Free Love Enough For Two (Love Inspired) by Cynthia Rutledge Page A

frowned in confusion. “Why did you tell her that?”
    Libby wrinkled her nose. “It was a spur of the moment thing. Besides, you’re me this summer and the two of you have started dating.”
    “Lib-by, Lib-by, Lib-by.” Sierra shook her head. “You shouldn’t tease your mother like that.”
    “I couldn’t resist,” Libby said with a smile, seeming not the least bit sorry. “She just seemed so interested in everything that I decided to give her what she wanted and—” Libby’s smile widened “—maybe a little bit more.”
    Sierra could see she wasn’t getting anywhere with her friend. From the time she’d been little, Libby had loved to “get her mother going” and this time would be no different. Sierra heaved a resigned sigh. “Okay, but will you at least promise me one thing?”
    Libby’s gaze was questioning.
    “Don’t embellish it too much, okay?” Sierra asked.
    With all the innocence of a seasoned veteran, Libby widened her eyes. “What are you so worried about?”
    “That if you keep up this charade, by the time the summer is over, your mother will have you married to the guy,” Sierra said.
    Laughter crinkled the skin around Libby’s blue eyes. “That would never work.”
    The agreement came too quickly. Sierra narrowed her gaze. “It wouldn’t?”
    “Of course not,” Libby said, a wicked twinkle in her gaze. “If anyone marries the guy, it’ll have to be you.”
     
     
    After dropping off Libby, Sierra headed for her apartment on the town’s northern edge. Although her daughter loved to spend the night with her grandmother, Maddie had an early-morning play date with a friend and that meant tonight she’d be sleeping in her own bed.
    Her mother and Maddie were so intent on Candy Land they didn’t react when Sierra stepped into the living room. Just as Sierra was about to clear her throat, Maddie looked up. Pure joy crossed the little girl’s face and she immediately jumped to her feet. “Mommy.”
    Maddie raced liked an out-of-control train across the living room. Her tiny body hit Sierra with a thud and she wrapped her arms tightly around her mother’s legs. “I’ve missed you so much.”
    Sierra knew that Maddie had probably been having so much fun with her grandmother that she hadn’t had time to give her a second thought. Still, the sweet words made Sierra’s heart swell with love. Though she deeply regretted her marriage to Jerry, something good and beautiful had come out of the union.
    Her hand stroked her daughter’s tousled blond curls and when she spoke her voice was thick with emotion. “I’ve missed you too, pumpkin. Did you and Gram have fun?”
    Maddie took a step back and her blue eyes danced. She nodded her head vigorously. “We had ice cream and cake and—”
    The little girl paused and her eyebrows pulled together. She cast her grandmother a beseeching glance.
    Peggy Summers smiled, love and pride reflected in her eyes. “Fruit punch?”
    “’N punch.” Maddie’s smile widened. “It gave me a stash. But Gram said that was okay.”
    “A rash?” Sierra’s heart rose to her throat. Her gaze darted to her mother. With all of Maddie’s allergies, didn’t her mother realize that an unexpected rash could indicate a serious reaction. “Why didn’t you call me?”
    Sierra didn’t wait for a response. Her hands moved to Maddie’s shirt. She couldn’t see any red spots on her arms and legs, so it had to be on her chest or back. Though her mother had apparently dismissed it as trivial, Sierra needed to see for herself.
    Maddie laughed and brushed aside Sierra’s hands as if it were a game, her giggle at odds with the tight coil of tension gripping Sierra’s gut.
    “Honey, there’s nothing to worry about,” Peggy said in a reassuring tone. “Maddie had a mustache, not a rash.”
    Mustache?
    For the first time Sierra noticed a faint red color on her daughter’s upper lip. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
    If anything ever