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.Penny had a small one-bedroom apartment in a run-down part of town.An obviouslyused crib sat in the corner of Penny s bedroom, and there were toys everywhere.Theunusual thing was that Sarabelle s clothes were all designer labels, her spoons were silver real honest-to-goodness silver spoons and some of the knickknacks around the baby scrib were from Tiffany s.Something was off.Someone who was working two waitressingjobs couldn t afford silver spoons and Tiffany knickknacks. Anytime, Penny.Really, anytime. She almost wanted to scream: Solidarity, sister.I llbe right here on this boat soon enough maybe. Who normally watches her? The neighbor, Ms.Hannigan. Raquel Hannigan? She s like a hundred and twenty-three years old, Penny.Penny deflated. Yeah, I know.But she s next door, available, and cheap. Well, please consider me cheap and available,  kay?Penny s eyes brimmed, and she pulled JL into a tight hug. Thank you so much, JamieLynn.Seriously, thank you! How are you feeling? Is there anything I can do to help you? Nah, I m fine.Tired, but that s just because I haven t been sleeping well.I ll see you atwork tomorrow night call me if you need me before then. Thank you, Penny said again before JL left.Chapter 17Two weeks had gone by since the wonderfully irresponsible condomless sexcapade.Twoweeks of missing the hell out of Enzo.Two weeks of Enzo s daily calls and texts, all ofwhich she d left unanswered.Every morning he d text her to say, Good morning.Aroundthe middle of the day he d tell her he missed her, and every evening he d text her, Sleepwell, love.That damn word, love, felt like a ticking bomb.It made her giddy and nervousall at the same time.The man couldn t have made his feelings more clear.She was stillmad at him but not mad enough that she didn t miss him like crazy.And between work,painting at the Walls something she d done twice since Enzo had left and helpingPenny with Sarabelle, she was so exhausted that she hadn t had a chance to dwell onanything.She d had lunch with her mother seven times in the last two weeks, and today Rita wascoming by with a casserole.So many changes were happening all at once, and she washaving a hard time processing all the emotions, especially since for so many years she dhad one basic drive: survival. Be good, Bird, JL said to the parrot as she went to answer the door.Rita stood in thehallway with a tray in her hand and bags in the other. I have drinks, Mama, JL said, helping her mother with the groceries. I wasn t sure, Rita answered as she walked to the kitchen to put down everything. This is so nice, honey, she said, looking around the modest apartment. Thanks.It s kind of lonely without Violet, but I like it, and I have Bird to keep mecompany. Woof woof woof.Rita looked around, startled, causing JL to laugh. It s Violet s parrot.I m bird-sittingand I ve taught it all sorts of weird things.Drives Violet nuts.Rita reached out to pet it, but JL swatted her hand away. No! It bites. Oh, Rita said with a loud belly laugh. It s so big and loud. Come, Mama.I m starved. JL ushered her mother to the small table and portionedout the food. Is this EE s taco casserole? Yep.Esther said it was your favorite. It s not.I love it, but not as much as Travis does.It s his favorite. Do you think that maybe Travis  Give him time.You ve had a great few weeks.I ll talk to him soon.I promise. It wastrue.She was planning on talking to him, but not yet.She needed to make sure this newRita was a permanent fixture, not a fleeting glimpse of hope, as had always been the casebefore.They spent the rest of the evening enjoying dinner and laughing at local town gossipthat Esther had told Rita at work.She was so glad to have her mother back, and for thefirst time in a long time she didn t dread being home. Tired? Rita said, looking at JL s deep yawn and red-rimmed eyes. Yeah.So tired.Lately all I want to do is sleep. You re working too hard, and those late shifts have your schedule out of whack, hermother said.JL didn t think it was her late nights or busy schedule, however.JL hadalways been able to eat whatever she wanted and not gain a pound, but that morning herjeans had constricted her ability to breathe so much so that she d worn yoga pants to runher errands.She wasn t sure what would happen with Enzo, although she was certain hewould never abandon his baby.The truth was that as the days passed, her anger hadsubsided somewhat, and things that had seemed so important just a few weeks agoseemed just petty now.He shouldn t have omitted the truth about the Walls, but all in all,he d been right.She had been the one who d never committed fully to the relationship.She had been the one with the hang-ups about their differences, not him.She had coveredher tattoos; he had never asked her to do that.Yes, he had lied, but she had no doubt thathe was out of town fixing it.She knew him well enough already to know that the manwasn t going to disappoint her and he d come back with the issues over the Wallsresolved.That fact alone made her not so terrified about the possibility of being pregnant.He was a responsible, loyal man who would do right by her and their baby.Two and a half weeks in Brazil, and all Enzo had to show for it was a sprained ankle, ablack eye, and a split lip.He d gone home to convince his ex-father-in-law and his fatherthat the mall was a bad idea.He d brought reports, made presentations, and had meetingswith the investors again, yet he was no closer to a resolution than when he d arrived.Theonly thing that had happened was that his attitude toward things had changed.He wasnot his father s lackey.He was a grown man and he wasn t going to do only what wasexpected of him.Every afternoon for three hours he went to a local MMA training studioowned by a friend of Cain and Iggy s and trained [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]