Free Bluestone Song by MJ Fredrick Page B

maybe.”
    “No one could blame you, you know. You
sacrificed a lot for those kids, and you were almost done, and then
Linda goes and has a baby.”
    Like he was telling her something she didn’t
know. “My choice to let her keep the baby. If she’d given him up
for adoption, we’d have one more year.”
    “Do your brothers know she had the baby?”
    “Sure.”
    “And they didn’t come home to meet their
nephew?”
    “At the time, the adoption plans were all
set. They didn’t see a need. Once everything changed, they couldn’t
make it. Why would they want to come back here, anyway? Too many
bad memories.”
    He looked out over the lake as they reached
the path that ran alongside it. “Their sisters are here.”
    She slowed her pace, the lapping of the water
never failing to soothe her. As much as she wanted to leave behind
the struggles she faced here, she did love the beauty of the place.
If only she had more time to enjoy it. “Family doesn’t mean the
same to us as it does to the Bradleys, remember? You were here for
some of it.”
    “I was.”
    He didn’t say any more, and she wondered if
he was remembering her father throwing beer bottles at her as she
fled the house with her baby sister in her arms. Maddox had been
waiting outside and drove them both down to the lake, where Linda
played while Beth cried. Or the time when he’d come in and wrested
the belt from her father’s hand because he was beating the holy
hell out of Adam. Her father had collapsed on the floor in a
sobbing heap, Beth had cradled her younger brother and begged
Maddox not to act on the violence she saw etched on his face.
    He of all people would understand why she
couldn’t allow her father back in their lives, but if she told him,
well, he would want to rescue her. She hadn’t needed anyone to
rescue her in a long time.
    “So are you going to call your brothers
back?”
    “In the morning, maybe.”
    “Will you tell them what’s really going
on?”
    “It’s private. I plan to keep it that way. I
can handle it.”
    “Someday something’s going to come along that
you can’t handle all by yourself, Beth. You keep pushing people
away, who will you turn to then?” He drew his cap over his eyes,
nodded a good night, and turned to walk away.

Chapter Four
     
     
    By the time she clocked out her first night
at Lakeside Casino, her feet were screaming, but she had to wear
the high-heeled strappy sandals as long as she was on the floor and
in uniform. Quinn had let her wear athletic shoes, and she had the
freedom to sit down every now and again. At the casino, even it if
was slow, she wasn’t allowed to sit. She’d leaned a few times, and
gotten dirty looks from the bartender and other waitresses.
    Stepping gingerly to avoid the worst of the
pain, she went to her locker, grabbed her purse, stuffed her tips
for the night deep inside, slung the bag over her shoulder and
hobbled out to her car. Tomorrow she would remember to bring
clothes to change into in the future. God, she just wanted to be
around things she knew and loved.
    She fumbled with her keys and almost dropped
them when she heard a group of men laughing, closer than she
expected. She wasn’t paranoid, but she wasn’t stupid, either. Women
who were unaware of their surroundings, especially in a place where
men had been drinking, were asking for trouble. With a quick scan,
she saw the three men, about four cars down, and they had noticed
her. She got into her car, locked up behind her, hating that her
heart was racing. She slipped off her shoes though she knew better
than to drive barefoot, and when she straightened, she looked into
the eyes of one of her customers through the driver’s side window.
He gave her a leer, a wink, and pointed his finger at her, then
shouted to his friends. She twisted the key in the ignition and
gunned out of the slot, then out of the lot and onto the road.
    She was aware enough to check her rearview
mirror to see if she was