For Better or Worse Read Free

drove off. Kelly stared after her, the shock of her daughter’s outright rebellion seeping through her skin. Zoey’s defiance had hit an all-time high. Without a doubt, Zoey would be grounded. Kelly would take away the keys, the cell phone, the television, and whatever other privilege she could think of. But Zoey’s problem wasn’t one that could be fixed with punishment or discipline. Zoey’s was a heart problem.
God she needs You so desperately, and I need to know how to be a good mom to her. Help me know what to do
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    Harold gripped the cell phone tighter. “Do you want me to go search for her?”
    Kelly’s exhausted voice mingled with tears of despair. “No. She’s going to be grounded when she gets home, but I’m going to wait until she gets there. I just needed to vent.”
    Harold bit back a reply. He didn’t want to hurt Kelly’s feelings, and he didn’t want Rudy, who sat in the truck’s cab beside him, to see his frustration at the child. From what he’d seen of Zoey, she didn’t need the opportunity to do as she pleased until she got home. She needed to be disciplined—and now. If he had his say, the girl wouldn’t be wearing black makeup and baggy black clothes. Her hair wouldn’t be dyed black and tied up in knots all over the place. The child’s appearance screamed she had problems.
    Truth be told, Harold was a little embarrassed when they went places together as a soon-to-be family. He’d never tell Kelly that. He loved that woman with all his heart. And the other two girls, Brittany and Candy, well, they were as sweet and as normal as could be. Sure, the two younger girls fought and picked and cried and whined at each other over the slightest things, like which of them would sit in the front seat of the car or who had to do dishes which days, but they didn’t look at their mother with contempt as Zoey did.
    Harold sighed. He loved the teen. God had given him a paternal love for Kelly’s girls that he would have never dreamed possible before he met Kelly; however, there were moments he found himself struggling to like Zoey.
    Not that he hadn’t tried to connect with his soon-to-be oldest daughter. He’d taken her to the movies, just him and her two sisters. He’d taken all three girls out to eat, played card games with the three and sometimes just Zoey. He’d picked her and her sisters up after school several times before she started driving. He even joined some group called “Facebook” on the Internet and tried to become her “friend.” She denied his request. Nothing worked. She was cold, calculated, and downright disrespectful, and Harold had just about had it with her.
    Now, he gets a call from Kelly, riddled with raw emotion, that Zoey had left the school in a huff and refused to go wedding dress shopping with her mother. The girl seemed to take pleasure in hurting Kelly. Harold cleared his throat. “I don’t like it when she hurts you. Why don’t I go find her?”
    “No. Don’t. I want this to be a good day. Brittany, Candy, and I will have a good time.” She sniffed, and Harold knew she’d wiped her nose with a tissue. “You’re still coming for lasagna, right? I’ll have it ready by six.”
    “I wouldn’t miss your lasagna for the world.”
    Her light chuckle sounded over the line. “I love you, Harold.”
    “I love you, Kelly. I’ll see you tonight.” He ended the call and slid his phone back into the case at his waist. Letting out a long sigh, he gripped the steering wheel.
    “That girl’s still giving her mom fits, huh?”
    “Yep.”
    “Sorry to hear that. You know I raised two girls myself. It’s not easy.”
    Harold looked at his most trusted worker. “How did you get through it?”
    “I watched a lot of ball games and drank a lot of beer.”
    Rudy chuckled, and Harold simply stared out the windshield. Another reason he was glad he’d bit back any replies. Harold needed to be a witness to his friend.
God, help me live for You in the midst of