Winds of Heaven by Kate Sweeney Read Free Book Online

starving. “Mind if I look—”
    “No. Do whatever,” Casey said dismissively.
    Liz rolled her eyes and opened the refrigerator. “Good Lord,” she exclaimed. She picked up several containers of old Chinese food and winced, then picked up a little jar. “Caviar?” She shook her head. The food consisted of a pizza box, several bottles of beer, and a carton of orange juice that looked liked it had been there since the Reagan administration.
    Then she heard a grumble and the slam of the piano top. She jumped and looked out into the living room to see the retreating figure of the angry pianist flying out the front door.
    Liz bit her lip anxiously and walked out onto the deck. “I-I’m sorry if I disrupted you.”
    Casey was standing there leaning against the railing staring out at the lake. “It’s not you,” she said with a heavy sigh. “I’ve got a deadline, and I’m just not clicking, that’s all.”
    “What do you usually do to click?”  
    Casey turned to her, her green eyes narrowed into a wicked grin. “I have sex. That usually works.”
    “Sorry if I’m crimping your style.”
    Casey raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry. You’re not.”
    Liz felt her anger rising and Casey laughed, which did nothing to abate her anger. “Look,” Casey started, “I don’t have much in the way of food.”
    “Yes, I noticed.”
    “I can go into town and pick up a few things for the next couple days. You look all done in, and I’m sure Shortround is still pooped,” she offered with a shrug.
    Instinctively, Liz put a hand to her hair, suddenly feeling tired and bloated. She looked up at Casey, who fidgeted in the awkward silence. She was sure Ms. Bennett was not used to this at all—neither was she. “I could make a list. I’m afraid I need a few things for Skye.”
      “Sure, make your list.” Casey walked into the house.
    Liz jotted down a few items and turned to Casey, who picked up the keys. “Oh...Skye’s toilet trained, but at night she still needs the occasional Huggie .” She stopped and looked up into the green eyes. “You do know what Huggies are, don’t you?”
    “Yes, I know what Huggies are, for chrissakes ,” Casey countered and snatched the list out of her hand. She slipped on her sunglasses and headed out the back door.
    “For three-year-olds...” Liz called and waved.
    “Toilet trained! Huggies ,” Casey repeated angrily as she parked the Lexus at the small grocery store in Rhinelander.
    She took a cart, and as she walked down the aisle, she stopped and glanced around. “What the hell am I doing?” She took out her cell phone and dialed the number. “Gram?” she said in a gruff voice.
    “Hmm, you sound frazzled. How’s the domestic life so far?”
    “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”
    “Ah, ah, remember Suzette. What’s Liz Kennedy like?”
    “I dunno. She’s…” Casey stopped and thought of the long auburn hair, the blue eyes that shimmered when she was trying not to cry. “Pregnant.”
    She heard her grandmother laugh. “You be nice to that woman. She has a lot to deal with.”
    “Her?” Casey voice screeched as she perused the list. “What about me?”
    “What about you? Are you five months pregnant with a three-year-old and no money?”
    Casey took the phone away from her ear and looked to the heavens.
    “Where are you?”
    “I-I’m at the grocery store in town.” She winced when she heard the peal of laughter.
    “Don’t tell me,” her grandmother said. “She gave you a list.”
    “Gram,” Casey warned as she guided the wobbling cart down the quiet aisle.
    “So why are you calling me, dear?”
    “I…what the hell is a Huggie ?” Casey blurted out. Again the laughter.
    “It’s a diaper, you fool. Good heavens, you’re a woman.” Casey stopped and closed her eyes. Meredith Casey cleared her throat. “Go down the aisle with the toilet paper and all that.”
    Casey steered the cart and found them. “Okay. Got