A Long, Cool Rain by Linda Seed

Author:Linda Seed [Seed, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Linda Seed

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Inside, the house wasn’t what Julia had expected. Knowing that the family was shockingly rich, she’d expected a certain … grandeur. Instead, she found old, worn furniture that had probably been purchased thirty years before; wood floors that were slightly uneven and bore the marks of innumerable feet; a large stone fireplace with a fire burning merrily within; and, when Sandra ushered them into the kitchen, old linoleum floors and countertops that were slightly cracked at the corners.

That kitchen was where Sandra had brought them shortly after opening the front door. “You must be Drew,” she’d said, looking him over with her hands on her hips. “And you’re Julia. I’m Sandra—Colin’s my son. Well, one of them, anyway. Come on in and get something hot to drink.” Then she’d turned and walked toward the kitchen without waiting to see whether they would follow.

Sandra Delaney wasn’t what Julia had expected, either. She was short and trim, with a wiry build that spoke of years of hard work. She looked to be somewhere between fifty-five and sixty, with hair that had been brown but was now turning to gray. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing a San Francisco 49ers jersey and faded jeans. Her feet were encased in a pair of fuzzy, pink slippers.

“I’ve got some coffee on,” Sandra said. “If you want tea, I guess I can make some, but you’ll have to wait while the water boils.”

Julia couldn’t quite tell whether the woman was no-nonsense by nature, or if she was irritated by their presence. She decided there was no benefit in assuming the latter, so she went with the former.

Once they were settled in the kitchen, Sandra peered at Drew, who was standing awkwardly beside the big farm table at the center of the room, and shook her head slowly. “I can see it, right near the eyes. And around the chin, too. Well, I guess you really are Redmond’s boy.”

“I’m Andrew McCray’s boy, ma’am.” Drew’s face looked pinched and angry, though his voice was amiable enough.

“By God, I guess you are,” Sandra agreed. “Seems like Redmond didn’t do a damned thing for you. Sent some checks that your mother was too proud or too scared to take. Like a boy gives two shits from a rat’s ass about the money. A boy needs a father, not a damned check. It’s a good thing Andrew McCray was there for you when Redmond wasn’t.” She nodded crisply, her speech concluded. “Enough of that business. What do you take in your coffee? Seems to me a real man takes it black, but there’s no accounting for how you were raised.”

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