Deadly Dose by Margaret Daley

Author:Margaret Daley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
Publisher: Margaret Daley
Published: 2016-06-13T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Josh entered the dining room, hoping to see his niece. By the time he’d returned home last night from the ranch, Abbey had already gone to bed. He wanted to make sure for himself she was all right even though his mom told him she was. Mother’s idea of what was okay wasn’t his.

He poured a cup of coffee then took a chair across from his mother. She studied the tablet next to her for a moment then lifted her head and looked at him. Her stiff bearing put him on alert. “Good morning.” He took a sip of his drink.

“I want Abbey to stay here. In fact, with all that’s been going on at that ranch, she should live here permanently. She isn’t safe. I’m going to see my lawyer this morning. This latest development shows a pattern.”

Mother wasn’t a woman for pleasantries, but he hadn’t expected her to jump right in to waging another battle with Gabriel. “No, Mother. I won’t support you. Abbey belongs with her father. Kira will be a good stepmom for her. She was Marcie’s best friend. I can even see my sister approving.”

His mother glared at him. “We’ll talk about this later. Abbey will be down soon. I need you to take her to school today.”

“Nothing you say will change my mind. My niece doesn’t need to be in the middle of a tug-of-war contest. Gabriel will protect her with his last breath.”

“Since when have you become a fan of his?”

“He didn’t kill Marcie. I’ve put the past behind me. I was wrong, so were you. If I hadn’t gotten caught up in the blame game, maybe those women would still be alive, and Marcie’s real murderer would have stopped with her death.”

His mother shot to her feet, her chin tilted up. She stared down at him. “Abbey is better off here. We can provide her with anything she needs.”

Josh gripped the arm of his chair. “How about a father and mother and unconditional love?”

The sound of footsteps nearing the room kept Josh from saying anything else. Instead, he glanced at the entrance from the hallway and smiled as his niece hurried into the room, setting her backpack by the doorway.

“Sorry I’m late.”

His mother walked to Abbey and patted her shoulder. “Your uncle is taking you to school. Maybe you’ll be able to stay here another night.”

Abbey’s smile faded. “Daddy will get lonely without me.”

“He’s an adult. He’ll be fine.” His mother marched out of the dining room, leaving behind a pall hanging in the air.

“Grandmother is mad at me.”

“No, at me. She’ll be okay. You don’t need to worry about her.” Josh checked his watch. “We’ll need to leave in twenty minutes. I don’t want to be responsible for dropping you off late.”

She giggled. “You might get sent to the principal.”

“Well, then you and I need to hurry. Besides, I’ve got some people I need to see before going to work.” Josh lifted his cup and sipped.

“Do you like Aunt Jessie?”

He nearly spewed his coffee but managed to swallow it instead.

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