Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(52)

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes. “It wasn’t the same with us, either…after we lost Doug.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t.”

The tears ran down her face and she used one hand to wipe them away.

“Now, you listen,” George said gently. “You tell that daughter of yours that you talked to George—and you did.”

Vivian sniffled. She was willing to listen, but only because she was growing desperate. “What should I say?”

“Tell her that whatever your husband did was for her own good.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He nodded emphatically. “Sure as anything. Will you do that?”

Vivian said, “Yes,” in a small voice.

“Good.” George gave her a satisfied grin. “Now, I think it’s time we both went back to our rooms.”

Already Vivian felt better. Susannah would, too, as soon as they had a chance to talk.

CHAPTER 20

On Monday morning, right after her first cup of coffee, Susannah reached for the kitchen phone. With her fingers trembling and her heart beating frantically, she pounded out the long-distance phone number Carolyn had gotten off the Internet.

In less than a minute she learned that this Jacob Allan Presley wasn’t the boy she’d once loved. The retired telephone lineman who lived in Texas simply told her that the country was filled with Presleys. He wished her luck in locating the Jake she was searching for and that was the end of that.

She replaced the receiver, figuring she was going to need a lot more than luck.

“Any reason you’re looking glum?” Chrissie asked twenty minutes later as she strolled into the kitchen in her shortie pajamas. Without waiting for a response, her daughter walked over to the coffeepot and automatically grabbed one of the few mugs that hadn’t been packed.

Not wanting to discuss the matter, Susannah shook her head and cradled her cup with both hands as if it was a source of needed comfort. This was not the way she wanted to start her morning. It was barely after eight and she was already depressed.

“Troy asked me to ride into Spokane with him this morning,” Chrissie said. She opened the refrigerator and took out a small carton of cream; standing there with the door still open, she added it to her coffee. She returned the cream and closed the door, all without glancing in Susannah’s direction.

Chrissie was spending the day with Troy again? Objections stumbled over the tip of Susannah’s tongue, but she bit them off. “Oh?”

“Yeah!” From the way Chrissie answered, Susannah could tell that her daughter wasn’t asking permission. It was a foregone conclusion that she intended to go.

“What time did you get in last night?” As soon as the words were out, Susannah realized the question would have been better left unasked.

“I’m not a child.” The disdain in Chrissie’s voice wasn’t even slightly disguised.

Rather than argue, Susannah pointed out the obvious. “I assumed you were in Colville to help me.”

“I’ll do my share. Don’t worry about it.” With that, Chrissie walked out of the kitchen, clutching her mug of coffee.

Susannah might not be a contender for any Mother of the Year award, but she knew her daughter and suspected Chrissie was up to no good with Troy. Chrissie was definitely feeling guilty about something. Susannah didn’t want to consider what, although several possibilities loomed large.

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Susannah walked down the hallway to Chrissie’s room. Tapping on the door, she opened it and found Chrissie cross-legged on the bed. She was staring blankly into space and didn’t acknowledge her mother.

“Are you feeling okay?” Susannah asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

Chrissie kept her gaze trained away from Susannah. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

Susannah shrugged. “You don’t usually snap at me this early in the morning.”

“You don’t usually drill me about my friends, either. I’m sorry you don’t like Troy, Mom. But I do. In fact, I like him a lot. He’s not like any other boy I’ve dated. He’s a man, and I’m tired of dating boys.”

Chrissie had that right; Troy was certainly no Jason O’Donnell. It was clear to Susannah that Troy’s attention was giving her daughter a way to cope with the pain and rejection she felt because of Jason. This wasn’t a good situation and she needed to tread lightly, but before she could even suggest that Jason might be a factor, Chrissie said, “You aren’t going to give me a hard time about driving into Spokane, are you?”

Susannah didn’t have any choice other than to let her daughter go. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t have the energy to fight Chrissie. Joe seemed to think their daughter was old enough to make her own decisions. Although she usually agreed with him, in this instance she didn’t. Still…

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Yes,” came her instant reply, “and before you say anything about Jason and me, you should know this has nothing to do with him. Jason was a boy. Troy is a man.”

Susannah opened her mouth, but the disdainful look was back in her daughter’s eyes. “You aren’t going to guilt me into staying,” Chrissie muttered. “This is the first fun I’ve had all summer.”