Hadley & Grace by Redfearn Suzanne

Author:Redfearn, Suzanne
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542014380
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2021-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

37

GRACE

The only station they can get on the radio is country, and Mattie is in pain, her hands pinned to her ears as Grace and Hadley belt out “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).”

Hadley has the worst voice Grace has ever heard. The woman is completely tone deaf, with a kazoo implanted in her larynx. It makes Grace incredibly happy. Hadley might look like a million bucks, but her voice would scare off dogs . . . cats, mice, roaches.

Miles babbles along. It turns out the kid is a country music fan. And so, even though it is the witching hour, time for his nightly meltdown, he is happy as a clam, gibbering and jabbering along to the music and kicking his feet.

The doctor said eventually the colic would work itself out, and he would stop having fits, but it’s been going on so long Grace had given up on it being true. She’s not certain if he is simply outgrowing it or if it’s the change in circumstances that’s triggered the progression. Whatever the case, she is extraordinarily grateful. It’s as if a giant burden has been lifted from her chest. Because, though the doctor assured her she was not to blame for her son’s misery, it felt like she was, and so, ever since she became a mom, she’s felt like a failure. And now, it’s as if suddenly she is passing muster.

Dropping the Torellis in Bakersfield didn’t work out. Mostly because Grace is an idiot. She missed the exit, and by the time she realized she’d missed the exit, she was so far past it that she just kept going, and she’s almost convinced herself it was by accident.

The problem was that at the time she was supposed to be exiting, everyone was asleep, conked out from their predawn start. Hadley was passed out against the window, not twitching or talking. Miles was snoring in his car seat, with Skipper’s baseball hat gripped in his little fist. And Skipper was curled on Mattie’s lap, Mattie flopped on top of him.

Had any of them been awake, Hadley, Skipper, and Mattie would probably be on a train right now headed for Omaha. But they weren’t. They were all peacefully asleep and not being annoying in the least. Then the exit came and went, and it was too late to turn back, or at least that’s what Grace told herself, her guilt niggling at her each time she looks at Miles and realizes again the danger she’s put him in.

She sings louder, and Hadley matches her as Mattie cries, “Child abuse!”

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.