Read Online Celebration by Fern Michaels - Free Book Online

thought tomorrow was the last day,” Kristine said as she sipped at the coffee Tyler handed her.
    â€œYep, we’re off till January tenth. What are we going to do, Mom?”
    â€œI don’t know about you guys but I’m going to go through my parents’ records and see what I have to do to get their old business up and running. I think this Crock-Pot was one of the best things I ever bought,” Kristine said, hoping to ward off any questions about Logan and the future.
    â€œDig in!” Mike said happily as he loaded his plate to the brim. Kristine smiled at the way his freckles danced across the bridge of his nose. He looked so much like Logan it was scary. Cala looked like her, and Tyler had both Logan’s and her features. She looked away.
    â€œMom, we need to talk about Dad. You said you made some calls yesterday. I think you need to share information with us,” Cala said, an edge to her voice.
    â€œI agree about the sharing part, but there’s nothing to share. The airlines don’t give out passenger information. I spoke to Captain Dellwood. He’s new to the base, and he’s the one who drove your father to the airport. I called Tom, and he knew nothing. I even called Sadie, who said I was neurotic and paranoid. After that, I called the American Consulate and asked them to check on your dad. I’m hoping the airline will tell them something. Nobody was the least bit interested.”
    â€œHe’ll show up Christmas Eve, make a grand entrance, look at us all in wide-eyed wonder, and say something titillating like, ‘Now why would you worry about your old man?’ He would be right, too. Why the hell are we worried? So he’s late, so what. I for one do not miss him at all. I personally don’t care if he ever shows up. Don’t any of you notice how quiet and peaceful it is without him ragging on us twenty-four hours a day,” Mike said, bitterness ringing in his voice.
    Kristine watched and listened in dismay as her son filled his plate a second time. She should say something, anything that would lighten the moment. Even if she could think of something to say, it wouldn’t matter to Mike. Undercurrents of something she could never understand were always present when father and son were in the same room. As near as she could tell, Logan wanted his son to conform, and Mike wasn’t about to follow any order given by his father. Cala had at times stood by her twin and at other times bowed to parental pressure. Tyler, on the other hand, was a dutiful son and the apple of his father’s eye, and Logan made sure the twins knew he was his favorite. Sometimes Logan could be unnecessarily cruel. She felt disloyal at the thought.
    â€œâ€˜That’s enough, Michael,” Kristine said, using her son’s full name, a sign that enough was enough. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tyler smirk. “Wipe that smirk off your face, Tyler,” she said, getting up from the table.
    â€œWe’ll clean up, Mom. You get the stuff ready in the living room.”
    â€œAll right. I’m going to change my clothes first. Do we have a ladder?”
    â€œI brought it in earlier,” Mike said.
    Tears welled in Kristine’s eyes when her son hugged her. He whispered in her ear, “I probably didn’t mean half of what I said. I hate what this is doing to you, Mom. He always does it, and you don’t do anything. You just swallow it up and wait for the next time. He beats on you, and you don’t seem to care. We’re all doing fine, can’t you see that?”
    â€œMaybe you are, but I’m not. I don’t want to talk about this, Mike.”
    â€œYou need to open your eyes, Mom. We don’t care. Tyler pretends and Cala feels like I do. You’re the only one who cares. I hope the three of us are around when you finally realize what a son of a bitch your husband really is. Don’t say it, Mom, because I