The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3) Read Free Page B

began nibbling at her bottom lip.  It was easy to see she was struggling with something.  “Kelly, I think I should be honest with you about...about me.”
    “What do you mean, Lydia?”
    Oh, man.  This is it.   Her pulse quickened.  Just be supportive.  Let her know you’re here for her no matter what.
    “I’m—”
    The tune of Across The Universe filled the air and Lydia grabbed her phone, frowning.
    “It’s Laney.  Oh, I’m sorry.  I need to take this, Kelly.  It might be about Callum.  Maybe he’s,”—her voice squeaked—“trying to pass on a message about divorcing me.  Excuse me.”
    Bewildered, she watched her friend get up from the table and hurry towards the bathroom.  She felt so bad for her, but what could she do?  Lydia wasn’t going to listen to her, at least not now.  She was overwhelmed with the news of her husband having a child with another woman—and she was devastated over the fact she couldn’t physically give him one herself.
    It was a very sad situation.
    Damn, she was finally going to tell me the truth.   Kelly sighed, poking at her salad with her fork.  Oh, well.  Maybe another time.
    Her phone began ringing a few minutes later and she nearly fell out of the booth.  She answered it quickly when she realized it was Mrs. Harrington calling.
    “Hello, Mrs. H. How are my babies?”
    “Oh, they’re fine, dear.  They’re being perfect little angels.  Jamie was fussy earlier, but I gave her some ibuprofen and found a teething ring upstairs.  I cleaned it up and put it in the freezer; worked like a charm.  I told you it was her molars, didn’t I?”
    “So, she’s okay now?” She couldn’t help but to worry.
    “She’s fine, sweetheart.  She’s asleep.  Justin has been such a darling.  He wanted to help me put her down for her nap.  He sang to her and it was the sweetest thing!  You’ve got quite the little man.”
    “He’s a good kid, huh?” She smiled.  “Tell them I love them, and I’ll be home just as soon as I can.  I’ve still got another four hours to get through.”
    “Take your time, honey.  We’re having lots of fun here.  I just wanted to call and let you know what was going on.”
    “Well, thank you so much.  I appreciate it.  I’ll talk to you later.”
    “All right, dear.  Goodbye.”
    She hung up just as Lydia returned, a worried frown plastered across her lovely face.
    “Uh oh.  What’s going on?” She swallowed hard.  “It wasn’t...really about Callum, was it?”
    “Not at all.” Lydia slid into her seat and stared at her.  “Laney was calling about Devin.  It was weird.”
    “Devin?  Why on earth?”
    She didn’t really know Devin as well as Lydia and her siblings did.  She remembered how awful he was in school and how badly he’d treated Johnny, but otherwise she’d avoided him like the plague.  Patrick hadn’t necessarily been fond of him either, and it seemed justifiable after what he’d put poor Laney through.
    “Apparently his psychiatrist wants to perform some tests today and he needs us to be there.” Lydia sighed.  “So Laney, Jeb, Benji, and I have to be at the institute at 6 this evening.”
    “Tests?  What kind of tests?  Is he really still playing the ‘I don’t remember being a complete and total douche’ card?”
    “Yes, but the thing is Laney believes him.  She thinks he’s telling the truth.” Lydia shrugged her shoulders and sniffled.  “I can’t help but to believe her.  She’s told me the story about that night so many times, Kelly—why would Devin have helped them otherwise?”
    “Because he didn’t want to go to jail?” She scoffed and rolled her eyes.  “Lydia, he’s a terrible, horrible person.  How can you so easily forget what he did to you when you were little?”
    “What he did to me?” Lydia blinked.
    “Um, I mean...what he did to Laney and Jeb and Johnny.” She dropped her gaze quickly, but it was too late.
    “How long have you