Read Online Claire Knows Best by Tracey Bateman - Free Book Online Page B

room. “That used to be the nursery.
     When we bought the house, I dreamed of keeping it full. But it took us seven years to have Greg and I couldn’t have any more
     after him. I suppose nowadays we could find a way. But doctors didn’t know then what they do now about fertility.”
    My heart goes out to her. I can’t imagine life without my brood. Just thinking about it, the loneliness squeezes my heart.
     How will I survive without my kids for what could be weeks? I’m trying to find the proper response when she apparently takes
     my silence for what it is: me not knowing what to say.
    “Anyway, Jim knew the nursery made me sad, so he shipped Greg and me off to my mother’s for a week and while I was gone, he
     did this as a surprise.”
    I pull on the top of a book to bring it close enough to read the spine. “That’s sweet. It’s easy to see where Greg gets his
     nurturing.”
    “Yes. He was close to his father until Jim passed away during Greg’s senior year of high school. He went a little wild. I
     don’t think he would have married Kimberly if she hadn’t gotten pregnant.”
    Startled, I drop the book back into place and step out of the library. “What?”
    Her face goes white and I get the distinct feeling Greg’s mom has just let the cat out of the proverbial bag. “Greg hasn’t
     told you about Kimberly?”
    Well, he definitely hasn’t said anything about getting her pregnant before marriage. The thing is I am not one to throw stones.
     I wasn’t a paragon of virtue before my wedding night to Rick. My shock has nothing to do with judgment, but rather the fact
     that he’s never bothered to tell me such an important detail. I try to hide my rising irritation. “Other than the fact that
     he loved her and she died three years ago, no.”
    “Well, I probably shouldn’t go into it.”
    Come on, sure you should. I mean, you’ve already spilled more than I knew.
    I think the lady must be a mind reader, because she echoes my thoughts. “Well, I suppose I’ve already opened my mouth, I can’t
     really leave you hanging, can I?”
    “I’ll sleep better if you don’t.”
    She pats her mattress and I pad across the soft, rose-colored carpet and climb up into her bed. “I don’t understand. If Kimberly
     was pregnant that long ago, shouldn’t Greg have a teenager?”
    Her face clouds and she nods. “They were married a week after Greg found out about the baby. By a judge, of all people. I
     wanted them to at least have a minister do the service, but Kim wasn’t much on church.”
    I’ve rarely seen Greg’s mom with anything but a smile on her face, but now there’s definitely a scowl, and I’m tempted to
     assure her that when I marry Greg, we will definitely do it at the altar, complete with a communion service and our pastor
     presiding over the whole thing.
    I’m relieved when she continues without awaiting a response from me. “She lost the baby within a month of their marriage.
     Greg never actually said anything, but I knew he felt cheated out of so much in life. He had planned to go to college on a
     basketball scholarship.” She gives me a sad little smile. “He really was good enough, I think, to have gone on to play professional
     basketball. But he couldn’t go off and play college ball with a wife at home. Kim still had one year of high school.
    “Not long after the marriage, Kim’s mother left her father and moved to Arizona. Kim cried until Greg felt he had no choice
     but to try to make her happy.” She expels a soft sigh. “She was so young. Too young to be separated from her mother. She didn’t
     even wait to graduate. They moved to Tucson at the end of the summer. Kim finished her last year of high school and Greg went
     to college and got his teaching degree.”
    “That shows a lot of character. How many guys would have had such a sense of responsibility?”
    She nods, but her eyes are staring at the comforter as though she’s reliving the past. “Greg