Fade to Red Read Free

then cursed under her breath when the ponytail holder snapped and left her hair hanging in her face. It reached her waist and was so heavy she usually kept it pulled back when she danced. Already sweating from the audition, she wished for the zillionth time that she’d cut it off at the beginning of summer. Her sister, Chloe, had talked her out of it, saying she looked like a giraffe when her hair was short. Roxie had subtly given her the finger, since the one time she’d ever had her hair short, she’d gotten knocked up, and Chloe had teased her mercilessly then too. Also, Leo was in the room at the time and nothing got past him. She’d made the mistake of saying shit in front of him weeks before and he was still giving her grief over that one. The last thing she needed was for him to give the bird to everyone at Northridge Baptist Pre-K, not to mention getting all curious about his dad. He seemed to be fine, for now, without one. Her brother, Joey, had been amazing with Leo, so had her dad. No need to complicate things with another man.
    She dug in her bag for another ponytail holder and just as she rounded the corner, she found one and piled her hair back on top of her head. Ah, it helped immediately. She needed to get out of there before she saw anyone up close and personal.
    “Over here, Mom!” Leo was hidden away, sitting exactly where she’d left him. It didn’t look like he’d moved an inch.
    “Hey, bud. Thanks for being so patient. Where’s Aunt Chloe?”
    “Bathroom,” he pointed at the door next to him, “right in there.”
    “You should have gone with her.”
    “Gross, Mom.”
    “You know I don’t like you being by yourself—you-” She laughed in mid-sentence. “Don’t you give me the stink eye. Come on, let’s get out of here. You ready for some ice cream?” She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead and helped him put everything in his backpack.
    “Can I have three scoops this time?”
    “Uh, wow, really? Are you gonna be a hyper mess if I say yes?”
    “No?” He looked at her, unsure of what to say.
    Roxie laughed and messed up his hair. “You know what? Yes. I can’t believe how long you waited on me. You deserve at least three scoops.”
    Leo’s eyes lit up. “Cotton candy, strawberry, and blueberry cheesecake.”
    Roxie crinkled up her nose. “Can your belly survive that?”
    “It certainly can.”
    “Are you absolutely certain, with all certainty, that it certainly can?”
    Leo raised his eyebrows. “I’m certain,” he said.
    Chloe walked out of the restroom and her eyes widened when she saw Roxie. “I didn’t leave him long, just a few minutes. I told him to yell or bite if anyone came near him.”
    Roxie rolled her eyes. “He should have gone in there with you. Someone could have snatched him up. Look how cute he is.”
    It was Chloe’s turn to groan at Roxie. She was a little over the top sometimes. “Come on, Rox, there are guards at every door. No one would be able to take him.”
    As they pushed the theater doors, an unseasonably hot wind attacked them. They walked to the car and Roxie started it before Leo and Chloe got in, cranking the air conditioner to full blast. The ice cream shop was just around the corner and when they walked in, Leo started humming. The kid lived for ice cream.
    When they had their heaping cones, they sat down and started eating it as fast as they could before it melted.
    “Did you see him?” Chloe whispered to Roxie when Leo got up to throw away his napkin.
    “No, I made it a point to not look for him, actually,” Roxie whispered back. “I didn’t want to screw up my audition, you know?”
    Chloe nodded. Her eyes searched Roxie’s, but she didn’t say anything for a long time. When they were on their way back out the door to head home, she spoke again.
    “What are you gonna do if they call, Roxie?”
    Roxie sighed. It was a waste of time to even think about that. They wouldn’t be calling, and if by some crazy stroke of