Read Online Cold as Ice by Charlene Groome - Free Book Online Page A

spells out SINGLE?”
    â€œThere must be someone at work.”
    â€œYeah, my ex-husband, who, by the way, says hello.”
    â€œI’m sure one of your friends can set you up with someone. You know, the older you get, the harder it is to find someone.”
    â€œIt already is.”
    â€œAnd the older you get, the harder it is to conceive. Look at our neighbors across the street, Florence and Jeff. They’re forty-five and just had their set of twins. They’d been trying for seven years.”
    Carla stares blankly at her manicured fingernails, clicking them together to loosen the invisible grime. She can’t look at her mom.
    â€œWhen the time’s right . . .” her dad says.
    â€œIt wasn’t my fault that I couldn’t have a child, and you know what? I’m glad I didn’t have one with Timothy because I would be a single mother right now.”
    â€œYou’d have made it work.”
    Carla puts her hands together, looks at the television screen and then at her mom. “I couldn’t. I love my job. I’m not giving that up. I’ve worked really hard to get where I am. My job is who I am. This is where I’m meant to be,” she says, feeling a nudge of disappointment. “You can’t have everything.”
    Dad looks over. “Are you happy?”
    â€œVery happy,” Carla says in a monotone.
    He holds up a hand. “Well, that’s what matters,” he says, looking over at her and then refocusing on the TV.
    â€œWhen will you accept me for being who I am?” Carla asks. “Why not be content that you have healthy kids who are happy themselves?”
    â€œI do!” her mom defends herself.
    â€œCan’t you be happy for me? Can’t you understand that if Timothy and I could have, we would have stayed together? We tried having children. It didn’t work for us. You’re lucky; you didn’t go through the pain of conceiving the way I did for three years. Some women aren’t as lucky.” The burn in Carla’s eyes makes her blink. Her head gives a sharp turn as she walks toward the door. “You’re going to have to get over Timothy.”
    Carla slips on her flats and leaves before anyone can stop her.

Chapter 4
    C arla applies for the Sports National job on her home computer, curious whether she’d get the job with her experience. It would be a good opportunity, working for a station that has the same interests as she. Timothy might be right; she would do well working in a male-dominant environment where sports was the focus. Maybe leaving Vancouver would be a good change for her. It would give her a fresh start; she could leave her past behind.
    Before heading into work, she drove to a long-awaited doctor appointment to see a gynecologist about her chances of conceiving. She had gone to the doctor when she miscarried the first time, and he had told her that those things happened and to relax; it was nothing she had done, which put her at ease. The second time she miscarried, Timothy told her it wasn’t necessary to see a doctor; she would be told the same thing as before. Carla remembers telling Timothy there could be a problem, but an argument ensued and he talked her out of seeing a specialist every time she mentioned the word baby . She couldn’t shake the idea of not being a mom when she was married, and now the fear of not having children was eating her up more than ever. She was a little bit older and still single, anxious that she wouldn’t get the chance. Maybe her mom was right; she could be a single mom. Lots of women did it. Not by choice, but sometimes it happened. It wasn’t the perfect scenario. What Carla would give to fall in love, to be in love with a man who cherished her and their relationship.
    Carla sits on the examining table. What’s the doctor going to tell her? Maybe she can’t have kids at all. She should have discussed this issue when she was