Read Online Unbeloved by Madeline Sheehan - Free Book Online Page B

twenty years ago, realizing for the first time that if he didn ’t try to right this wrong, really try this time, his daughter’s eyes would continue to grow colder, losing their light the same way her mother’s had.
    “ I’m askin’ for Christmas,” he said. “I want you home for Christmas.”
    In fact, he wanted all of his daughters home for Christmas, but the truth was that the twins took their cues from Maribelle. She had, along with Chrissy’s parents, taken over as their caretaker. Jase was persona non grata. But if he could get Maribelle home, the twins would undoubtedly follow suit.
    Several long moments passed by in uncomfortable silence , during which it began to snow. Jase glanced up at the darkening sky, worrying about Maribelle’s long drive home, and while he was distracted, Maribelle slipped out from under his hands.
    “ I can’t,” she said as she quickly backed away. “I’m sorry . . .” She shook her head. “No, I’m not sorry, but I just . . . can’t.”
    Then she turned and hurried off.
    Jase remained where he was, watching as she fumbled with her car keys, waiting until she was safely inside the vehicle and halfway out of the parking lot before finally lowering his gaze.
    “ Back to the club,” he muttered. Because there was no way in hell he was going home to that empty house on Christmas Eve. There was no Christmas tree, no decorations, no presents to be wrapped, no turkey baking in the oven, no giggling coming from the kids’ rooms upstairs. There was nothing but four walls, dusty furniture, and a dirty floor.
    Ever since his two youngest had left home, he ’d been at the club more than ever, unable to stomach the ever-present emptiness that had not only taken root inside his house, but inside him as well.
    If only he ’d realized sooner that it wasn’t the house, four walls and a roof, that made a home. It was who had lived inside those four walls, his wife and daughters, the true support beams of the structure. Without them the roof had caved in, the walls had collapsed, and the foundation had crumbled away.
    And as he headed for his truck, he found himself wishing for the millionth time since Dorothy had been shot, that Cox hadn ’t wrestled the gun from his hand.

Chapter Five
    My grandfather used to say that when it rained, it poured. Or in my case, when it rained, it rained like Christmas in San Francisco until eventually it flooded and pulled you under, leaving you flapping your arms and kicking your legs, gasping for a breath you already knew wouldn’t come.
    After Tegen ’s phone call, I’d spent the following thirty-six hours flapping and gasping under a waterfall of problems. It seemed as if the universe, Mother Nature herself, was determined to keep me away from Miles City.
    First I ’d needed to find a place for Christopher to stay. Not knowing what awaited me at the clubhouse, there was nothing on earth that could convince me to bring my son into what could potentially become a dangerous situation, or worse, a devastating one.
    This proved to be a problem as I had very few friends in San Francisco. Due to some minor residual side effects from my brain injury and my lack of education, I hadn’t been able to find a job that would provide me with a more substantial income than my disability checks already did, which meant there were no coworkers I’d grown close with. I’d made nice with the other mothers at Christopher’s school, and I’d gone on a few dates over the years, but there was never anyone serious, and most definitely no one I’d trusted with my most precious possession.
    It was Tegen who ’d suggested Hayley, one of her closest friends, and I mentally kicked myself for not thinking of her sooner. Hayley and her husband were kind souls, full of happy energy, who had a young child of their own.
    Hayley had readily agreed; it was Christopher I ’d had to convince. More time was spent explaining to him why his mother had to leave him, and on