The Prodigal's Return by Anna DeStefano

Author:Anna DeStefano
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2006-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

“I WANT BOB AND BETTY CARPENTER over here now,” Jenn’s dad demanded.

“What? No!” Convincing Traci to stay the night at her dad’s house had taken Jenn forever. Settling her and Mandy in the twin beds in Mandy’s room after dinner had taken a half hour or so more. She’d promised the girl no one would force her to talk with her parents. “Traci won’t see them. Not tonight.”

“The child doesn’t have a choice.” Her father had been supportive up till now, but he’d pounced as soon as Jenn came down from tucking the girls in. “We’ve let her collect her thoughts. Gave her dinner. Now it’s time for her parents to take over. Bob started calling as soon as one of the neighbors saw Traci come inside with you. He’d be over here now if I hadn’t asked him to wait.”

“Traci’s not a child. Both you and the Carpenters need to remember that. As far as the law and medicine are concerned, she’s an adult who doesn’t need permission to make decisions for herself and her pregnancy.”

Hardball had never been Jenn’s best negotiating tactic. Playing it tough with her own father felt like taking a turn at Russian roulette.

“Traci was on her way out of town,” Jenn explained. “We either give her some space and the time to figure things out, or that girl’s going somewhere else where none of us can help her.”

Her father’s hostile expression softened, no doubt with memories of Jenn’s own destructive choices. The mistakes he hadn’t been able to keep her from making no matter how much he pushed.

“Letting Traci stay here instead of making her go home removes the consequences of the choices she’s making,” he reasoned.

“She’s pregnant at seventeen,” Jenn shot back. “Trust me, she couldn’t be more aware of the consequences she’s facing.”

“Bob’s furious. He’s talking about calling an emergency church council meeting for tomorrow. You’re not that child’s parent, Jenn. You need to—”

“No, I’m her friend.” She hated that she was causing her father trouble all over again, in his town and his church. “If I betray Traci’s trust by forcing her to talk with her parents I’ll never get it back.”

“I understand your reasons. And I can even respect them, given what you went through at her age.” He didn’t sound as if he wanted to understand anything. But there he stood. A little harried but talking calmly with her, one adult to another. Finally, finally, they’d achieved a modicum of mutual respect, and she was blowing it straight to hell. “I’m glad Traci felt like she could turn to you for help. But you can’t honestly expect me to agree to something like this.”

“I’ll understand if you can’t.” Memories swamped her of the last time she’d seen him so unsettled. Of another conversation, full of pain and confusion, when her parents had explained through tears how giving their grandchild up for adoption was best for everyone. “I know this isn’t fair to you. I just had nowhere else to take Traci tonight.

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