Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall Read Free Book Online

workshop?”
    “What I believe is you should be bored by now, and I can’t fix most of what goes wrong in life, but
that
I can fix.”
    “I’m mostly exhausted from not sleeping.”
    “Sometimes that sort of thing is circular. We can’t sleep at night, so we sleep late and rest a lot the next day, and then we can’t sleep the following night because we rested too much. That’s not always the case, but we won’t know until we break the routine, right?”
    Did this man think he was a doctor? The desire to get up and walk out was so strong, but Skylar wrapped her fingers around the edge of the table and held on. They’d been kind to her up to this point—Saturday evening, Sunday, and Monday—but starting this morning she was expected to pitch in like a hired hand on a farm? She had to get away from here.
    “Is there a problem?” Isaac asked.
    “No. Maybe. I mean, I don’t mind work, but it should be toward a worthy goal—like getting a break in the entertainment industry or finishing a semester of college.”
    “That’s on hold for a while. And would have been whether you came here or not, right?”
    He knew the answer to that. She’d been found with a concoction of illegal substances in her system, and her parents were going to pull her out of school and send her to rehab…or she could come here.
    She nodded.
    “So”—Isaac dipped his head to look her in the eyes and smiled—“let’s focus on what can be done. Like pitching in with the work. Okay?”
    He ended his sentence as if he’d made a request. He hadn’t. It was an absolute. Man, she didn’t want to be here for one more day. She had no money, and for the first time in her life, neither Brandi nor Nicholas would bail her out. Stupid drug testing. If her blood work hadn’t revealed her secrets, she wouldn’t be stuck here.
    But Cody said he’d help her escape after he got a few things squared away. She just had to wait until he could get to her.
    Salome put a serving bowl in front of her. Was that whipped cream? “We were wondering if you would like to help Susie and Martha at the café today.”
    Oh yeah. That’s exactly what Skylar wanted to do—have her stage dreams taken from her and miss the rest of this semester while she helped keep Ariana’s dream alive. “I wouldn’t be much help.”
    “It probably sounds scary, but what’s needed isn’t hard.” Abram lifted a coffee carafe from the table and refilled her mug. “See, that’s pretty much all the girls need from you. Well, that and a few other simple tasks that would be a lifesaver for us right now.”
    She stared at the ripples he’d caused in her mug. Did he think she was so stupid that he had to show her how to pour coffee? Even if she was, she didn’t need the lesson in front of the whole family. “Sorry, I’m just not feeling too well today.”
    Lovina passed one of the platters of pancakes to Martha. “Anything wrong besides not sleeping?”
    “Headache.” Skylar pushed the coffee mug toward Abram, giving him a silent
thanks but no thanks.
“I think resting will help.” If she was going to cope with life until Cody could get her out of here, he had to bring her something stronger than Advil.
    “Sure, you rest.” Isaac smiled, nodding. “You can use today to decide whether you’re going to help in the café or on the farm.”
    “That’s the choice—help fulfill Ariana’s dream or stay here and muck out the stalls? No. But thanks.”
    Everyone stopped eating, and the room fell silent, all eyes on her. What? Had no one ever told this man no?
    Isaac pushed his plate away. “You don’t have to help with either.”
    “Thank you.”
    “There’s plenty of other work—laundry, housecleaning, meals, gardening.”
    “There’s gardening in October?” Skylar’s surprise made her sound interested. She wasn’t. But the garden produced stuff in mid-to-late October?
    “It’s been a good year,” Isaac said. “Much to be grateful for. The kale is still