Christmas Steele by Vanessa Gray Bartal

Author:Vanessa Gray Bartal [Bartal, Vanessa Gray]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Cozy Mystery
Amazon: B0063M2E4O
Publisher: Author
Published: 2011-11-03T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

“I still can’t believe you failed to tell me you had a boyfriend.”

Kill me now, Lord, Lacy silently prayed. Out loud, she said, “Mom, do we have to discuss this now?” She gave a pointed glance to Gladys and her young grandson, Sean who were joining them for dinner.

“All I’m saying, Lacy, is that you could have let me know. Sometimes I think you purposely try to exclude me from your life.”

“Mom, Jason is not my boyfriend. We’re just friends, as I’ve told you several times now.”

“That’s not what it looked like when I walked in with the lights off and you two snuggled up on the couch together,” her mother said.

Lacy could practically feel Gladys squirm in her eagerness to dart away and begin spreading the news that Lacy and Jason were together and had been caught canoodling. “I thought you were dating Pastor Underhill,” Gladys said, her eyes narrowing shrewdly on Lacy’s face to watch her reaction to that accusation.

“I’m not dating anyone, Gladys,” Lacy said. “And Jason and I were not doing anything more than sitting on the couch having a conversation. And we were not snuggled together, Mom. We were on separate cushions.” And I shouldn’t have to explain myself to any of you, she thought. Though maybe the diversion was proving beneficial for her family’s other problem. Her mother hadn’t once mentioned the fact that Mr. Middleton had stayed for dinner without being expressly invited. He and her grandmother were sitting sedately by, watching the conversation bounce back and forth between mother and daughter.

“And I don’t understand why you insist on not dating anyone. You’re a beautiful young woman, even more so when you dress up and do something with your hair. Why waste what you’ve been given? Enjoy life and dating while you’re young,” her mother added as if Lacy hadn’t spoken.

“Don’t listen to her, Lacy. You’re too young to get serious with anyone,” Lacy’s father said with a patronizing you’ll-always-be-my-little-girl smile.

“For heaven’s sake, Clint. When we were her age she was already born. She’s twenty six and not getting any younger.”

“A person doesn’t have to be young to find love,” Mr. Middleton added calmly.

Lacy could see her mother gearing up for another tirade, so she cut her off at the pass. “I think we’re boring poor Sean to death, everyone. It looks like he and I are both finished with our food. Why don’t we go play video games in the living room, Sean?”

Sean’s face lit at the proffered lifeline, but she was as glad for the escape as he was, maybe even more so because she had been the center of the discussion for so long now.

“I’m glad you brought your game system,” she whispered as she left the room. “You have no idea how glad.”

Sean laughed. “Yeah, I remember you said you like video games. It’s nice to have someone to play with. I don’t know anyone else here, and Gran isn’t one much for games.”

Lacy thought of Gladys’s plastic-covered living room and felt a wave of pity for Sean.

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