The Touch of a Woman by KG MacGregor

Author:KG MacGregor [MacGregor, KG]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781594934650
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2015-11-02T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

A rainbow flag hung from a pole above the porch at the modest ranch house in the area known as Arden-Arcade. It was a middle-class neighborhood with well-kept lawns and mature trees, the same one where Summer and Rita had lived for twelve of their tumultuous years.

“Look who it is!” Queenie met her on the front porch with a hug that nearly cracked her spine. The woman didn’t know her strength. “I’m glad you decided to come. And I hope you’re starving. Sam made enough lasagna to feed the whole neighborhood.”

Summer wasn’t hungry at all, but she’d make room for Sam’s lasagna. “Are you kidding? I could smell it when I turned the corner.”

The living room was packed with familiar faces. Courtney, Norma, Vicki, plus a few she hadn’t seen lately because they didn’t come to the potlucks. All were watching basketball, the Sacramento Kings taking on the Lakers. Couples mostly, but a handful of straggling singles like herself. Summer greeted them all, though one face was missing, and she gave Queenie a tentative look.

“In the kitchen with Sam…drinking club soda, as a matter of fact.”

She was glad to hear it, though she couldn’t quite suss out Queenie’s implications. After their talk the other day, she was hopeful they’d given up on their efforts to push her back to Rita. It was beyond her why their friends had been so eager to see them back together given the stormy nature of their relationship.

With a deep breath, she continued to the back of the house to find Rita bent over a magazine at the kitchen table. She wore tan slacks and a dark green cowl-neck sweater with oversized hoop earrings. It was far dressier than what the others wore, and she’d even tamed her wild red hair.

“Something smells awfully good back here.”

“Summer!” Sam was carving a tray of pasta. She dropped her spatula and opened her arms for a hug. “Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you.” She turned to Rita, who was on her feet, clearly in hopes of getting the same greeting. The moment they embraced, Sam dashed out of the room, no doubt to give them space Summer didn’t want.

“I was worried you wouldn’t come,” Rita said solemnly.

“What you said at Muntean’s about us being friends…I’ve been thinking about what that would look like.” She dropped her arms and took a step backward. “For sure it means we ought to be able to hang out with our friends without dragging them into any more drama. We can do that, right?”

Rita passed the first test simply by not getting defensive. “I’m still not drinking.”

Summer nodded her affirmation, careful not to show too much gusto. She couldn’t let her approval be the pot of gold at the end of Rita’s rainbow.

“And I stopped by your house again the other night—sober. I just wanted to tell you that I heard you loud and clear. No more laying it all on you.”

She couldn’t let on that she’d seen her.

“I talked to the kids this morning,” Rita said.

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.