Forever After Read Free Page B

it for himself.
    He'd already Googled her and found her address.  He fingered the piece of paper where he'd written it, contemplating his options.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Grumbles of thunder rolled across the sky as Darcy brushed through her hair then twisted it into a knot on top of her head.  Jenna lay on her stomach on Darcy's brass bed, her elbows bracing her, her chin propped on the backs of her hands.
     Navy and pale green priscillas fluttered away from the windows with each gust of stormy wind.  Darcy thought about closing the windows and turning on the air conditioner, but with a storm brewing, she decided against it.
    She crossed to Jenna and dropped down beside her.  "Are you very hungry?  I think we should wait a while to see if the thunderstorm blows over before we leave."
    "I can wait.  Just so McDonald's doesn't run out of Chicken McNuggets."
    Fast food was Jenna's favorite, so whenever she stayed with Darcy, Darcy indulged her.  "Do you want to play a game?"
    "Sure," Jenna answered, but her eyes were still fixed on some imaginary scene Darcy couldn't share.  Darcy hooked her finger under Jenna's chin and smiled at her.  "Maybe you can beat me at Crazy Eights."  She offered her hand to the little girl and Jenna took it.
    The thunder clapped as they left the bedroom and hopped down the steps to land with giggles at the bottom.  Darcy's living room was a conglomeration of styles.  At the moment "untidy" was a kind word for its condition.  Baseball cards dotted an oriental rug in shades of rose and green that covered the hardwood floor.  The sea-foam green loveseat was littered with Jenna's favorite doll and two of its outfits.  Unfolded laundry tumbled over on a velour recliner.  Sneakers Darcy had pried off lay under the oval marble-topped table.
    Jenna plunked on a chair at Darcy's round oak dining room table, resting the heels of her sneakers on the rung of the plank bottom chair.  She toyed with the hem on her red tee shirt.  "Darcy, is Mommy going to marry Chuck?"
    Darcy forgot about her messy living room.  "I don't know.  Do you think she might?"
    Jenna played with the hair along her cheek.  "She and Chuck hug and kiss.  She and Daddy used to do that sometimes."
    Darcy sat down across from her little friend.  "How do you feel about it?  Would you be glad if your mom married Chuck?"
    Jenna gnawed on her lower lip.  "She's not sad anymore when she's with Chuck.  She doesn't cry anymore, either."
    Darcy knew it was important for Jenna to talk about her feelings.  When Darcy's mother died, her father had encouraged her to cry and talk and remember.  Jenna needed the same encouragement.  She had lost her father in a sense and the situation in which she found herself was confusing.
    "Your mom does seem happier.  Are you happy?"
    Jenna's thoughts were apparently following their own course.  "Mommy told me it wasn't my fault when Daddy left.  I thought I did something bad.  But she said I didn't."
    Darcy patted Jenna's hand in reassurance.  "Your parents both love you very much, but they were having trouble loving each other.  Your dad didn't move out because of you.  I hope you know that."
    Jenna lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug.  "I guess so.  But I get mixed up.  Mom says she and Dad don't love each other, but they both love me.  If Mommy marries Chuck, will I have two dads?"
    Darcy felt totally out of her depth.  "I guess you will."
    Rain began pounding against the side of the house as Jenna admitted, "Daddy doesn't like Chuck.  He always asks me about him.  How often he sees us.  Stuff like that.  I wish he wouldn't."
    Darcy squeezed Jenna's hand.  "Tell him that, honey.  Tell him you don't want to talk about your mom and Chuck--"
    Their conversation was interrupted by the doorbell's chime.  Darcy hopped up and crossed the living room to the small foyer.  When she saw who was standing on the other side of the screen door, she halted.
    Seth Hallaran's smile was