Undefeated: A Family Justice Novel by Halliday Suzanne

Author:Halliday, Suzanne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

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Becca stood at the back door of her passed down house and waved a sparkler she found at the convenience store and gas station on the outskirts of town. Behind her on the TV in the living room, she heard the unmistakable sound of “New York, New York” as the crowd watching the ball drop in Times Square cheered at midnight.

“Yay,” she snark-muttered. “Another year.”

“Mom,” Kori snapped. “Gratitude, remember?”

Her daughter’s scowl was actually loving and nonjudgmental. They’d made a list of New Year resolutions and linked pinkies to seal the deal, and at the top of their list was deliberate, intentional, mindful gratitude for all the good stuff from the past year. The shitty stuff wasn’t going to magically change, but at the end of the day, or the year, they were still standing and for the first time in forever had a comfortable, stable environment.

“Grab a sparkler and get over here.” She pointed at the box of cheap-o sparklers on the kitchen table.

Their next-door neighbors on the left made a hellacious racket by banging on pots and pans. Across the street, a house party erupted into wild cheers. Someone a few streets over was shooting off fireworks, and every damn dog in the neighborhood seemed to be howling or barking.

Kori sparked a lighter and fired up two sparklers. Waving them in the air, she skipped down the back steps into the yard and ran around like a goofy kid. A goofy kid who would hit her teenage years in the coming months.

Swallowing a lump of emotion, Becca gave a silent prayer to whatever higher power might be listening. Her kid was extraordinary, and now that they weren’t constantly snarling and butting heads, she had a clearer idea of who Kourtney Alean Tate was—at her core. Kori was going places in life, and as her only parent, Becca was focused like a laser on making sure her daughter got the best shot possible at a decent college.

She held her dead sparkler under the faucet to make sure it was completely out. At the trashcan, she stomped on the pedal to open the lid and stopped in mid toss. A red Youngstown State University sweatshirt was rolled in a ball and stuffed into the can. Piles of wet coffee grounds were dumped on top.

Daryl got his degree in business administration from Youngstown.

The sweatshirt along with an impersonal and what appeared to be hastily written check for fifty bucks had arrived in the mail just before Christmas. Father of the year, or FOTY as she referred to her asshole ex, sent his soon-to-be teenage daughter a college sweatshirt and a whopping fifty bucks. Fucking cheapskate.

The presence of the sweatshirt in the trashcan was Kori’s editorial comment on what she thought of the bullshit gift.

Daryl’s unctuous parents’ holiday offering didn’t fare much better. A gift card to Bed, Bath and Beyond earned Kori’s incredulous grunt.

Seriously? Bed, Bath and Beyond for a twelve-year-old? What was she supposed to do? Buy matching towels?

The

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