Read Online Uncontrollable (The Nature of Grace, Book 2) by S.R. Johannes - Free Book Online

last time I’d hear his voice.
    As Mom pulls away, she honks her horn twice. Even when her truck disappears down the road, I linger in the window. I can’t help but feel sad and wonder in the back of my mind if that was the last time I’ll ever see her.
    Birdee walks in the front door and shakes the snow off her straw hat. She makes a “brrrr” sound and hangs up her peacoat. She notices me still standing there and cups my shoulders.
    “You don’t want her to leave, do you?”
    I shake my head and try to hold back my tears along with the deep-seated fear of losing another person important to me.
    Birdee hugs me from behind and rests her chin on my shoulder. Her breath tickles my ear. “You know, you’re just as worried about her as she is about you.”
    I turn around and bury my head in my grandmother’s flannel shirt. She strokes my hair as I take in a whiff of her familiar flowery scent mixed with burning wood, obviously from tending to the fireplace.
    I mumble, “I’m scared.”
    She strokes my hair. “And well you should be.” She pushes me away and yells, “because when the cat is away…”
    I force out a smile at the old phrase we used to always say every time my parents left on a trip. “The mice shall play,” I finish.
    She claps. “That-a girl! What should we do first? Eat breakfast for dinner or dessert for brunch? So many choices.”
    I shake my head. “Easy. My answer is always dessert.”
    “Ha! Your father and I always used to eat dessert for breakfast when his daddy would go on trips.” Birdee grabs my hand and escorts me to the kitchen table. She ushers me into a chair and bangs around. “Wait until you see what old Birdee has prepared for you.”
    “Let me guess… MoonPies.” I rub my hands together. You can never eat enough MoonPies. “And it’d better not be the mini kind.”
    Birdee opens a cupboard. “Ta-da!”
    At some point in the middle of the night, she cleared all the cans and homemade jars of jelly and replaced them with boxes of different flavored MoonPies.
    “Luckily your mother didn’t see all this redecorating. So what’s your poison?”
    I eye the treats. “Hmm. Tough one. I’ll take a vanilla double-decker, please.”
    “Coming right up.” Birdee bows before disappearing.
    A few second later, she comes back with two plates from Mom’s best china, the ones we only use at holidays. It’s the set that’s missing a plate because Dad tried to spin it on his knife. I grin, remembering the look on his face when it crashed to the floor and how Mom reprimanded him. My smile quickly slips down. Just in time, Birdee slides a plate of MoonPies in front of me. Food therapy.
    “Nothing but the best for you, my dear.”
    We both pick up the snack and clink them together like glasses at a celebratory toast.
    I holler out, “Cheers! To MoonPies.”
    And Birdee follows up with the famous tagline, “They’re out of this world.”
    I bite into my double-decker. Dad used to always say, when you’re down, MoonPies make your spirit soar . He’d never allow me to mope during MoonPie time; and if I did, he’d withhold the spongy treats like food from a jailbird until I smiled. I stay true to his strict rule and force myself to enjoy the yummy snack.
    Birdee talks with her mouth full of a mint chocolate MoonPie. “So, today the big day?”
    I nod and lick marshmallow off my finger. “Mm hmm.”
    She eyes me. “Nervous?”
    I stop mid-bite. If it were Mom, she’d wait for my response. Then if I told her I was scared, she’d use my temporary weakness to talk me out of going so she could keep me home safe and sound. Not only does Mom try to protect me from danger, but she also tries to shield me from my own fears.
    I decide to be honest with Birdee because I know I can. “Yes.”
    Birdee takes another bite. “Good. Nerves keep you on your toes.”
    “That’s your pep talk?”
    She wipes a marshmallow chunk off the corner of her mouth. “There can be no courage without