Read Online Pitch Black by Susan Crandall - Free Book Online Page B

a wild ride with no guarantee where it would end. No more bunny-in-heat behavior.
    Lucky for her, last night Gabe had come to his senses—and managed to coax her to hers without making her feel like a love-starved bubblehead.
    Yes, with a considerate, selfless man like Gabriel Wyatt, there just might be some way to balance a relationship with her responsibilities to her son.
    She pulled the covers up over her shoulder, delaying facing the realities of the day. Ethan would no doubt want to go to the hospital. She had to prepare, just as she prepared herself for an important journalistic interview. She wanted to be ready with her arguments and explanations, ready to go to battle for what was best for Ethan in the long run. As his mother, it was her job to make the hard decisions.
    When she’d first taken on this role, she’d read every book on parenting and adolescent behavior she could get her hands on. One element that ran true in every one of them was the deep need a child, no matter what age, has for rules and boundaries. In the beginning Ethan had chafed under newly imposed restraints. After a while, beneath the bristling protests, she’d begun to sense his feeling of gratitude, his appreciation that someone cared enough to be concerned about where he was and what he was doing.
    It was funny really; their no-bullshit pact didn’t seem to come into play in this particular area of their relationship. When push came to shove, they squared off just like every other adolescent and parent. And afterward, just like most parents and half-grown children, they never came right out and said what they felt, but saved face by resorting to subtle conciliatory nuances.
    Of course, having started this whole parenting thing halfway through the process, she had to be extraordinarily careful in choosing her battles. So, before she laid out judgment, she always thought it through, making certain she could justify her stand. That way there was no destructive waffling or backing down.
    Today would be crucial. She had to consider the pros and cons of Ethan missing school, and of his visiting Jordan at the hospital. Even though Ethan had experienced more trauma than most boys his age, he was at such a vulnerable stage, agewise as well as socially. He was still adjusting as “the new kid.” Considering that, wouldn’t it be better for him to face school today, and not delay the inevitable questions of curious classmates?
    As far as she could tell, Jordan Gray was his only close friend. And Jordan might well be in for a long recovery. Ethan had to be prepared for that possibility. Keeping to his normal routine might be the best way in which to do that.
    On the other hand—
    A soft knock sounded on her bedroom door. “M? Are you awake?”
    Decision time. He was going to school. “Yes. Come on in.”
    Pushing open the door, he hung in the doorway. He was already dressed and his face looked as if he hadn’t had a single minute of sleep. His hair looked like a rat’s nest, as if he’d been tossing and turning, or repeatedly running his hands through it.
    She had to choke back the sympathetic sound that automatically formed in her throat and ignore the urge to draw him into a hug. Instead she said, “You’re up early.”
    “Yeah. I was hoping to go by the hospital to see Jordan before school.”
    She was just a little ashamed of the relief she felt. She wasn’t going to have to take the role of Dictator-of-What’s-Good-for-You and force him to attend school today.
    “What if he’s the same?” she asked. “Maybe it would be better to give him the day and go see him after school. I can be done early at the office—”
    “Come on, M! You know I’m not gonna freak if he’s still . . . out of it.” He locked gazes with her. “I won’t be able to think in school unless I see him—just for a minute. And maybe it’ll help him to see me, too.”
    She sighed, sat up, and pushed the hair out of her eyes. Sometimes her own teachings