Free Amelia by Bernadette Marie

baby,” she put her hands back on her stomach and rested back, “is a gift. There is a reason that Adam left me this and it would be wrong of me not to give him—or her—a good life.”
    Amelia bit down on her lip. “I don’t know anything about kids. Seriously—nothing. And as far as I’m concerned Adam was nothing but a conniving bastard. But still, I think there’s hope for his kids—your baby. I won’t leave you. I’ll give you my word that I’m here for you though all of this.”
    Penelope’s eyes shed more tears. “Really? You don’t owe met that.”
    “No. But I like you and I don’t have anywhere else to call home.”
    “What about Sam?”
    Amelia scrubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t know what do with that. I like him, but getting involved with him complicates things immensely.”
    “Vivian isn’t going to like it.”
    Amelia sat back in her chair and pressed her fingers to her eyes. She knew Vivian would have a fit over it and she was more entangled with Vivian at the moment than she was with Sam. Perhaps it was time to let Sam go before it became something more.
     
    ~*~
     
    Amelia pulled up in front of Vivian’s house. It wasn’t much, she thought. Adam could have done better for his wife and kids.
    The driveway was crumbling. The wooden slats on the porch were broken and the shed door was off its hinges. This was just what she could see from the curb.
    Penelope shifted her a glance. “Is this the right place?”
    “This is the address.”
    “This isn’t what I had in mind,” Penelope turned and looked at the house again.
    “Me either.” She took in a long breath. “C’mon. Let’s get this over with.”
    They climbed out of the car and Amelia reached back in for the bottle of wine she’d promised to bring.
    There were toys on the porch and a hole in the screen door. Anger actually burned in Amelia’s stomach as she reached for the broken doorbell button. How had he let them live like this while he was out picking up girls at bars. The thought made her sick.
    Vivian opened the door, a dish towel in her hands. “Just in time. I just finished the garlic bread.” She smiled at them and that too seemed odd.
    Amelia and Penelope stepped through the door and into a whole different world filled with the scent of garlic and oregano.
    The outside of the house surely didn’t give any clue to what was on the inside.
    The walls were brightly painted and the furniture was minimal, but set up so that the lines of the room looked bigger than they were and clean. There was a basket of toys in the corner of the front room, but no other signs that little girls might have played there.
    They followed Vivian back to the kitchen, which was small, but organized in a very efficient way. The only table was in a small nook and there were flowers in a vase in the center and the table had been set for the three of them.
    No doubt the kitchen had been updated a bit. Stainless steel appliances with a shine mixed in with dark cabinets and granite countertops.
    “Your home is lovely,” Penelope said as she looked around.
    “The inside is,” Vivian added as she stirred the sauce at the stove. “I now know he paid off his guilt in home renovations for me to keep quiet.”
    Amelia handed her the wine. “I hope you like red.”
    “It’ll be perfect with dinner,” Vivian said as she opened a drawer and pulled out a cork screw. “Penelope, can I offer you something? I have some juice, water, milk.”
    “Water would be nice.”
    Vivian pulled down three wine glasses from the cupboard and filled one with ice and water and the other two with wine.
    She handed each of them a glass. “Here’s to the son-of-a-bitch who has us all having dinner together.”
    They all tapped their glasses together, but Amelia wasn’t sure if the toast was made for good health or in bitter anger.
    “Where are your girls?” Amelia asked.
    “Adam’s parents took them for dinner.” She shifted her eyes between the