Walker Revenge (The Walker Family Series Book 5) by Bernadette Marie Read Free Book Online

capacity only, but I don’t believe
that.”
    Lucas lifted his head and looked at Glenda.
Chelsea waited for him to fuss, but he didn’t. He looked around and
when he saw her there, he reached for her, and she pulled him to
her. Was that a sign? Any other stranger, he would have screamed,
but not with Glenda.
    There had to be an apology to her, one that
encompassed her regret to the entire Walker family, before she
accepted the offer—because she wasn’t stupid enough not to consider
it.
    “Before I make my decision, I need to say
something,” she said as she turned Lucas to sit on her knee. “I
can’t even explain what possessed me to do what I did.” She gave
Lucas a squeeze. “It was disrespectful to your entire family.”
    “You can’t look into his eyes and think
that.”
    Chelsea pressed her cheek to his head. “He
is my entire world. But I hurt Russell. I hurt all of you.”
    “We all rebound. Russell included. Please
come live with us, work for us, and get Russ back on his feet.”
    It was the generosity and sincerity of
Glenda Walker that had Chelsea seriously considering the offer.
    “I would be honored to do this for you
all.”
    The smile on Glenda’s lips widened. “That
makes me very happy. I’m very excited to have you both here,” she
said taking Lucas’s hand and he giggled.
    “But I want to talk to Russ first,” Chelsea
said. “I want to be the one to tell him that I’ll be here.”
    Glenda’s smile faded, only slightly. “If you
think that would be best.”
    “I do.”
    She nodded, but Chelsea wasn’t sure she
agreed. It wasn’t something she could worry about. It was the right
thing to do, and God knew she’d done enough wrong by Russell. It
was time she did something right.

Chapter Six
     
    For the first time, in a very long while,
Chelsea felt at ease as she drove toward town. Sure, Martha took
great care of Lucas, but that morning when she’d left him in the
arms of Glenda, he’d smiled and waved goodbye. He knew he was in
good hands, too.
    It felt odd to be going to the hospital when
she didn’t have a shift. That could be the fact that her heart was
ramming in her chest, her palms were damp, and her stomach clenched
at the very thought at what Russell might have to say about his
mother’s plan.
    Chelsea parked in the visitor lot and walked
into the hospital.
    Deciding that she needed a few more moments
to calm herself before going up to talk to Russell, she stopped in
the coffee shop and ordered a coffee. As she waited, she noticed
the chocolate chunk cookie in the case. Knowing Russell’s dietary
restrictions had been lifted, she thought it might ease her
entrance if she walked in with his favorite cookie.
    Moments later she walked down the hall to
his room. Standing just outside his door, she took a minute to
collect herself before pushing open the door.
    The room was dark, and Russell lay
peacefully asleep. She could turn around, and he’d never know she
was there, but that wasn’t the purpose. This time, she was there
for him. She’d wait for him to wake.
    Chelsea set her purse in the chair by his
bedside and the bag from the coffee shop on his table. She shrugged
out of her coat and draped it over the back of the chair.
    Taking her coffee, she walked toward the
window and gazed out over the city she loved. She could have gone
to Florida with her family, but she knew she would never have been
happy. It was hard staying in Georgia, and making it all work with
a baby and school. But she was doing it, and they were doing okay.
Well, that was until the news that Dominic was let out on
parole.
    She blew through the lid of her coffee
absentmindedly to cool her drink.
    It would all be okay, and she’d have those
around her to thank for that. Between Phillip Smythe and the Walker
family, she and Lucas would be just fine. But she couldn’t help but
worry a little. Dominic had kidnapped Lucas once before. He’d been
driven to do it by his mother, when Chelsea had