The House of Roses by Holden Robinson Read Free Book Online Page B

I'll buy,” Caitlin offered.
    “ Pardon?” Rita asked.
    “ It's just an expression. If you go, I'll pay,” Caitlin explained, reaching for her purse.
    “ Oh, all right. You don't let them leave with my grandchildren while I'm gone, you hear me?” Rita demanded.
    “ I'll block the door with this huge butt if I have to,” Caitlin said with a chuckle.
    “ Well for God's sake, girl, don't hurt anyone.”
    “ Thanks, Mom. Could you just go get the coffee already?” Caitlin nearly begged.
    “ All right,” Rita said, disappearing into the hall.
    Caitlin sat on the edge of the bed, grateful for a moment to be alone with her thoughts. She thought of calling Colin, just to ask him if he'd see her. She knew she had to tell him, and it wouldn't be wise to wait long. Thoughts of him brought the familiar pain, and she wondered if she'd ever get over him. She didn't think so, but she had to try. For a moment she thought of her father, of his brave battle with cancer, and his last hours, while death stood patiently waiting. She remembered the moments after he'd passed and how she'd held his hand for an hour until hospice arrived to take his body away. Once they had, she'd sat in the dark, wondering if she'd ever see the sun again. Her world had changed, emptied, as the one man she worshiped had died. Caitlin had been a “daddy's girl” in every sense of the words. He'd been so proud of everything she'd done, and she knew how delighted he would have been by his grandchildren. Cancer had robbed her of her father nearly ten years ago. She had adored him, and no matter how many years passed, she still missed him. It had never been the same, but eventually, it had been okay. She wondered if that's how it would be with Colin. Life would never be the same without him, but eventually, maybe it would be okay.
    Caitlin shuffled to the window and looked at the cloudless sky.
    “ Hey, Daddy,” she whispered, and ten years later, the tears still came. “I wish you were here. I wish you could see them, Daddy, and I wish they could know you, and you could help guide them. I screwed up. I love Colin so much, and I was so damned stubborn I let him go. I stood there like an idiot and watched him walk away. So much for being a wordsmith, huh, Dad?  All those words you taught me, all those big words we looked up in the dictionary, and dammit, I couldn't find one, Daddy, not even one to make him stay.”
    As tears slid down Caitlin's face, she looked toward the street. She saw Rita, with the old trench coat pulled around her, trying to protect herself from the autumn chill. Caitlin watched her mother disappear around the corner, and began to turn away from the window. If she'd turned just a moment sooner, she wouldn't have seen him.
    “ Colin,” she croaked, the name caught in her dry throat. She watched as he turned, and for a moment she wondered if he might look up, if he might see her. Caitlin stepped aside, behind the blinds, and like a Peeping Tom, she peered down at the man she loved. But he didn't look up. He seemed to be watching someone coming toward him, and moments later she saw a young woman, holding the hand of a little girl. Colin gently put his arm around the woman, and offered his hand to the little girl. It was a touching sight, and if Caitlin didn't feel as if she were dying, she might have smiled. He had met someone new, and he'd let her into his life. It was something he had never shared with Caitlin. He discussed his work with her, the mechanics of it, but he never told her what was in his heart. She wanted to know how it felt to do what he did. He wondered if he told this woman those secrets. Caitlin turned away, unable to watch a moment longer. She sat on the edge of the bed, dropped her head into her hands, and wept silently for the love she had lost.

 
     
    S even
     
     
    Ella Simons stood in the back room of Hollings House and examined her magnificent creation. The arrangement was, perhaps, the most stunning she