On Shadow Beach by Freethy Barbara

Author:Freethy, Barbara [Freethy, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781439101575
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 2010-03-30T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

It was almost five o’clock when Lauren and her father returned home, although her dad wasn’t staying there long. Lauren had begun to realize that despite his declining mental condition her father led an active social life. He had a circle of male friends, most of whom were either widowed or divorced, and they spent a great deal of time together. Tonight he was meeting his gang at Murray’s Bar for dinner, beers, and a football game on the big screen.

She, on the other hand, was at loose ends. She needed to keep herself too busy to go looking for Shane again, so before her father left, she broached a difficult subject.

“Dad, I was thinking I might do some cleaning and organizing around here,” she said. “I could pack up some of your older clothes and give them away to charity. I could also go through Abby’s clothes.”

Her father’s happy smile faded. “Thought you’d just throw that in there, did you?”

“Just the clothes and shoes—nothing personal, no mementos. It has to be done at some point, and if I’m not here, who will do it? Wouldn’t it be better if I did just a little now? I won’t change the room. I’ll just go through the closet.”

Her father hesitated for a long minute. “All right, but don’t touch her desk or her bed.”

“Okay, good.” She felt relieved with the small victory. As her father walked into the living room, she grabbed a roll of trash bags out of the closet and headed down the hall.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. She heard her father say he’d get it and then he was leaving.

Her ears perked up at the sound of a female voice, followed by footsteps coming down the hall. She expected Charlotte or Kara, and was surprised to see Lisa Delaney in the doorway. Their last conversation hadn’t been particularly friendly.

Lisa stepped into the bedroom and the blood drained out of her face. She put a hand on the wall to steady herself. “Oh, my God! I—I didn’t know that the room was still the same. I thought your parents cleaned it out long ago. It’s like Abby never left.”

Her gaze moved to Abby’s bed. Her bottom lip trembled and her eyes grew misty. “I can almost see Abby sitting there, holding that stupid bunny, and talking a mile a minute.” Lisa walked across the room to the bulletin board and touched the concert ticket there. “We were supposed to go to this together.” She turned and looked at Lauren, at the trash bags in her hand. “Are you clearing the room out?”

“I’m going to start with the closet.”

“Can I talk to you in the other room? I can’t stay in here.”

“Sure.” Lauren followed Lisa down the hall and into the living room. “Are you all right?”

“Not really. How can you stand to be in that room?”

“I’m getting used to it. Do you want to sit down?”

“No, I just wanted to apologize for being so abrupt yesterday and for what I said about Shane, even though I still think it’s true.

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