Read Online Savage by Michelle St. James - Free Book Online Page A

an hour?”
    “Of course,” she said. “Is everything all right?”
    “Gran’s sick!” Lily proclaimed.
    “Is she now?” Mrs. Hodges cast a sympathetic glance at Jenna before turning her eyes back to Lily. “You best stay here a bit then while your Mum helps out.”
    “Are there biscuits?” Lily asked.
    “Don’t be rude, Lily!” Jenna admonished with a smile.
    “Oh, psh!” Mrs. Hodges said. “My home is Lily’s home.” She looked down at the little girl. “And of course there are biscuits. What kind of establishment do you think I’m running?”
    Lily grinned, although Jenna was pretty sure the humor was lost on her.
    Mrs. Hodges' eyes darkened with sympathy as she turned her attention to Jenna. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
    She forced a smile and kissed Mrs. Hodges’ cheek. “You’re doing it by keeping Lily.”
    “That is my pleasure.” Mrs. Hodges took Lily’s hand. “Shall we retire to the tea room?” she asked formally.
    Lily giggled. “Yes!”
    “Well, there you go,” Jenna said, bending to kiss Lily’s soft cheek. “The queen has spoken. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
    “Don’t hurry on our account,” Mrs. Hodges said. “A proper tea cannot be rushed.”
    Jenna had to fight the urge to stay. To ignore the fact that her mother was, at this very moment, throwing up in the bathroom at home. That Kate had work at the pub and then plans with friends, which meant Jenna had no choice but to deal with it if she hoped to take Lily back to the house.
    “Thank you,” she said, stepping out into the hall.
    She waved goodbye to Lily, watching her small face disappear as Mrs. Hodges shut the door. Then she took a deep breath and walked home.
    She went to the linen closet first, choosing two washcloths and two towels. When she got into the bathroom, her mother was kneeling on the tile floor next to the toilet.
    Jenna stepped over the vomit in the doorway and tapped on her mother’s knees. “Lift up, Mum.”
    Her mother moved a little, and Jenna put one of the folded towels down so her mother’s knees wouldn’t hurt while she rid herself of the alcohol that was poison to her body. Then she set about cleaning up, giving her mother one warm washcloth for her face and mouth while Jenna mopped up the mess with the other one. When it seemed like her mother was done, she helped her to bed, pulling up the old coverlet around her shoulders.
    “Sorry, love,” her mother murmured as she closed her eyes.
    “It’s okay, Mum.” She pushed a lock of hair back from her mother’s forehead. “Just rest. I’ll leave you some aspirin and water.”
    Her mother’s breathing immediately settled into a quiet rhythm. Jenna went back to the bathroom, disinfected everything, dried it with the second towel, and got in the shower. She leaned her forehead against the tile wall, letting her tears mingle with the water streaming down her face.
    She’d learned to cry in the shower when Lily had gotten old enough to understand that tears meant something was wrong. It was the one place Jenna could cry without worrying her, and she’d become practiced at holding in her pain until she could be alone in the bathroom, steam fogging the mirror, swirling through the room like smoke. Now she let loose all her sadness and loss, all her fear and uncertainty about the future. Sobs wracked her body, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach like they would somehow protecter her from the assault of the past.
    The water was growing cool by the time she felt emptied enough to step from the shower. She wrapped herself in one of the old, thin towels stacked on a shelf in the bathroom and went to her room where she put on yoga pants and a long-sleeve T-shirt. She felt raw, her nerve endings too close to the surface of her skin. She was too exposed, dangerously vulnerable, and she reached for her father’s old sweater and layered it over the T-shirt, wanting as many layers between her and the world as