Ask Mariah by Barbara Freethy Read Free Book Online Page B

interaction with a troubled eye. "I don't get it, man," he said as the girls ran into the kitchen.
    "Neither do I."
    "How do you stand it?"
    "I tell myself that some day it will end. Some day they'll look me straight in the eye and say they love me, and that will probably be the happiest day of my life." He cleared his throat, suddenly choked up by that thought. "Of course, then they'll probably start arguing with me over every little thing, and I'll wish they would just shut up."
    Tony smiled. "Probably. And just wait until they start talking on the phone all the time."
    He held up a hand. "I don't want to think about it. Raising the girls alone -- sometimes, it scares the hell out of me. I think it would be different if they were boys. I know how boys think. But the female mind is a complete mystery to me."
    "Speaking of females, I wonder if Mama is home. It's so quiet." Tony tilted his head to one side. "Certainly not like it used to be. Whenever I came home from school, Mama would be in the kitchen cooking. Usually one of her sisters, Aunt Carlotta or Aunt Elena, would be here, and sometimes a couple of my cousins. We never had to bring someone home from school to play with, because there were always a few extra kids hanging around here. Now there's no one."
    "Everyone grew up."
    "Too bad, huh? We used to have some good times, until you got all responsible on me." He slugged Michael on the arm.
    "I didn't have a choice. I had a wife to support, kids." He sounded defensive, and he knew it, but dammit, he'd worked his butt off for Angela and the girls.
    "You were good for Angie," Tony said. "I mean that."
    "Yeah, well, I don't think Angela would have agreed with you. Anyway, it's all in the past." Or it had been until today, until he'd come face-to-face with a ghost. He tipped his head toward the stairs. "Sophia is probably upstairs. Why don't you go see her?"
    "All right. Hopefully, she'll be happy to see me."
    "Isn't she always?"
     
    * * *
     
    As Tony walked up the stairs, a thousand memories flashed through his mind. He hadn't lived in this house for a couple of years. But coming back now, he felt like a kid again, and he hated that feeling. Maybe that's why he had stayed away, hoping that somewhere in the world he'd find a place where he felt like a grown-up.
    His parents' bedroom was empty. Angela's door was partly open. He hesitated, then knocked.
    "Come in," Sophia said.
    He pushed opened the door. "Hi, Mama."
    Her face lit up like the morning sky after a winter storm. She held out her arms to him, and he went into her embrace as if he were ten years old again. She smelled like Chanel No. 5, with a lingering trace of garlic. She smelled like home.
    "Tony, my darling Tony," Sophia whispered, cupping his face with her hands. "You've come back."
    "How are you?" he asked.
    "I'm fine."
    "Are you really?" He searched her dark eyes for the truth, then looked away, not sure he wanted to find it. He wanted her to be the strong woman he remembered from his youth, not the shattered woman he'd seen at Angela's funeral.
    "I -- yes." Her voice turned brisk as if she'd seen his need and decided to fulfill it.
    She stood up and tucked her black hair into place. That's when he noticed the new streaks of gray at her temples, the lines around her eyes, the paleness of her olive skin.
    "You look tired. Mama," he said quietly.
    She touched her hand to the side of his face with a loving smile. "Your father snores so loudly, who can sleep?"
    He accepted her answer because he wanted to, because it was easy.
    "You must be hungry. I'll fix you something to eat. And you'll stay in your old room, of course. You are staying, aren't you?"
    "For a while. I bought a boat. Mama. She's gorgeous."
    "A boat? Oh, my." Sophia put a hand to her heart.
    "She needs a little work, of course, but wait until you see her."
    "I'm sure it's a beautiful boat, Tony. But how long is a while?"
    He shrugged. "I'm not sure yet. A week or two."
    "That's