Free Beyond the Quiet: Romantic Thriller by Brenda Hill

always had such faith in her father. “So, it’s going to be a while yet,” I told her.
    “Mom, you have to come soon. I wanted to surprise you, but I’m pregn ant, and I want you to be here—”
    “Honey! Congratulations!” I turned to tell Maggie the news. Then Shanna and I talked about seeing the doctor, about how Kyle was going to react, and just the normal things between mothers and daughters.
    “I’d love to be there, ” I said, "but I’m not going to have as much money as I’d thought.”
    “You don’t need money; you can stay with us. Oh, Mom, you weren’t here when Kyle was born and I understood because Daddy was so sick. But you could come now. Nothing’s keeping you there now.”
    It wasn’t until then that I knew what I had to do. I didn’t like it and Shanna most certainly wouldn’t, but there it was.
    “I can’t, sweetheart,” I said. “I’ll fly out for the birth, but I can’t stay.”
    “But Mom, I-I need you.”
    I wanted to cry , to scream out my frustration.
    “I just don’t understand.” Shanna’s voice took that edge that always preceded an argument. “What’s so damned important that you have to stay there?”
    “I have...obligations, bills to pay. A moral obligation as well as a legal one.”
    “You could pay them here. You were going to move anyway, so why not now? It’d work out for everyone.”
    “Just think for a moment.” I tried to stay calm. “If I moved right now, I’d have to go to school, then find a job. Even if I sold something the first day, it takes time for commissions to come through.”
    “But Mom, it’s the same there.”
    “I wouldn’t have to wait so long here. I already have a license, a place to work, and I know the routine. Shanna, please try to understand, I—”
    “All right! If a moral obligation is more important than your grandchildren and me, just stay there.” I heard a click, then the line went dead.
    I must have stood with the phone in my hands, because Maggie put the receiver down for me. I felt stunned, unable to move. My daughter’s harsh words were the last straw.
    I couldn’t catch my breath. I stood gasping until something within me fought back and I gulped air. My vision was blurred. I began to shake and I heard a terrible keening sound. I didn’t realize it came from me.

Chapter Eight
     
    Maggie grabbed me. “Cry, Lisa, let it out. Dammit, cry!”
    Through the haze, I could almost see her, but she was too far away to reach. I felt detached, as if I were in front of the TV, watching what was happening instead of being an active part of it.
    “Oh, honey, honey, it’s all right.” Maggie got right in my face. “Cry it out, baby, let it go.”
    Now I saw her, heard her words, felt her arms around me. Cry? I wished I could. Maybe it would help.
    “I...can’t.”
    Still holding me, she walked me to the living room sofa, and we sat down together. She guided my head to her shoulder and slightly rocking, crooned to me as if I were her child. I held on to her, grasping a lifeline, hurt to the very depths of my soul.
    My eyes burned, but I couldn’t cry.
    After what seemed like an eternity, I began to breathe easier. The fog cleared and I raised my head. Maggie’s face held the most gentle, compassionate expression I’d ever seen. No wonder everyone loved her.
    “Feel better?” she asked, handing me a tissue.
    Even though I hadn’t wept, I took it. “Better,” I said.
    “Honey, I’m no psychiatrist, but I think you need to see someone. You need to learn to let go.”
    Suddenly irritated, I sat up. “That’s what Mac used to say.”
    “Perhaps he was right.”
    “Why does everyone always assume everything’s always my fault?”
    “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just meant we all have problems, and when we can talk them out, we feel better. I know I do.”
    I hiccupped. God, what was wrong with me? Maggie had never been anything but kind and loving to me. Why did I feel that