Read Online Stranger in Paradise (Home Front - Book #2) by Barbara Bretton - Free Book Online
Authors: Barbara Bretton
Ads: Link
countertop. “Mac Weaver has all the luck, hasn’t he? Can you imagine being right there, front row center, for it all?”
“Somehow Mac doesn’t seem the type to enjoy all the pomp and circumstance.”
Nancy pulled the morning paper from the breadbasket where she’d stashed it hours earlier. “Front-page story with his byline.” She spread it out on the kitchen table in front of her older sister. “Five paragraphs about V-E Day and not one single mention of her dress at the pre-coronation ball.”
“That’s a man for you,” said Cathy with a shake of her head. “I can’t imagine why they’d send a war correspondent to cover a glamorous event like this.”
Nancy glanced at the clock on the wall over the kitchen window. “Two o’clock.” She thought for a second. “Elizabeth is back in the palace, about to address her loyal subjects.”
Cathy chuckled. “Always the romantic, aren’t you, Nance? I’m surprised you didn’t stow away on the Queen Mary and sail to England for the festivities.”
“I thought about it.” But with a husband and a house and three little girls all under six, Nancy wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do you and Gerry still think about seeing the world?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “I do. Gerry’s too busy to think about much of anything.”
Cathy’s brow furrowed as she gently massaged her belly. “It seems to me Gerry’s been doing a great deal of thinking lately.”
An alarm went off in Nancy’s chest as she tried to remain cool and collected. “What do you mean?”
Cathy shifted in her chair, visibly uncomfortable. “He’s been a little... well, Nance, he’s been pretty short-tempered lately. Argumentative almost. He and Johnny had a shouting match last week about some illegible order numbers. Gerry almost dared John to fire him.”
She could barely control the trembling of her hands. The thought of Gerry’s being unemployed struck terror in her heart. “You know Johnny,” she said in what she hoped was a light and breezy tone. “He’s a little hotheaded, isn’t he?”
Cathy didn’t rise to the bait and that worried Nancy all the more. “Yes, he is, but that’s not the trouble, Nance.” She leaned forward and rested her hand on her sister’s forearm. “Is something wrong, honey? You can tell me.”
“Good Lord, you sound just like Mom.” She turned toward the sink and busied herself rinsing out a juice glass. “Nothing’s wrong. We couldn’t be happier.” Who wouldn’t be happy in a such a wonderful house? You’d have to be greedy to want anything more from life, wouldn’t you?
Cathy rose from her chair and stood behind Nancy. “I’m here if you need me,” she said, voice soft. “All you have to do is call.”
“I know,” said Nancy, “but everything’s fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”
They chatted as Nancy formed the hamburger patties and wrapped them in waxed paper for later on. Cathy picked up the baby and followed Nancy out into the small backyard where Linda and Billy were playing hide-and-seek with little Kathy as “it.” Gerry had built a brick barbecue near the end of the cement patio and it was Nancy’s job to make certain the charcoal briquettes were neatly arranged and ready for him to start cooking when he got home.
“An awful lot of trouble to make hamburgers, isn’t it?” Cathy observed as Nancy arranged the little squares of black charcoal. “Seems to me it would be easier to light the oven and use the broiler.”
“They taste better this way,” Nancy said, her voice tight. “They have cookouts in California all the time.” She’d read all about it in last week’s Look magazine. They’d said Dinah Shore and George Montgomery had the fanciest cookouts in town.
Cathy glanced up at the overcast sky. “It doesn’t rain in California.”
“Oh, no!” Nancy looked up at the gathering clouds. “It wouldn’t dare!”
“We can cook inside,” Cathy reminded her again.
“I promised
“Somehow Mac doesn’t seem the type to enjoy all the pomp and circumstance.”
Nancy pulled the morning paper from the breadbasket where she’d stashed it hours earlier. “Front-page story with his byline.” She spread it out on the kitchen table in front of her older sister. “Five paragraphs about V-E Day and not one single mention of her dress at the pre-coronation ball.”
“That’s a man for you,” said Cathy with a shake of her head. “I can’t imagine why they’d send a war correspondent to cover a glamorous event like this.”
Nancy glanced at the clock on the wall over the kitchen window. “Two o’clock.” She thought for a second. “Elizabeth is back in the palace, about to address her loyal subjects.”
Cathy chuckled. “Always the romantic, aren’t you, Nance? I’m surprised you didn’t stow away on the Queen Mary and sail to England for the festivities.”
“I thought about it.” But with a husband and a house and three little girls all under six, Nancy wasn’t going anywhere.
“Do you and Gerry still think about seeing the world?”
Nancy thought for a moment. “I do. Gerry’s too busy to think about much of anything.”
Cathy’s brow furrowed as she gently massaged her belly. “It seems to me Gerry’s been doing a great deal of thinking lately.”
An alarm went off in Nancy’s chest as she tried to remain cool and collected. “What do you mean?”
Cathy shifted in her chair, visibly uncomfortable. “He’s been a little... well, Nance, he’s been pretty short-tempered lately. Argumentative almost. He and Johnny had a shouting match last week about some illegible order numbers. Gerry almost dared John to fire him.”
She could barely control the trembling of her hands. The thought of Gerry’s being unemployed struck terror in her heart. “You know Johnny,” she said in what she hoped was a light and breezy tone. “He’s a little hotheaded, isn’t he?”
Cathy didn’t rise to the bait and that worried Nancy all the more. “Yes, he is, but that’s not the trouble, Nance.” She leaned forward and rested her hand on her sister’s forearm. “Is something wrong, honey? You can tell me.”
“Good Lord, you sound just like Mom.” She turned toward the sink and busied herself rinsing out a juice glass. “Nothing’s wrong. We couldn’t be happier.” Who wouldn’t be happy in a such a wonderful house? You’d have to be greedy to want anything more from life, wouldn’t you?
Cathy rose from her chair and stood behind Nancy. “I’m here if you need me,” she said, voice soft. “All you have to do is call.”
“I know,” said Nancy, “but everything’s fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”
They chatted as Nancy formed the hamburger patties and wrapped them in waxed paper for later on. Cathy picked up the baby and followed Nancy out into the small backyard where Linda and Billy were playing hide-and-seek with little Kathy as “it.” Gerry had built a brick barbecue near the end of the cement patio and it was Nancy’s job to make certain the charcoal briquettes were neatly arranged and ready for him to start cooking when he got home.
“An awful lot of trouble to make hamburgers, isn’t it?” Cathy observed as Nancy arranged the little squares of black charcoal. “Seems to me it would be easier to light the oven and use the broiler.”
“They taste better this way,” Nancy said, her voice tight. “They have cookouts in California all the time.” She’d read all about it in last week’s Look magazine. They’d said Dinah Shore and George Montgomery had the fanciest cookouts in town.
Cathy glanced up at the overcast sky. “It doesn’t rain in California.”
“Oh, no!” Nancy looked up at the gathering clouds. “It wouldn’t dare!”
“We can cook inside,” Cathy reminded her again.
“I promised
Similar Books
