to think what she might wear to the wedding.”
    Erica turned to leave thinking that holding a conversation with her mother was becoming excruciatingly difficult. For once she would like to visit without feeling resentful and wondering just how her father managed to put up with it.
    Undaunted, her mother continued. “Do you think it would be out of line if I were to suggest that Harriet give her a call?”
    Erica swung back around, her eyes full of anger. “Don’t you dare, Mom.” Harriet was her mother’s personal clothes designer and for some reason her mother thought if Harriet hadn’t made it then it shouldn’t be worn.
    Erica pulled in a deep breath thinking she’d had enough. She had tried being patient with her mother, even a little under standing. Now here it was just three months before her wedding to a wonderful man and her mother still hadn’t accepted how things were going to be.
    “Several people happened to like Ms. Lawson’s outfit and thought it was very flattering. I was one of those people.” And without giving her mother a chance to say anything, Erica opened the back door and walked out.
    When she got to her car she just sat there for a moment as she gazed up at the house she had lived in most of her life. The Sanders Estate was a huge three-story mansion with dormer windows housed under a gambrel roof. She’d always been told that her great-great-grandfather had befriended a Dutchman who had built the house in 1915, which was the reason for its Dutch colonial design.
    She had always loved everything about the house, especially the fireplaces in all the bedrooms. As a child she would lie on the shiny hardwood floors in front of her bedroom fireplace with a pillow and blanket while she read her favorite book.
    The huge, welcoming structure had been her safe haven, and her secret “away place” beneath the stairs had been her private sanctuary. Even after returning home from college she hadn’t thought of living anyplace else but here, especially since she’d had the entire third floor practically all to herself.
    But things changed after that summer she’d met Brian. Once her mother began badgering her to break things off with him and focus on winning Griffin’s heart, she’d made the decision to move out. It hadn’t taken her long to turn her condo into a home and, when Brian had flown in one weekend to spend time with her, he had helped her christen the place in the most romantic and intimate way. Just thinking about that particular weekend always made her smile.
    She had been upfront with Brian from the start, figuring it was best to level with him regarding her mother’s attitude. He had accepted it all in stride and assured her he was the sort of guy who eventually grew on people.
    So far he hadn’t grown on her mother…and probably never would.

    “Thanks for letting me