Take a Chance by Simone Jaine Read Free Book Online Page B

sick,” she said.
    Eben thumbed away tears threatening to fall above her watery smile.
    She could kiss him for being so nice but she wouldn’t. Instead, Jem unlinked her fingers from his hand and reached for her notepad on the breakfast bar.
    She reluctantly turned back a page to the list she had almost completed before the oven buzzer went. Only one item remained. Phone Coco. It was close to 9pm. Coco would be awake and up by now seeing as she was on the other side of the world. She’d much rather get hold of her younger brother Freddie but she had already left a message with his boss knowing it would take days to track him down and then he might be unable to respond because he was busy saving the planet somewhere.  Jem sighed.
    Knowing Jem wanted privacy to make the call but knowing what her mother was like on the few occasions he’d met her Eben decided to stick around. He faced the mess in the family room.
    “I’ll tidy up in here.”
    Jem nodded absently as she keyed in her mother’s phone number which she had jotted down while at her apartment this afternoon. Sometimes being organised wasn’t a good thing, she thought as the phone rang at the other end.
    Her mother answered and Jem explained the situation. Unlike her call with Jason she used the terms coma and ICU freely.
    “ Oh, that’s dreadful,” Coco responded almost absently. She paused and Jem heard a door shut on the other end of the line.
    “Actually, I’m glad you’ve phoned just now as I’m thinking of leaving Phillipe,” Coco confided with hushed excitement to Jem’s stunned silence. “I’ve met an exciting American called Derek. He’s in oil. But this time I don’t plan to rush things,” she said with a little laugh. “Margeaux and Jilly will be collecting me any moment as we’re going on Margeaux’s cousin’s yacht and will cruise the Mediterranean for the next week as Phillipe has business in Sweden and you know how I hate the cold. I’ve decided not to make a final decision until we return.”
    Jem pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it incredulously. Could mothers be switched at birth?
    Reluctantly she replaced the phone against her ear.
    “ Sounds like you have a bit of fun planned,” Jem commented bitingly. “Don’t you at least have anything to ask or say about Jess?”
    As expected, her tone of voice went right over Coco’s head. Heaven forbid her mother change her plans because one of her daughters was on life support.
    “No. You covered everything well so what more could I possibly add?”
    “Maybe say something to show you care,” Jem muttered under her breath.
    “ Of course I care. I already plan to send her flowers,” Coco said indignantly, annoyed that her daughter would consider that she felt otherwise. She didn’t know why she bothered telling her about Derek, Jem clearly didn’t care about what was going on in her life.
    Jem winced when she realised that her mother had heard what she had said. Why couldn’t there be a distorted echo or an annoying beep on the phone line when she wanted one?
    “You can’t have flowers in intensive care,” she told Coco flatly. As usual her mother was completely absorbed with herself and deep down Jem knew the only reason she kept in touch was familial obligation. Why had she dared to hope for a genuine show of concern after all these years?
    “Then I’ll send a card.”
    “She’s in a coma and won’t be able to read it.”
    “She’ll have visitors and they’ll know my thoughts are with her.”
    Only for as long as it takes to write the card and address it.
    “The only visitors she’s allowed are family so the only person other than me to read it will be Eben.”
    “Eben? You mean that bum that Jason had as best man at their wedding? Is he still around sponging off them? He’s not family.”
    “He doesn’t sponge Coco. He does a lot of things with them ; he’s the children’s honorary uncle and probably babysits more than I do,” Jem said in