Here to Stay by Anderson Catherine

Author:Anderson, Catherine
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2010-11-28T16:00:00+00:00

Normally Mandy raced through Safeway, grabbing items and scratching them off her list with a speed born of necessity. Sitters for Luke were expensive, so she wasted no time comparing prices. Any amount she saved by being thrifty was canceled out by the charges she racked up at home. The tab today would be even worse than usual. The sitter that Mandy and Luke liked and normally used had undergone rotator-cuff surgery, and the only alternative, a coarse, rather unpleasant older woman, charged five dollars more an hour, didn’t get along well with Luke, and ate Mandy out of house and home.

This afternoon Mandy couldn’t seem to kick herself into high gear, though. Troubled and distracted by the thoughts that kept circling through her mind, she pushed the cart slowly and often found herself staring blindly at a product for seconds on end. When she came to the dog-food section, she stared sadly at the image of a golden retriever on one of the bags. Because of his fear of canines, Luke would never consent to getting a guide dog. A service horse was the only practical alternative.

And I’m ruining that for him.

Mandy released a sigh. She couldn’t continue on this course. Zach Harrigan had been incredibly generous to consider offering Rosebud to Luke for free. Her brother and the mini had been forging a strong friendship. How could she allow her personal feelings about alcohol to stand in the way? Rosebud could open up a whole new world for her brother. That was the important thing, the only important thing.

She needed to call Zach and apologize. The very thought made her stomach clench. What would she say? I’m sorry about my behavior at the barbecue. I have this fear of alcohol. In the future, would you mind not drinking around me and Luke? That would go over like rain at a picnic. She had no business telling Zach what he could or couldn’t do at his own home. So how should she handle it?

Maybe, she decided, the solution was to mend her fences with Zach and henceforth arrange for all Luke’s visits with Rosebud to occur at her place. That way she would be in control, she could monitor the situation, and she could also make sure Zach was never alone with Luke, with no opportunity to put bad ideas in her brother’s head.

As soon as I get home and have all the groceries put away, I’ll call the man. No excuses, no procrastinating. It wouldn’t be easy, but she had to do it for Luke’s sake.

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