The Daughter Merger by Janice Kay Johnson

Author:Janice Kay Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

WITH LISTS OF computer-generated names and phone numbers spread across the dining room table in front of her, Grace glanced at the clock. Five-thirty in the afternoon. The members of the middle school parent group, primarily mothers, were most accessible now, when they were getting home from work and preparing dinner.

Accessible? Who was she kidding? Grace thought ruefully. Vulnerable was more like it.

Now wasn’t the time to feel guilty, she lectured herself, not when she had to find thirty volunteers for the big event. Just do it.

She picked up the phone and dialed.

“June, this is Grace Blanchet,” she began. “How are you?”

June warily conceded that she was fine. Pans clattered in the background.

“I know you’re aware that I’m involved in putting on the autumn dance and carnival at the middle school.” She sounded downright gushy, repulsing even herself. “I’m to the stage now where I need to ask parents to volunteer for the evening itself, either to run games, sell food or chaperone the dance. I seem to remember seeing you there last year. It is fun, and it’s even more fun if you’re actively involved. Can you commit to a few hours?”

June was vague about her schedule. Perhaps Grace could call back next week. Figuring June would be careful not to answer her phone for the next two weeks, Grace made a notation on her list, sighed and dialed the next number.

An hour later, Linnet wandered into the kitchen and whined, “Mom, dinner isn’t cooking. Aren’t we going to eat?”

“Um…” Grace surfaced after crossing off a name on her list. Focusing, she saw that, not only was her daughter standing arms akimbo in front of her, Stanzi was sitting in front of her empty food bowl with the air of a cat who has been waiting for years if not centuries. Wrenching her gaze from the puffy brown Maine coon, who was not starving to death, Grace said, “I thought I’d order a pizza. I’ll do that now.”

“Could we go out instead?” Linnet asked hopefully.

“You can see that I’m busy,” Grace said with scant patience.

“But Mom!” Her daughter made a sulky face. “You said we could go shopping some night this week. Remember?” What kind of idiot are you? her tone asked. “My jeans are all too short?”

Grace sighed. “Sweetheart, I am busy arranging the fall carnival for your benefit. Give me a break, okay?”

Linnet kicked a chair. “I don’t even want to go to the carnival! The games are stupid! And no boy ever asks me to dance anyway.”

God give her patience. “One of these days that’ll change. You know it will. Maybe one of the boys who is in the play…”

“Oh, yeah, right.” She kicked again, hard enough that the chair crashed over. Snatching it up, Linnet thumped it back on its feet. “No boy even knows I’m alive. And I’m not going to the dance.”

Grace watched, openmouthed, as Linnet stalked out. What was that all about? Hormones? Had she and Claire switched personalities?

Instead of following

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