Free Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

to quit. She needed, really needed, to prove to herself that she could be tough, that beneath all the trembling and fear she still had courage and she still had willpower. She blew a blond tendril of hair out of her face and kept on going.

    After surviving thirty minutes on the elliptical, Meg treated herself to ten minutes of stretching, pounded back a bottle of water, grabbed a second bottle from the mini-fridge in the gym, and went in search of Amber.
    She found her standing at the edge of the big house’s manicured back lawn, watching Jayden run and explore.
    Amber turned, her expression warming when she saw Meg. “Hi.” She had on her flip-flops, a snug pair of jeans, and a turquoise scoop-neck T. Her shiny hair hung down her back.
    â€œHow did y’all sleep?” Meg asked.
    â€œWe had the best night’s sleep we’ve had in forever.”
    â€œI’m glad.”
    â€œThat bed . . . oh my gosh. Is it a pillow-top?”
    â€œI don’t know.”
    â€œIt’s so awesome that it must be a pillow-top.”
    Meg accepted the pronouncement with a nod and watched Jayden bend over to sniff a blazing white azalea bush.
    â€œWe woke up this morning,” Amber said, “and one of the ladies who works here had breakfast waiting for us, and coffee,and offered to do our laundry. I didn’t know what to say, so I let her feed us and gave her our dirty clothes. I hope that was okay.”
    â€œMore than okay.”
    â€œWell, thank you. And sorry again about arriving like that last night. Jayden and I aren’t half so mental today.”
    Meg smiled. “I’m mental now and then, too, so I completely understand.”
    â€œIf it’s all right with you, I thought I’d let Jayden have his nap here. Then we’ll pack up and head out this afternoon.”
    â€œI’d like to talk to you about that, actually.”
    â€œOh?” Amber slanted her a look of surprise.
    â€œHow about we sit down?”
    â€œSure.”
    Meg led her to one of the tables positioned along the back patio. They each took a chair shaded by a wood and canvas umbrella. A vase brimming with flowers cut from Whispering Creek’s garden decorated the tabletop.
    Both women kept an eye on Jayden as he moved to the steps leading from lawn to patio and practiced climbing.
    Meg caught herself fidgeting with her water bottle and brought both hands to her lap. “I’d really like to know what happened with Stephen. That is, if you don’t mind telling me.”
    â€œI don’t mind—careful, Jayden!” Amber pushed to the front of her seat, but it appeared that Jayden could navigate the four wide steps safely, so she scooted back a few inches. “I met Stephen at one of the restaurants where I was waitressing. I fell for him right away. I mean hard, you know? He moved in with me after a couple of months and, like, two months after that I found out I was pregnant. Total surprise. It sure wasn’t like I’d planned it. I told him the news, and the next morning he left for work and never came back.”
    â€œYou never saw him or heard from him again?”
    â€œNo, nothing. He just . . . disappeared.” Amber’s gaze remained mostly trained on her son as she spoke, her fingers nervously picking at the peeling blue nail polish on her thumb. “At first I thought something had happened, that he’d been in an accident. I kept checking with the police and the hospitals. Then I thought maybe he’d needed to leave for a while, but that he’d have a good reason and he’d come back. He didn’t come back. He left me on purpose.”
    â€œHe did the exact same thing to me,” Meg said. “Vanished.”
    â€œAnd you couldn’t find him either?”
    â€œI didn’t try. I didn’t want to find him.”
    Amber searched Meg’s face until a squeal from Jayden drew their attention. He’d