Healing Hurts (Smoky Mountains Series Book 1) by Stella Moore

Author:Stella Moore [Moore, Stella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blushing Books Publications
Published: 2017-07-25T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Eric steered Penny towards the stairs, pausing on the landing between the two floors. “You okay?” he asked softly. “I know my family can be a bit overwhelming.”

“They’re great,” she replied honestly.

“Good.” He squeezed her hand again before leading her the rest of the way downstairs.

Where chaos reigned. There were five children, ranging from toddlers in diapers to a sulky preteen staring at her phone as if it were a lifeline. An older man with Heather’s blonde hair was currently locked in some kind of life or death battle on the Wii with Tyler. Two other couples who looked to be about their age lounged on chairs and sofas spread out around the room. Heather was snuggled up in the lap of a tall, rangy man Penny assumed to be her husband. Another man who basically looked like a slightly older, lankier version of Eric had his arm around a small, thin woman with straight red hair that fell like a waterfall to the middle of her back. Penelope had a moment to think that she looked like a fairy you might find tucked away in the hills of Ireland before Heather spotted them again and waved wildly.

“Hey guys! Everyone, meet Penny. Eric’s girlfriend,” she dragged the word out teasingly, as only an annoying sibling could. The fairy-like woman rose and glided over to them, wrapping them each in a strong hug—Penny sensed a theme with this family—before linking arms with Penny and leading her towards a sofa in the middle of the room.

“We’re delighted to meet you, Penny. I’m Moira, and this old goat here is my husband, Jeremy. He’s Eric’s brother, though you were probably able to tell that already. Heather you’ve met, and her husband Matthew over there, acting like a couple of newlyweds after nearly ten years together.” Hints of Ireland were woven through her voice, lending it a musical quality that only added to Penny’s idea of her as a fairy princess.

She and Eric settled together on the couch, and Penny braced for an onslaught of questions. But the family seemed determined to put her at ease and kept the topics light and fun, occasionally asking for her opinion to settle one dispute or another. Before long she felt as though she’d known them her entire life.

Pam called down that dinner was ready and suddenly there was a rush of people scooting children away from various electronics, or scooping up babies. She wasn’t sure how it happened, but Penny ended up with a small toddler in her arms as she followed the group up the stairs. The chaos somehow magically worked to get the food on the table and everyone settled in. As the food was passed around, she made small talk with her table mates, including Eric’s father, Charles, who sheepishly introduced himself and apologized for ignoring her in favor of the Wii when she’d first arrived.

After dinner, they opened presents. Eric had disappeared as soon as the food was cleared to haul their gifts inside.

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.