Beyond the Storm: Quilts of Love Series by Carolyn Zane Read Free Book Online

he could make it, Justin hoped his slow nod hid his surprise and, at the same time, encouraged Bob Ray to continue.
    “It was my idea. Danny was the youth group leader back when I used to go to church. Since my dad died, Dan was like a father to me. Always came to all my games and stuff. Tried to pound some religion into my bony head. You can see how well that worked.” Bob Ray’s laugh was mirthless as he began to peel the label off his Gatorade bottle. “My dad died when I wasn’t much older than Robbie is now. I don’t remember that much about him, but the whole thing left its scars. I didn’t want my kid to end up living without a guy like Danny around. I sure wasn’t ready for the responsibility, but Dan and Jen were.”
    Bob Ray’s eyes closed, and he sighed. “They’d have been awesome parents.” When he opened his eyes, Justin could see the emotion sparking, igniting a pain that still simmered beneath Bob Ray’s arrogant façade. “Heather even agreed after a while. But her old man . . .” Tears lurked behind Bob Ray’s gaze. “Her old man was mad at me. Wanted me to take responsibility. I was eighteen, man. I was scared. Scared of him. Scared of everything. So, we got married. And I gotta tell you . . . the kid is real cute and everything, but if I had to do it all again . . . I wouldn’t.”
    Justin nodded. That’s all he could do. Didn’t have words. But he guessed that was good, as Bob Ray didn’t seem to want or need words.

 
     
     
4
     
    10:30 a.m.
     
    “Hey everybody, Ron Donovan here with the latest on a super-cell cloud formation that may bring a tornado watch with it, later today.”
    “Ron, is it just me, or does there seem to be more bad weather than usual?”
    “It’s not just you, Julie. This has been the wildest spring we’ve had in this area in over fifty years, and we don’t see any signs that it will ease off in the foreseeable future.”
     
    11:10 a.m.
     
    I got my tan at Tantastic! Kaylee speaking, how may I help you?”
    Jen grinned. Kaylee liked to tell people that she and Chaz got their velvety dark skin color here at her salon. It never failed to make people laugh. Jen dropped her purse behind the counter and waved at Kaylee. She was going to miss seeing her bright smile every day. But she and Danny had decided a long time ago that she’d be a stay-at-home mom. So Kaylee was going to take over as manager here just as soon as she returned from her honeymoon. They both agreed that having an African-American woman running the place would give Tantastic a fun advertising angle. And Kaylee was just beautiful—not to mention nutty—enough to make the “
I got my tan at Tantastic
” gimmick work and infuse new life into the business.
    “This afternoon? Uh . . . sure. What time? No, but I have a slot at 1:45. Fifteen minutes? Sure. Okay. Name? Uh-huh. Okay. Thanks. Bye.” Kaylee threw down her pencil and spun around in her chair. “Wow, your hair looks awesome!”
    “Thanks. Abigail does a great job, huh?” Jen sat in one of their well-padded lobby chairs and motioned for Kaylee to come join her for a spell. Kaylee grabbed them each a bottle of juice from the mini fridge and they took a break.
    “Abigail is going to do my hair for the wedding,” Kaylee told her as she burrowed into the loveseat and kicked off her pumps. “She’s going to build this elaborate Celtic knot and then work the veil in at the back—it’s gonna rock!”
    “You’ll be beautiful.”
    “I’ll feel that way, anyway.” Kaylee laughed. “Are you on your way to lunch?”
    “Yes, but I’ll be back in plenty of time to let you head to the airport. After lunch, I’m taking Danny shopping for the baby, so I’ll see you between 1:30 and 2:00. Okay?”
    “Cool.” Kaylee propped her elbow on the squishy armrest and regarded Jen thoughtfully. “You and Danny are so happy.”
    Jen gave her head a little side bob and smiled. “Most of the time, yes.”
    “You’ve been through