Read Online Cry Me a River by Nancy Holder - Free Book Online Page B

enthusiastic as he was going to get.
    Clay was almost on her when Grace turned her headtoward the TV and shouted, “Oh, my God!” As she expected, Clay looked, and she lifted the bag over his head and showered him with popcorn.
    “Falling stars!” she yelled.
    “Aunt Grace! Aunt Grace!” Clay blustered, laughing. He slid to the floor, covered with popcorn; Grace did a war dance around him, whooping like a victorious brave. Gus got back down off the couch and approached, chomping his way to the two shrieking humans.
    “I’m covered in butter!” Clay protested.
    “I’ve got a shower,” she reminded him. “And a washing machine.” She dove over the couch, grabbed the salt, and dumped some over his head.
    “No, no!” He laughed, flailing at her, obviously not really wanting to stop her. She added one more shake, then one for good luck over her shoulder.
    “Just be glad we weren’t eating something you don’t like,” she told him. “Like your grandma’s split-pea soup.”
    He grimaced. “Yuck.”
    “My point exactly.”
    He wiped his face with the edge of his T-shirt, eyes twinkling, some nice high color in those apple cheeks. “This is the kind of stuff Forrest never gets to do.”
    “We should invite him over,” Grace suggested. “Show him how to walk on the wild side. With limits, of course. We’ll only cover him in stuff he’s not allergic to.”
    “Wow, could we? That’d be great.” Clay plucked a piece of popcorn out of her hair. “He’d have a blast.”
    She smiled, wondering if Forrest’s mom and dad could ever be persuaded to say yes. Doug might be able to give her some pointers on how to behave like a normal fuddy-duddy parent.
    “You go take a shower,” Grace said. “I’ll clean up the mess.”
    “Okay, Aunt Grace.” Clay scooped up some popcorn to fling at her, but she was too quick and ducked out of trajectory range. His weapons of mass carbos plummeted to earth. Laughing, he turned around and headed for her bathroom.
    “You’ve got some sweats and a T-shirt in the clean laundry,” she called after him. A bigger T-shirt, at that. “Basket’s on the dryer.”
    “Thanks,” he called back.
    She smiled fondly after him, then down at Gus, who was still clearing the debris field. She was tempted to let him devour all the popcorn, but she didn’t want him to have a bellyache. So she nudged him back with one bare foot while she dropped a roll of paper towels on the floor. Then she started gathering up gobs of popcorn with the use of her nimble feet.
    “Evenin’, Grace,” Earl said, appearing next to the TV. He was examining her stack of videos.
    “Did you put Clay up to
Astronaut Farmer?”
she asked him as Gus abandoned the popcorn and trotted over to Earl. Gus loved her angel more than junk food. Amazing.
    Earl patted Gus as he examined the back of a George Romero classic. Brain-eating zombies, shotguns. What was not to love?
    “Nope. You sure do like zombies,” he said.
    “Used to be one.” She crossed her eyes. “Catholic schoolgirl. No one more brainless than that.”
    “Rhetta was a Catholic schoolgirl,” Earl said. “And you think she’s smarter than you.”
    “Because she is. But I can drink more and swear better.”
    “Proud accomplishments.” He set down the videos. “It’s nice to see you two having a good time. You and Clay. Life’s so short. Gotta seize the moment.”
    She went cold. Something in his tone set off her alarmbells. “Those tougher times you mentioned … that’s the Sons of Oklahoma, right?”
    He moved his shoulders. “Maybe. Or maybe it’s about a certain daughter of God. The tough times
she’s
having.”
    If he was talking about Grace herself, she didn’t currently give a shit about that. “It doesn’t have anything to do with Clay?”
    “You know I can’t tell you that,” he said, gazing steadily at her.
    “Can’t or won’t?” she pushed, but she knew he wouldn’t say either way. Still, as he stood facing her