Free The Debra Dilemma (The Lone Stars Book 4) by Katie Graykowski Page A

ready for a tea party.
    “Pretty pretty.” Julia pointed to a gold beaded dress and shuffled closer to it in her way-too-big high heels.
    “It matches your shoes. Good eye.” Debra had kept a few cocktail dresses from her time as a…bitch…whore…floozy? Floozy sounded the best. Yep, she’d kept a couple of floozy dresses. She removed the dress from the hanger and handed it to Julia.
    “Pretty.” Julia tried to wriggle out of her fairy princess dress, but her head got stuck in an armhole. “Help.”
    Gently, Debra pulled the little girl free and slipped the gold dress over her head. A good foot of gold beads and sequins pooled at Julia’s feet, but she wore a smile as big as Texas.
    “Let me cinch up the back.” Debra stepped behind her and pulled at the gold ribbon laced up the back. She pulled the dress as tight as she could, but it was still a hundred sizes too big. “You look beautiful.”
    Julia admired herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door.
    “Makeup?” Julia sounded so hopeful.
    “Of course. What would a tea party be without makeup?” Debra picked up the hem of her floor length, red satin gown and went to the vanity. She patted the stool she used to spend so much time in during her floozy days caking on the makeup. “Have a seat.”
    Julia, picked up the hem of her dress and marched to the vanity with her head held high like the queen of England graciously looking down on her royal subjects. That reminded Debra. Around here somewhere, she still had a rhinestone tiara.
    The little girl climbed onto the stool.
    “I’ll be right back. I have something for you.” Debra walked back into her closet and fished around in the plastic shoe bins that lined one entire wall. When she finally found the right bin, she grabbed it and went back to the vanity. “A princess needs a crown.”
    She popped the lid off of the bin, pulled out an elaborate rhinestone tiara she’d bought years ago for a costume party, and placed it gently on Julia’s head.
    The little girl’s eyes turned the size of drink coasters. “Pretty. Love, love, love it.”
    She admired herself in the mirror, turning her head this way and that.
    Julia was a riot and she had high maintenance down to a science, but since she was adorable, Debra didn’t care one bit.
    “Kiss.” Julia held her arms out.
    Debra leaned down and kissed her on the top of her soft, curly blonde hair.
    “Not you. Him.” She pointed to empty air over Debra’s left shoulder.
    Debra turned around picking up a hairbrush to defend against an intruder, but no one was there.
    “Who?” She looked all around. Maybe the little girl had seen a reflection or something?
    “Little boy…AJ. He’s here.” Julia turned around to show Debra. “He loves you.”
    AJ? Tears stung her eyes. How did she know her little boy’s name? She followed Julia’s outstretched hand, but didn’t see anything. No, it wasn’t possible—Julia must have heard Summer talking about AJ.
    But she wanted to see him…make sure he was okay and tell him that she was sorry.
    The little girl watched Debra. “No crying. He says no crying. He smiles a lot.”
    Debra just about lost it, but she bit her top lip and did her best not turn into a sobbing, incoherent mess.
    “Hold hands.” Julia took Debra’s left hand and then extended her hand into the empty air on her other side, commanding to the empty spot, “Hold hands.”
    Whoever or whatever she saw must have complied because she was satisfied.
    No doubt, it was all in Julia’s head, but in a crazy way, it was comforting. Maybe her little boy was here with her. In some way, that comforted her. She liked knowing that he wanted to spend time with her.
    “He’s sorry.” Julia leaned to the side where AJ was supposedly standing. “He loves you.” She listened intently and nodded her head. “He holds hands when you sleep.”
    She held up their linked hands.
    Debra’s mouth dropped open. She had a recurring dream