Susannah's Garden (Blossom Street #3)(64)

Chrissie felt as if her heart would melt at his words. “You make me so happy.”

He cocked his head to one side. “Baby, you do the same for me,” he rumbled in a low, sexy voice.

Chrissie ran her hand down his bare arm and smiled.

The highway curved, and Troy drove onto a little-used back road. “There’s something else on your mind,” he said, slowing the truck.

Chrissie stared out the window. “What makes you think that?”

Troy held her chin in one hand and turned her head so she couldn’t avoid his gaze. “It’s in your eyes.”

She might as well tell him; he’d get it out of her sooner or later. “My mom and dad are fighting.”

“I thought your dad’s in Seattle.”

“He is. They were on the phone when you arrived. My mom lied to him.”

“They were yelling over the phone?”

“They don’t fight like that. It’s more these pauses when neither one of them’s willing to talk, you know?”

Troy grimaced. “That’s not how it was in my house. Fights meant throwing things. A couple of my so-called uncles got physical with Mom. More than once, Mom and I ran in the middle of the night so we wouldn’t get the crap beat out of us.”

Chrissie gasped with horror.

“Hey, I survived and I’m a better man for it.”

Chrissie wondered about that. Her respect for his mother, whom she had yet to meet, wasn’t high. She couldn’t fathom any mother putting her child in that kind of situation.

“I’m afraid my parents might get a divorce,” Chrissie told him. That was one of her worst fears. It happened to other families; it could happen to hers, too.

“Hey, my mom and dad never bothered to get married. Does that shock you?”

“No.” From what she knew about his mother, very little would.

“My daddy took off before I was born. The bastard.” Troy’s hoarse laughter followed. “My daddy was a bastard and he made me a bastard.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s the truth, so get used to it.” The humor left his eyes.

“I can’t imagine growing up without my dad,” Chrissie said, wanting to wrap Troy in her embrace and give him all the love he’d missed as a child.

“Hey, don’t go soft on me. There were plenty of men around,” he said with a measure of irony in his voice. “My mother saw to that. She married twice before I was fifteen and after that she provided me with a series of interesting uncles—none of whom stuck around.”

“Troy, that’s terrible.”

“Terrible? I’m a survivor because of it. No matter how bad things got, I landed on my feet.”

“What about your mother?”

He glanced away. “She’s all right. Her life hasn’t been easy, but she’s made the best of it.”

“I’d like to meet her.”

Troy didn’t immediately respond. “Someday.”

“Why wait?” Chrissie asked.

“You’re a bit too—”

“Too what?”

“A bit too virginal.”

Chrissie elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’d like to change that,” he said suggestively. “Maybe you’ll let me before the end of the summer.”

“Maybe I will.” Chrissie giggled. Troy made her see life in a completely different way. It was about surviving, and surviving meant not taking anything too seriously, not getting in too deep.

CHAPTER 26

By late afternoon, Susannah was beside herself with worry. Chrissie had vanished without a word, without even leaving a note. The last time Susannah had seen her was while she was on the phone with Joe. She didn’t know where her daughter had gone or with whom.

Not that it was hard to figure out. Chrissie was more than likely with Troy Nance. The very least the girl could’ve done was tell her. She had a cell phone. Why didn’t she call?

After an hour of pacing, she’d had it. She decided to escape the house. With a heavy heart, she drove to Altamira to visit her mother. Vivian was with friends, Sally Mansfield and two other women. Not wanting to interrupt her mother’s visit, Susannah only stayed for a few minutes. When she returned to the house, she phoned Carolyn, hoping for a chance to get together.

“You sound upset,” her friend said barely a minute into the conversation.

“I am,” Susannah admitted. “I’ve had a horrible day.”

“Come on over and I’ll commiserate with you. My day hasn’t been that wonderful, either.”

Half an hour later, Susannah pulled into the long driveway that led to Carolyn’s home. The scene was picturesque in the early-evening light; soon, the deer would venture down into the wide-open field next door. If she wasn’t so agitated, she’d stop and appreciate the beauty of the countryside, with the surrounding hills standing guard. She envied Carolyn the tranquility of this lovely place.

The front door stood ajar, and after a courtesy knock, Susannah pushed open the screen door and let herself in.

“I poured the wine,” Carolyn announced from the kitchen. “After the day I’ve had, I need something stronger than iced tea.”

Susannah echoed that sentiment. They sat down in the family room, where the air conditioner blew cool air from the vent overhead. The afternoon had grown unpleasantly warm and it felt good to relax. Had she been in Seattle, she would’ve been preparing for a party to celebrate the holiday weekend. As it was, she’d probably join her mother at Altamira for a barbecue.