Where Azaleas Bloom Read Free Page B

trivial ones like this, no after-school snacks.
Added together she felt as if she’d failed her kids. No matter how much she
wanted to lay all the blame squarely at Ed’s feet, she couldn’t. She was their
mom. She should be finding a way to provide for her children. Going to work for
Raylene had been a start, but it obviously wasn’t enough, not when Ed wasn’t
holding up his end of the bargain.
    She vowed right then to take on a second job, even if it meant
frying burgers at one of the new fast-food restaurants outside of town, anything
to put an end to the dismay of seeing her children suffer because of decisions
she and Ed had made.
    “I’m sorry,” Lexie whispered. “I shouldn’t have said that. It
was mean.”
    “It was the truth,” Lynn said, then added with determination,
“but not for long.”
    Lexie regarded her hopefully. “What are you going to do?”
    “I’ll find a better job, one with more hours. Or another
part-time job,” Lynn said.
    “Maybe I could get some babysitting jobs,” Lexie offered
eagerly.
    “I appreciate your wanting to do that, but I’d like you to be a
little older before you take on that kind of responsibility,” Lynn said. “Right
now your job is to get great grades so you can get into whatever college you’d
like to go to. I want you and Jeremy to have the most amazing futures you can
possibly have, and you’ll need college degrees for that.”
    “You always say that,” Lexie protested, as yet unconcerned
about the importance of winning a scholarship if she expected to get into a
terrific school. She was focused on the here and now. “Lots of kids my age
babysit. You let me stay with Jeremy.”
    “He’s ten and he’s your brother,” Lynn reminded her. “It’s not
quite the same thing as taking care of a baby or a toddler.”
    “What if I took the babysitting certification class at the
community center? Then could I?” She gave Lynn a pleading look. “Please. I want
to help out.”
    “If you do that and pass the course, then we’ll see. But this
will be for your savings and your spending money, okay? It’s not up to you to
chip in for expenses around here.”
    Lexie threw her arms around Lynn. “Thank you, thank you, thank
you! I’ll sign up tomorrow. I already know lots of people who need babysitters.
The minute I pass the class, I’m going to hand out flyers.”
    Lynn smiled at her enthusiasm, wishing she could muster up that
same level of excitement for her own job hunt. “Okay, my little entrepreneur.
For now get some sleep. Love you.”
    “Love you, Mom.”
    Lynn turned out the light on her way out the door, but the
second she was gone, Lexie flipped it back on. Lynn smiled, knowing exactly what
she was up to. She was texting Mandy the big news about taking that babysitting
course. She was probably hoping to get her best friend to sign up, too.
    Which Mandy would likely do, Lynn thought. Those two never did
anything without the other one tagging along. It was just one more reason she
intended to do everything she possibly could to stay right here in this house,
so her daughter wouldn’t be ripped away from the friend who’d provided the best
support system a girl Lexie’s age could possibly have.

2
    M itch had gotten into the habit of stopping
in at Wharton’s for breakfast, something he’d never have considered when Amy was
alive. She’d always made sure he left the house with a hearty meal to sustain
him through the morning. Now Grace Wharton looked over him just as protectively,
but her efforts always came with a heavy dose of meddling.
    “You’re working too much,” she declared as she set a steaming
cup of coffee down in front of him.
    “And how would you know that?”
    “You’re in here practically before I can get the coffee brewed
in the morning and I know for a fact you’re over there hammering away at Raylene
and Carter’s till they kick you out at night. Now, since I know you wouldn’t be
looking twice at a married