Read Online Laura Abbot by Belleporte Summer - Free Book Online

couldn’t read her comment. She hadn’t set an exact time. Maybe the kiss on the beach had meant little to her. Maybe she hadn’t spent these intervening weeks reliving it, the way he had. Before he could respond, he felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder.
    “There you are,” she said. Then she turned to Laurel. “I didn’t have a chance earlier to tell you how pleased we are you decided on Belleporte for your shop.”
    “Thank you. I can’t think of a better place.”
    “If the good will of the community means anything, you should be quite successful.” Maureen smiled warmly. “I enjoyed visiting with you earlier.”
    “Likewise.”
    “If you’ll excuse us—” Maureen took Ben by the arm “—I promised Ellen you’d walk her home.”
    His mother’s timing was flawless. Laurel’s ever-so-slightly raised eyebrows signaled more question than accusation.
    Ellen was not the woman he wanted to walk home, but what could he say without seeming rude?
    Laurel’s smile looked forced. “Remember, you’re welcome anytime to inspect the cottage.”
    “I’ll come by soon. Good night, Laurel.”
    Steering him through the crowd, his mother whispered in his ear. “Before you leave, could you locate Mikey—I mean, Mike? He was hanging around that Ingram boy tonight, and he makes me nervous.”
    Ellen stood by the door watching their approach expectantly. He felt a twisting in his gut. Ellen was a nice person, but she stirred no romantic impulses. Period.
    “And, honey, could you stop by the house tomorrow or the next day? I’ve received some paperwork from the Veterans Administration. That government legalese is incomprehensible to the ordinary person.”
    He sighed inwardly. Whatever adrenaline rush he’d experienced when he’d seen Laurel had effectively been squelched. His mother hadn’t done it on purpose, of course, but she’d served up a timely reminder that with his many responsibilities his life was not his own right now. If he could manage it, and he wasn’t sure he could, he needed to keep his distance from Laurel. Anything else would be unfair to her.

CHAPTER FOUR
    Winnetka, Illinois
Late February

    K ATHERINE S ULLIVAN DIDN’T know when she’d felt so good. Liberated, actually. She surveyed the half-empty walk-in closet with satisfaction. After so many years, she was tired of having clothes, jewels, furs— things —define her. Tired of endless golf games and charity benefits. Tired of having to live up to the expectations of others. Especially Frank.
    Oh, she’d loved him. But he’d been a difficult man to live with. She had quietly prided herself on making the necessary accommodations to keep him happy. But, then, that’s what wives in her generation did. Kept themselves attractive, sublimated their own needs and talents, and smoothly ran a household around their husbands’ schedules and social obligations.
    She slipped two fur-trimmed jackets off hangers and added them to the pile on the king-size bed. Ball gowns, cocktail dresses and beaded jackets lay in a heap beside rows of designer shoes and bags.
    Frank had been dead for almost a year, and though at first she had felt helplessly adrift, in the last few weeks it was as if sunshine had displaced the gray of her soul. And in that light, the seed of an idea had sprouted, gradually taking root and growing stronger day by day.
    She had a life. Not Frank’s definition of her life. Or her daughter’s. Hers. Finally. And she was going to claim it.
    Flinging open the pale-green brocade curtains, Katherine looked out over the immaculately landscaped yard sloping toward Lake Michigan. Whitecaps surged in the wind. Wild. Free. Just like she felt.
    She could predict what her friends would say. “Katherine’s bizarre behavior is a reaction to her grief” or, “Poor Katherine, do you suppose Frank’s estate was that small?” She smiled to herself, triumphantly aware she didn’t care what others thought. She planned to advance way beyond