Stargazing (The Walker Family Book 2) by Bernadette Marie Read Free Book Online Page B

back room crying.”
    “I most certainly can. Now sit.”
    Pearl disappeared out of the room and returned only a few moments later with a box of tissue and a plate of chocolates.
    “I had a bride bring me these as a thank you. We’re eating them.”
    Bethany stared at them as if they were the evil her mother had always spoke about. You’ll regret every bite you have. She’d say before she herself would gorge on something, such as a plate of chocolate, and then purge later.
    Pearl picked up one of the candies and popped it into her mouth. “Oh, Lord, that is wonderful. Here.”
    Bethany only stared at the plate. “I shouldn’t.”
    “Um, yes, you should. We are having girl talk and this is what we do.”
    Her hand shook as she reached for a chocolate that was no bigger than the tip of her finger. Slipping it past her lips she let it melt on her tongue as if it were going to be the last thing she ever ate again.
    Panic rose in her chest. The very thought of running to the bathroom to throw it up crossed her mind, but she forced down the vile feeling and the chocolate.
    “Good, huh?” Pearl bit into another one and let out a moan. “Audrey would die if she knew I had these and hadn’t called her to share them.”
    “Will she be mad?”
    “No, she’s just got a sweet tooth,” she said on a laugh before she became very serious again. “Now, what’s going on in that head of yours?”
     
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Smiling all afternoon was exhausting, Kent thought as he sipped from the glass of water Lydia had brought him. The party was over. The guests had gone. But Kent was too tired to move.
    Okay, who was he kidding. He was sort of hoping that Bethany was still there.
    She’d left in a near panic when that woman wanted her picture. Shouldn’t she be used to something like that? He wasn’t offended. He’d wanted her autograph too, but he thought that would have been more awkward than their couple of conversations had been.
    Lydia was walking toward him with a check in her hand. “Here’s the money collected from the books you brought. I thought I’d ordered enough. I can’t believe we sold your supply too.”
    “I’m honored that your friends thought that much of me.”
    “I had to turn people away from the luncheon. You’re very talented, Mr. Black.”
    “I appreciate that. So does my mother. She’s told me that for years when I’ve torn up entire manuscripts.”
    Her mouth fell open. “You’ve done that?”
    “You see, I don’t think I’m horribly talented. My mind wanders and a story forms. I write it down and by the luck of the universe, people seem to like it.”
    She blinked a few times. “I’ve never met anyone so talented.”
    “Thank you.”
    She handed him the check and he tucked it into his pocket without looking at it. That would have appeared untrusting.
    “I guess I’ll be on my way,” he said fishing his keys from his pocket.
    “Are you in town a few more days?”
    He shrugged. “I go where the road takes me. But, I do like it here. I thought I’d stick around a few more days.”
    “I’d like to invite you out to dinner if you’d be interested. Susan and her fiancé, who is my cousin Eric, my brother, and another cousin,” she said with a wave of her hand, “are going to dinner tomorrow. I know they’d love to meet you. If that’s not awkward or anything. I’ll bet you think I’m crazy now.”
    He laughed. “I think that sounds nice. The one thing about being an author is I can blend into a crowd. It doesn’t seem that easy for Bethany.”
    Lydia clasped her hands. “What happened when she came to help you? She got upset and ran out.”
    He felt the hope drain from his body. So she wasn’t there. “She left?”
    “Yeah. She was very upset.”
    “Some woman recognized her. Asked her for a picture and told her she was as beautiful as her mother was. She didn’t seem to like being recognized.”
    “I don’t know her very well. Perhaps there is some reason