Bumpy Roads (Mary O'Reilly Series Book 11) by Terri Reid

Author:Terri Reid [Reid, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-07-28T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-eight

“Daddy, I’m so glad you’re home!” Clarissa cried, leaping off the bottom step and throwing herself into his arms as he walked through the door.

“Clarissa, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Bradley asked, kneeling down and embracing the sobbing child.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she wept. “I was so afraid.”

Holding her shoulders, he gently pushed her back a little to look at her face. “Why are you afraid?”

“Because Mary hates me,” she whimpered. “She doesn’t want me to be here. She told Mike that you were going to abandon me.”

Bradley looked up to see surprise on Mary’s face as she hurried into the living room. “Clarissa, I don’t hate you,” she said, kneeling down next to the child. “And I’m very sorry that you misunderstood me. But your father and I are not going to abandon you.”

She laid her hand on Clarissa’s shoulder, only to have it shrugged off as Clarissa clung to her father. “She’s lying,” she cried. “She made me eat dinner tonight all by myself and even when I told her my stomach hurt, she still made me eat it. I had to go upstairs and throw up.”

“What?” Mary asked. “You didn’t tell me you were sick.”

Burying her head deeper into her father’s shoulder, she continued to cry. “I tried to tell her, but she was too busy laughing with Mike,” she said. “She never, ever listens to me. She just sends me up to my room as soon as I get home from school.”

Bradley met Mary’s eyes over his daughter’s head and saw that she was deeply troubled by Clarissa’s accusations. He also knew that Mary would never do anything to cause harm or discomfort to the child. But something was up with Clarissa and he didn’t think he would be able to find out while she was in Mary’s presence. He winked at Mary and sent her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, picked Clarissa up in his arms and carried her toward the stairs. “Come on, sweetheart,” he said. “Let’s have a little talk.”

Her heart sinking, Mary watched Bradley and Clarissa go upstairs. She really wanted to follow, wanted to be part of the conversation to find out what in the world was happening with Clarissa. But she knew it wouldn’t be helpful, so she sat down on the couch and waited.

“No one told me kids could be so difficult,” Mike said, appearing next to her on the couch.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Mary replied. “From her description, you’d think I was the evil stepmother.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “I can’t believe you were going to abandon her.”

Mary turned quickly to face him. “Mike,” she said sharply.

Grinning, he shook his head. “I was joking,” he replied. “We all know she was being overly dramatic. We also all know you, and know you would die before either hurting Clarissa or letting someone else hurt her. So stop worrying and let Bradley handle it.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Babe, I’m always right,” he said. “See, that’s where you made your mistake.

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