Still Waters by Misha Crews Read Free Book Online Page B

right,” he answered, as pleasantly as possible.
    “Mind if I ask where you served?”
    “I’m just back from Panama,” Adam answered absently, “but I’ve been all over. I was in the Construction Battalion.”
    “Oh, the Seabees. Wonderful group of fellows,” Frank said earnestly. “You helped secure bases around the Panama Canal during the war, didn’t you?”
    “Well, me and a couple thousand other guys, yes.”
    “Oh, Adam, you’re too modest,” Kitty interjected. She turned to Frank and added proudly, “Adam was decorated more than once. He’s a bona fide war hero.”
    “If I am that, I’m just one of many,” Adam said uncomfortably.
    Kitty rolled her eyes in mock exasperation, and he smiled weakly. She might’ve thought he was just being humble, but it always made him feel awkward to hear his praises sung. And this situation was awkward enough as it was.
    Frank fingered his mustache thoughtfully. “I was 4-F due to a punctured eardrum I sustained when I was a child. But I managed to serve my country in other ways.”
    Adam’s heart sank. Was he really going to have to stand here and listen to Malloy tell his war stories? Adam had managed to be gracious up until this point, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep up the pretense. He wanted to get out of this kitchen and away from the house. Nothing was as he’d thought it would be. It was as if he had fallen down the rabbit hole.
    Jenna must have sensed to his feelings, for she cut in sharply before Frank could continue.
    “Kitty,” Jenna said urgently, “isn’t it about time we cut the cake? The parents will be back to pick up their children in a little while, and Christopher still has presents to open.”
    That did the trick. Kitty looked at the clock with an exclamation of surprise, then hustled everyone out the door to the backyard.
    Adam managed to catch Jenna’s eye with a look of thanks before the crowd of children swallowed them up.

C HAPTER S IX
    H OURS LATER, J ENNA LEANED AGAINST THE railing of the back porch, surveying the yard with exhausted satisfaction. The children had all gone home, Christopher’s presents had been put away, and she had just finished picking up the last bits of paper from the grass and putting the garbage in the trash bin on the side of the house. The day was finally done.
    Fritz snored loudly on the porch. Jenna turned to look at him, sound asleep on his favorite rug. One of his giant paws twitched lightly. He’d had a grand old time that day, running around with the children, chasing balls, and snapping at balloons.
    So it seemed that the party had been a great success for everyone. But then again, Jenna never doubted that it would be. Kitty had arranged it, after all, and everything that Kitty did, she did well.
    The cowboy theme had been Jenna’s idea. Whenever Christopher visited his grandparents, he came home bubbling with excitement about the cowboys he’d seen on TV. Buffalo Bill and Roy Rogers were his favorites, of course. He even liked Annie Oakley now, although it had taken him a while to get used to the idea of a “girl cowboy.” So Jenna could take credit for the original concept, but her contribution had ended there.
    Kitty had bought Christopher’s outfit, with the little six-shooter and the adorable hat that was too big for him and always falling down over his eyes. She’d baked a cake and decorated it with her own two hands — a cowboy of icing, twirling a lasso over his head, with a cactus in the background and fancy lettering that spelled out, “Happy Birthday, Partner!” And underneath that: “Christopher, Age 5.” They had taken almost a whole roll of photos before they’d cut it.
    The balloons all had cowboys or horseshoes on them. The party favors were miniature cowboy hats filled with toys and candy, and the piñata had been shaped like a cowboy boot. Kitty had thought of everything, and she never seemed to run out of energy in the execution of her plans.
    Earlier