Vivian by Bernadette Marie Read Free Book Online Page A

plans to see each other today, but she couldn’t help but hope that something would come up and he’d come by. After all, she had to pack up the few things they still possessed after the tornado. He always seemed to show up when she needed him.
    A surge passed through her and she let out a near moan—she certainly needed him.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    Charlotte had woken up early and now was taking a nap. Stephanie had asked to watch “ Frozen ” again, and to keep her quiet Clayton had let her.
    But as he cleaned his kitchen and swapped out laundry, he really wanted to be with Vivian.
    A half hour later, Charlotte woke up crying and Stephanie was now asleep on the couch. At what point would he even get them out of the house for some sun?
    As he carried the laundry basket to the bedroom, he noticed the papers on his desk. With a grunt, he gave up all hope of kissing the woman who had made him feel whole again—even if only for a few moments. He had lesson plans to finish and papers to grade. It didn’t look like he was going to be able to just drop by and see her as he’d planned.
    Setting the basket on his bed, he took out the first dress and set it into Charlotte’s pile and repeated the process. When his phone rang, he nearly jumped over the bed to grab it off the nightstand. Everything in him surged to life and he hoped Vivian was on the other end of the line.
    He slid his finger over the screen, “Hello.” His voice had even sounded chipper. When was the last time that had happened?
    “ Clayton,” the woman’s voice on the other end said softly.
    That surge of life, which had bubbled inside of him when the phone range, sizzled away.
    “ Dorothy.” His voice dropped and his heart squeezed until it hurt. “How are you?”
    Linda’s mother let out a dreadful sigh, which had Clayton sitting down on the bed.
    “ Good days. Bad days.”
    He understood that well enough. Up until she’d called, it had been one of his good days.
    Dorothy let out another noise—a groan. “How are my granddaughters? I miss them so much.”
    The pain in his chest intensified. “They’re doing well. They start in a new daycare center tomorrow.”
    “ That’s wonderful. Are they making friends?”
    That made him smile. “As a matter of fact, they are. The woman with the daycare center has girls the same ages as mine. They have quickly become best friends.”
    “ That makes me happy.” Her voice had risen and he knew she needed to know that. “How about you? Are you doing okay?”
    She’d always been considerate of him. He appreciated that. “I am. The new job is going well.”
    “ And friends. Have you made any new friends?”
    When she mentioned it, the flutters of life moved inside of him again. “I have made some good friends. A few couples and a woman who lost her husband in June.”
    “ Oh, Clayton. There is too much of this going on.”
    “ Hers died in combat.”
    “ God bless him.” She was silent for a few moments. “Will you bring the girls home for Christmas? I know we would all love to see them. We miss you all so much.”
    Clayton hadn’t much thought about it. He should go back for Christmas. He’d moved from Seattle to mend himself, but he knew it had only made things worse for everyone else.
    “ I’ll consider it.”
    “ I hope you will. Will you have the girls call me on Tuesday night? We got that Skype stuff figured out on my computer. I can’t wait to see the girls again.”
    It brought a smile to his face when he remembered Skyping with her the first time “I’ll make sure we do. The girls will love to see you.”
    She said her goodbyes and Clayton disconnected the call. He felt the lead ball of guilt dropping in his stomach. He sat down on the bed and fell back. Laundry—or anything else—didn’t seem so important now.
    Moving away from Seattle was supposed to make him move on. But he missed Linda every day—or he had until this morning when he woke and she wasn’t the very first