A Man to Hold on to (A Tallgrass Novel) by Marilyn Pappano

Author:Marilyn Pappano [Pappano, Marilyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781455520060
Amazon: 1455520063
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2014-02-24T13:00:00+00:00

After work Friday, Therese stopped at QuikTrip to fill up the gas tank, then followed the lure of the frozen cappuccino machine inside. She limited herself to a twelve-ounce kids’ cup, bypassed the machine that would squirt thick whipped cream on top, and was standing in line to pay when a wistful voice spoke behind her.

“Man, I miss caffeine.”

Her mouth automatically curving into a smile, she turned to face Ilena. “Hey, baby mama. What are you doing off work early?”

“I’m spending the weekend with Juan’s family, so I took off at noon. I meant to leave right after lunch, but Hector needed a nap, and who am I to stand in his way?” Smiling, she patted her belly.

“Aw, all Hector does all day long is sleep.”

“Yeah, and he practices kicks all night long. This boy’s gonna be a martial arts expert, like his daddy.”

Therese marveled that only the faintest hint of sorrow darkened Ilena’s eyes when she talked about Juan. She grieved for her husband; Therese had no doubt of that. But, more than any of them, she also celebrated him. She didn’t fixate on him like some women did, and she didn’t avoid mentioning him like others. He had been and always would be a huge part of her life, and while she may have wanted to crawl into the casket with him, she continued to live life, to move forward and embrace the future.

Maybe it was because of little Hector, who would be making his appearance in six or seven weeks, or because Juan’s very large family lived only ninety minutes away and loved Ilena, with her white-blond hair and blue eyes, as if she were theirs by birth and not merely marriage. Maybe it was just her nature.

Whatever, sometimes Therese envied her.

Thinking of her comments about Carly the night before, she smiled ruefully. It seemed she’d been doing a lot of envying lately.

“Since you plan to coach his baseball team, are you going to learn martial arts, too?”

Ilena went into a chop-chop karate pose and emitted a tiny grunt. “What do you think?”

“Fierce. I’m shaking.” Therese moved up to the counter, paid for her coffee, then hugged her. “Have fun with the family. And be safe.”

“Everyone always coddles me on these visits. I put my feet up, and they wait on me like I’m a princesa.” She grinned. “That’s what Mamá and Papá call me. Can you believe it?”

“We all need someone in our lives who thinks we’re princesses.” In a good way. Not the way Therese called Abby that.

She waved good-bye and was headed for the door when Ilena called, “Hey, the friend of Paul’s you were so cozy with Tuesday…have you seen him again?”

Therese’s face warmed, and she blamed it on the fan right above the double doors. “Uh, yeah, a time or two.”

“Good. When I’m ready to start dating again, I’ll need some pointers.”

“And a babysitter. You can count on me for both.”

Therese took a long appreciative drink of her coffee as she dodged cars across the parking lot.

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