Joy by Atlas Lilly

Author:Atlas, Lilly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lilly Atlas Books LLC
Published: 2019-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

TONI

“Honey, you have to try to relax,” Jazz said as she pointedly stared at Toni’s fingernails drumming on the counter over and over and over again.

“Huh?” Toni flattened her palm against the cool surface. “Sorry.” Problem was, now she could feel her pulse hammering out of control. At least when she’d fidgeted, she had something to focus on besides the rapid pumping of blood through her system.

“You okay?” Shell asked as she came up behind Toni. Her friend rubbed her back, soothing away…well, nothing. Toni was too far gone down the tension rabbit hole to for a simple touch to level her out. Not that she didn’t appreciate the gesture. Her girlfriends were the best. Neither would judge her for becoming overly involved with a teenage girl she might not be able to save.

“Sorry, guys. I don’t mean to make you as batty as I feel. It’s just been two days since Lindsey has come around. I’m really worried about her.”

“Maybe she really does have a family,” Shell suggested softly, still rubbing Toni’s back. “I know we were all skeptical and didn’t really believe her, but maybe it’s true. And maybe they had plans or went somewhere for the holidays.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure you’re right.” Toni said, though none of them really believed it. The words were empty platitudes by a friend trying to keep her from going out of her mind. With a nod, she ground her heel into the floor, keeping her leg from bouncing. “I need to chill out. Besides, it’s early. She might still show today.” The clock on the wall read nine in the morning, the day before Christmas Eve, and the diner was the quietest it had been in ages. Tomorrow they’d be open, but Toni planned to spend Christmas morning in bed with Zach rather than at her place of business. Since her staff more than likely felt the same—about their own families, not Zach—she planned to close for the entire day. “One of you distract me with some juicy gossip.” Anything to keep her mind from spiraling further.

“Well, I talked to Jig about five minutes ago. Izzy just passed twelve hours of labor,” Shell said with a sympathetic grimace.

“Oh, man, poor Izzy.” Jazz shook her head. “I do not envy her.”

“Yeah, it’s no fun,” Shell said with a dramatic shudder.

“Oh man, poor Jig is more like it,” Toni said as she mimicked Shell’s wince. “Can you imagine being trapped in a room with a laboring Izzy for twelve hours? Think I’d rather be the one in labor.”

The three women laughed together behind the counter until a family of four walked in and sat at a table in Shell’s section.

“Looks like I’m up,” Shell said as she pulled her order pad out of her pocket. She patted the shoulder of the prospect assigned to babysit them as she passed by his table. Tex was what the club called him. Toni wasn’t sure if he actually hailed from Texas, but he sure looked like it.

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.