Bad Girls Don't by Cathie Linz

Author:Cathie Linz [Linz, Cathie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2006-11-06T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Who was this crazy woman? Skye was not impressed by her wild claim. “I don’t have a grandmother.”

“Of course you do,” the woman replied. “You’re looking at her.”

“What kind of con is this?” Skye said.

The Betty White clone looked over Skye’s shoulder, her attention focused on Angel.

“Aren’t you going to tell her the truth, Ethel?”

“Ethel?” Skye said. “Listen, you’ve definitely got the wrong place, lady. There’s no Ethel living here.”

“Yes, there is. I’m looking at her.” The strange woman pointed at Angel.

“Angel,” Skye began, “tell her . . .”

“Angel?” The older woman raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “What kind of name is that? A bit presumptuous, don’t you think, Ethel?”

“Angel is my chosen name.”

“It sounds silly to me. I’m going to call you Ethel. It’s what I named you.”

“It’s not my name anymore!”

Skye stared at her mother in astonishment. “What are you saying?”

“She’s trying to tell you that she’s my daughter, that I’m her mother. That you’re my granddaughter and I’m your grandmother. My name is Violet Wright, by the way.”

Skye shook her head. “No way.”

“I assure you, my name is Violet Wright. Do you want to see my driver’s license?”

“How did you find us?” Angel looked stunned.

“I saw a report on the news about a million-dollar lottery winner in Rock Creek, Pennsylvania. There was a picture of Skye.”

“There’s no way you could have recognized her,” Angel said. “You haven’t seen a picture of her since she was a child.”

“You were standing beside her,” Violet said. “I recognized you, Ethel.”

Angel’s face turned red. “Don’t call me that.”

Violet just shrugged. “As I said, it’s your name.”

“Why are you here?” Angel demanded. “Why did you leave California? You swore you’d never leave Bakersfield.”

“Wait a second here.” Skye held out her hands as if demanding a time-out. “Angel, are you saying this woman really is your mother?”

“Of course I’m her mother,” Violet stated. “And her name is Ethel, not Angel.”

“Who names their kid Ethel?” Skye said.

“A mother who wants to torture her child and have her spend her entire childhood ostracized,” Angel replied.

“Oh, stop being such a drama queen,” Violet said. “I named you after my beloved mother.

Unlike you, Ethel, I know how to be a good daughter.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came for a visit.” Violet pointed to the wheelie suitcase behind her.

“This really isn’t a good time.” Angel sounded a bit frantic.

“I can’t wait for a good time,” Violet retorted. “I might die tomorrow.”

Angel’s face reflected her concern. “Are you ill?”

“I’m old. Who knows how much time I have left.”

“You’re only seventy.”

“Let’s see how you feel when you reach the big seven-oh,” Violet said. “Then we’ll talk.

Until then, you should ask me to sit down and offer me some tea. Or have you forgotten all the manners I tried to teach you?”

“I’m sorry.” Angel seemed to crumble under the weight of her mother’s obvious disapproval. “Come in. Let me help you.” She took charge of the suitcase. “Skye, lead her to the couch so she can sit down.”

“I don’t need leading.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.