Within minutes they were off in the direction of the park where the bighorns grazed. They looked every bit the all-American family—but things hadn’t been easy.
A year ago Hedda had moved in with Jennifer. The first hard pill to swallow had been Joey—his grandparents came from Tucson to fetch him from Child Protective Services and took him home without so much as a goodbye to Hedda. It devastated her. But a few letters and phone calls later, a plan for visits was established, and while difficult at first, everyone settled into the routine and enjoyed their time together. Most often, Hedda flew to Tucson, a quick and inexpensive trip, but occasionally Joey’s grandparents brought him to Nevada for a visit. Today marked one of those times—they were coming to Hedda’s high school graduation. Afterward, the seniors would have their all-night party, and on Sunday there would be a big open house at the Garcias’.
Then there was Sylvia—who put in an appearance now and then, sometimes sober, sometimes not. But even if the disappointment lingered, the danger was past—Joey’s grandparents had filed for custody and Hedda, being almost eighteen, was not obligated to stay in the custody of her mother. Learning to cope sanely with the ups and downs of growing up with an alcoholic was growing easier for Hedda with the help of a support group known as Alateen.
And of course there was Alice—who had not waited long before following Louise. Saying goodbye to her took its toll on everyone, but no one grieved as hard as Jennifer. Everyone from Buzz to Rose thought she should get another dog right away, but she insisted she needed time to think about that, and time to miss her friend. So it was just recently that Alex and Hedda, taking matters into their own hands, brought Jeb to her. “I can’t go away to school and leave you with just Alex and Rose,” Hedda said.
But until Hedda left, Jeb was her baby. He clung to her, chewed her shoes and socks, slept in her bed when he got too fussy in the kennel, and wouldn’t be still for anyone else.
“I’m going to be taking care of someone else’s dog again,” Jennifer said.
So they cried a lot that first year together, but laughed a lot, as well. Rose would pop over and find Jennifer and Hedda on the sofa holding each other, tears flowing over Joey or Alice or even Sylvia, and she would say, “Building an awful damn lot of character around here again.” And the tears would melt into laughter.
Adjustment problems came and went, and all through that year they kept close tabs on the indictment and prosecution of Nick Noble. Numerous felony counts were leveled by the federal government and it looked as if he was going away for a long time. His allies vanished as his assets were frozen, likely to be seized with his convictions. And Barbara didn’t make out too well; she had counted on a big settlement out of Nick’s wealth, and it seemed she had very little she could call her own.
But Jennifer was fine. Besides some jewelry, nothing of her savings or investments could be linked to any ill-gotten gains. Her short-term plans for that money were to supplement her diner income and make sure that Hedda, already an academic-scholarship recipient, had no shortfall of money for college.
Jeb, three months old and already fourteen pounds, rode in the basket on Hedda’s bike, and when they got to the park the bighorns were already there, complete with a new flock of lambs. Jeb made a puppyish gurgling growl and Hedda clamped a gentle hand over his snout and told him to be a gentleman.
“How many do you count?” Jennifer asked her.
“Five,” she said. “No, six.”
“Doesn’t it make you feel brand new to see the lambs in spring? It’s like life is starting today, and is just going to get better and better. God, I love my life!” Jennifer said.
Hedda made a strange sound and buried her face in Jeb’s fur.
“Don’t you dare start crying! We’re not crying today! We have a million great surprises ready for you!”
She lifted her head, her eyes glistening. “You’d better give me one now,” she said. “I’m feeling a little sentimental, not to mention freaked out about college.”
“Okay. One. Just before you go to school, we’re going to combine your going-away party with a wedding reception.”
“Oh, really?” she said. “Am I getting married?”
“I don’t think so,” Alex said. “Not till you’re twenty-seven. But we are. We thought we’d better make it legal since our chaperone is going to be away so much.”
“Wow,” she said, her eyes brightening. “Are you getting a big ring?”
“No, honey,” she said. “I’m all done with big rings. I’m getting a big man.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3834-0
RUNAWAY MISTRESS
Copyright © 2005 by Robyn Carr.
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, MIRA Books, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
One Year Later
Robyn Carr, Runaway Mistress
(Series: # )
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