Read Online Mom's the Word by Marilynn Griffith - Free Book Online

and asked for a divorce. Her mother had laughed, thinking it was a joke. All these years later, it still wasn’t funny. It never would be.
    â€œDon’t give up so easy, Neal. Sure, it’s going to take a while for things to calm down, but they’ll be back in school in the fall. Just give it some time. You wanted this. We both did.” She rubbed her husband’s shoulders and tried to focus on him instead of wondering how far off schedule this was going to put her conception.
    And of course, there was the biggest thing consuming her thoughts—Fallon’s tour. She’d never get it all done if Neal wanted to do another move now. Dyanne needed to do some follow-up calls to a few bookstores on the collegiate part of Fallon’s book tour. During the four days planned for Atlanta, Fallon would be speaking at a college, a megachurch and bookstore on almost every day. A noted psychologist and conference speaker, Fallon got some of her best sales after campus events. Other publicists never seemed to understand the dynamics of the process and rarely sent their authors on the university circuit.
    Dyanne made it work because she analyzed the strengths and connections of each author separately and after seeing Fallon fill in at a graduation once, she’d created a university leg in every one of Fallon’s tours. The key to it all was getting the kids to fall in love with you. Then, they called and e-mailed their parents, who told their friends and it all went on from there. Perhaps the same tactic would work with her neighbors’ children….
    Neal placed his hands over hers and turned to face her. “You’re so sexy when you’re distracted, you know that? If you weren’t trying so hard to get a baby, I’d take you up those stairs and—”
    â€œDon’t let that stop you. A baby ain’t gonna hurt nothing.”
    Both of them dropped hands and turned to the door. Dyanne had been thinking pretty much the same thing, but someone else, someone who was supposed to be far, far away had said it. It took them a few seconds to take in the large, lively woman standing in their open front door. Fallon Gray, Ph.D. Live and in color. The wrong color. Her blond dread-locks were now a black Afro cut close to her scalp.
    Though Dyanne tried to recover quickly, knowing how easily Fallon was offended, she didn’t move quickly enough. The woman swung through the door with a leather duffel bag, wearing an eggshell man’s suit and low heels. The absence of her goldilocks, as Fallon had affectionately called them, gave her a totally different look. Dyanne’s eyes were drawn to fist-size earrings dangling from Fallon’s ears.
    She took a deep breath and smiled, grateful that at least one thing hadn’t changed. Her bestselling author still smelled of patchouli and oranges and hadn’t lost her old woman’s crush on Neal.
    Fallon motioned to Dyanne’s husband with a curving nail. “C’mere, baby. Go on out to the car and get my bags. Maybe that’ll wear off some of that frustration from not taking Dee Dee upstairs and all.”
    Emerging from his shock, Neal started for Fallon with open arms, laughing as he went. “How in the world did you find us? And what are you doing here?”
    Dyanne, who’d only managed to mumble a few half-formed words, wanted to know the same thing. Although she was a beast of a businesswoman when she had time to plan things out, impromptu and in-person encounters definitely weren’t Dyanne’s strong suit. And interacting with Fallon required some preparation. For all Dyanne disliked about her father’s religious fervor, she had to admit being brought to her knees in prayer more than a few times by the colorful woman in front of her, who now looked nothing like the ten thousand promotional pieces that had been circulated the week before. Dyanne’s anger brought her out of her shock.
    â€œSo