Sliding On The Edge by C. Lee McKenzie

Author:C. Lee McKenzie [McKenzie, C. Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: young adult, teen, horse, ya, grandmother and granddaughter, ranch romance family saga texas suspense laughs tearjerker concealed identities family secrets family relationships, cutting, california, sucide, ranch hand, cutter
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

Kay

Monday morning Kay dropped Shawna at school. “Shawna, are you sure you can walk on that foot today?”

“It’s fine.”

“All right, but call me if you have problems later.” Kay waited until Shawna limped inside the front door with her books hugged to her chest.

After a few errands, she returned home and was putting groceries away when the phone rang. Kay answered, expecting a call from the vet.

“Kay, it’s Jackie.”

The flat, nasal voice Kay would never forget jolted her as sharply as an electrical charge. Pictures from over sixteen years ago flashed in her head like a slide show. Nicholas, sitting with his elbows on the kitchen table, his hands covering his face. Jackie, standing next to him. Peter, standing near the back door, looking out. Where was she? Behind the camera, she guessed, because she couldn’t see herself. It was probably better that she didn’t.

Kay gripped the phone tighter. “What do you want?” She didn’t waste intonation on the question, so her voice sounded as flat as the one on the other end of the line.

“I’d like to talk to Shawna.”

“She’s in school.”

“When—”

“She’ll be home after three.”

“I’ll call back then.”

Kay hung up the phone.

The next call came before Kay’s hand left the receiver, and this time it was the vet. She made arrangements with him to come to the barn later and check on the gray. The rest of the day, she went from worrying over the gray’s condition to trying her best not to think about Jackie. But even while Kay sat watching over her horse, Jackie was never out of her mind.

She walked between the barn and the house, talking to herself. “The last thing I need is that one back in my life. What are you talking about, Kay? She’ll always be in your life, as long as Shawna’s around.”

At 2:30, Kay climbed into the truck. Buster jumped into the bed and they were on their way to pick up Shawna. It was a routine now, one she and Buster had built into their weekdays. It gave Kay time to think about her day, to worry over the gray’s temperature that Kenny couldn’t get down to normal, to remind herself to make Kenny’s apple pie as she’d promised, to put together a mental list of errands she still needed to do before dinner. The ten-minute ride was Kay’s break.

She turned into the school parking lot and drove to the front. Shawna stood on the steps, her chin jutting out, her hip swished to one side, where she’d propped her books. When she looked up, her expression surprised Kay. It was the first time her granddaughter looked happy to see her. Something warm flooded the inside of her chest, and she had to grip the wheel to keep back the tears that threatened.

Shawna limped to the truck and climbed inside.

“How’s the toe?”

“Whaddya think? It still hurts.”

The same smart sass came out of Shawna’s mouth when she answered, and Kay’s fuzzy feeling evaporated. She pointed to the seat belt.

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.