Letting Go by Mary Beth Lee

Author:Mary Beth Lee [Mary Beth Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781478168898
Amazon: 1478168897
Barnesnoble: 1478168897
Published: 2012-07-15T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Clarissa’s heart dropped and then she remembered this was Tammy Jo they were talking about.

“It’s not bad, Jed. It’s business,” she said as she climbed in his truck.

“Whatever it is, my parents called and said you better get to the hospital quick.”

Clarissa couldn’t believe she’d almost let herself be lulled into a sense of security where her mother was concerned. Silly girl. Nothing was going to change Tammy Jo. The Dillons and Stearns, Oklahoma were the perfect con. If her mother thought she’d stand by and let that happen, she had another think coming.

“I’m going to need you to take your family and leave for a while when we get there, Jed,” she said. “Tammy Jo and I need to talk.

He didn’t argue with her, didn’t try to reason with her or use his life experiences to challenge her surety.

Maybe he’d listened to her earlier. Maybe he understood nothing in their lives meshed. That for every good thing in his world, she’d done or been part of or lived through something equally bad.

“I don’t think…”

And then again, maybe he didn’t understand at all.

“Look, Jed,” Clarissa said. “You’re a great guy. But this is something you can’t begin to understand.”

“I don’t think you ought to make assumptions. They can end up leading to an awful lot of heartbreak.”

“Again, you have no idea how good Tammy Jo is at swindling people out of their hard earned livings. Just trust me here, okay?”

He looked forward, a frown marring his face, his jaw working in an effort to do as she asked.

He didn’t try talking to her the rest of the trip to Shawnee, and Clarissa told herself she liked that just fine.

Scenes from her life with her mother played through her mind as they closed in on the small hospital, and Clarissa wondered why on earth she hadn’t packed her mother’s suitcase and brought it along with. Lord knew she wasn’t going to let Tammy Jo set foot on the Triple Eight again.

Jed parked the truck in a visitor’s spot, and Clarissa climbed out without waiting for him. Warm wind brushed her hair off her face and the sky held a tinge of red from a dust storm moving their direction. Behind her she heard Jed’s booted feet closing the gap between them.

“Remember what I said, Jed. I’ll need a few minutes alone with her.”

He didn’t answer, just strode beside her as they made their way through the automatic door and to the elevator. The hospital scent from her memories clashed with this one. A different kind of cleaner, she supposed. Cold anger kept her moving forward. Once they were inside the elevator Jed fished a piece of paper out of his pocket then pushed the floor’s number.

A few seconds later they were greeted by the whirring, whooshing and beeping noises of the critical care unit.

Clarissa had to hand it to Tammy Jo. Her acting must’ve improved quite a bit to get herself admitted to CCU.

She started to tell Jed she didn’t need him to walk back to her mother’s room, but Susie Dillon was there, her face a mask of worry.

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.