Family Interrupted by Linda Barrett Read Free Book Online Page A

and I almost asked for one of his antacids.
    Within an hour, I knew Jack should have believed me. I’d promised a dozen callbacks by day’s end. I wasn’t familiar with the new construction sites, the locations, the buyers’ names. I wasn’t familiar with our four new models and hadn’t memorized the room measurements. These buyers wanted the decorating consultation they’d been promised.
    Jack wasn’t in his office, so I called Mary at the reception desk. “I’m drowning here. And I just remembered about the temp. Has Jack let her go already? And if he has, who’s been fielding these calls?”
    The woman paused. “Well, either Jack or the site managers. Sometimes me. And...and that local decorator was more of a kitchen designer. She wasn’t very good with anything else. We’re so happy you’re back, Claire. In fact, there’s a couple here right now who need help. They’re very excited. They’ve already bought a home in the Grand Lakes subdivision. Get it?” she whispered into the phone.
    Oh, I got it. Mary was cluing me in. Make this couple happy. She hung up, and within seconds, Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were in my office.
    I listened. I took notes. They’d forgotten the name of the model. I’d never been to Grand Lakes. It was a three-bedroom, two-bath, one-story, they explained. Could I decorate theirs like the showcase house? I had no idea. The temp must have done a good job beyond the kitchen on this one.
    The Hoffmans watched me search through the blueprints. Where the hell was a three-bedroom, two-bathroom? Where the hell was Grand Lakes?
    Frantic, I pulled open one desk drawer after another until I reached the bottom left and found myself staring into Kayla’s beaming face. Her happy, sweet face. I picked up the framed photo and burst into tears. Reaching blindly into the drawer, I pulled out Ian’s picture and barely noticed the couple leave my office.
    Jack showed up a moment later. And I pointed at our kids. “You put the daisies where the pictures used to be, didn’t you?”
    “Sure, I did. You would have run like hell if they’d been on top of the desk.”
    The flowers had been a distraction. A postponement of the inevitable. He knew I’d ask about the pictures sooner or later, but not right away if he could help it.
    “Take me home. Now,” I said, grabbing my bag. “I’m done.”
    He glanced at his watch. “You’ve been here only an hour or so. Give it more time. Mary will take messages.”
    I gestured to the walls, the blueprints. “I barely know the number of square feet in a square yard anymore. Grand Lakes? People coming in and out. I don’t know the new stuff, Jack, and can’t remember the old. I’ll scare everyone away. If you want Barnes Construction to keep succeeding, get me out of here.”
    “Stay until noon, sweetheart. We’ll have lunch and talk.”
    But I was out the door, racing down the hall, keys in hand. I could drive his truck. “I’ll pick you up later.”
    “Coward!”
    His voice carried through the halls where half the employees could hear, and I winced. Trouble at the top trickled down to the bottom. Gossip and rumors could start. Jack didn’t deserve more problems.
    My fault again. Always doing the wrong thing. I knew it but couldn’t turn back. I charged toward the truck and collapsed behind the wheel. With shaking hands, I turned on the ignition then glanced into the rearview mirror and laughed. My hair looked great—blonde, bouncy, shaped. So what? It didn’t matter at all. Jack had been almost right. I was not only a coward but a guilty one at that.
Kayla, Kayla...I love you so much, and I’m so sorry. I can’t bring you back to us, but what can I do? How can I make it up to you?
    #
    I turned into my driveway just after the school bus pulled away. Maddy waited for me with a big smile across her face.
    “Mama’s coming over,” she said, hugging me. “She said she’d meet me here after school because we want to make art with you. For