Free Azure (The Silver Series Book 5) by Cheree Alsop Page B

two octaves higher than normal. I set the phone on the opposite
side of the couch from me, but distance did nothing to improve the
high pitch. “I should kill her myself and save you the trouble,”
she threatened. “What on earth are you thinking?”
    “ That I'm tired of people
running to my mother and tattling,” I said dryly.
    “ That you're keeping her
around because she's pretty?” Mom shot back. “Ben told me, so don't
you dare deny it.” Her tone begged me to try.
    “ She's beautiful,” I
agreed, even though in my mind the word didn't come close to
describing her eyes, or the way her face softened when she helped
the others, or the soft blush that stole across her cheeks whenever
I caught her watching me, which unsettled me as often as
her.
    “ So you admit that you're
keeping her for her looks,” Mom said with a triumphant
note.
    “ I admit that she's
beautiful,” I replied. “But her beauty has nothing to do with why
she's here.”
    “ Then why is she there?”
Mom demanded. Her tone indicated I had pushed her to the last edge
of her patience, a line I was finding easier to reach
lately.
    “ I'll let you know when I
figure it out,” I replied, exasperated. I ran a finger over the
calluses on my right hand and leaned my head against the back of
the couch. “In the meantime, thanks for your concern about my
health. Your motherly interest is touching.”
    “ It would be more
worthwhile if I had a son who acted according to his lineage,” she
snapped back.
    We both fell silent and I could almost feel
her regret through the phone. I couldn't decide if it was remorse
over her words or for a son who brought her so much disappointment.
When several minutes passed without her saying anything, I finally
hung up.
     

Chapter 8
     
    I was still resting on the couch when Nora’s
familiar footsteps sounded down the hall. She paused outside the
door and I could hear her shifting her weight from foot to foot. A
light sound touched the door, then she took a deep breath and
turned the handle. I sat up and winced at the sharp pain that came
from the movement, but I schooled my face not to show it when she
stepped inside.
    “ You’re awake,” she said.
The emotions in her eyes conflicted as though she wasn’t sure if
that was a good thing or bad.
    I shrugged, then regretted it and leaned
back. “Just recovering.”
    “ From the stick?” she
asked. She quickly crossed the floor to me as though worried I was
going to pass out at any moment.
    The thought made me chuckle shallowly. “From
talking to my mother.”
    She grinned. “And I thought I was the only
one with an exhausting parent.” She sat down on the floor so that
her back leaned against the couch by my legs. I resisted the urge
to touch the shiny strands of long back hair that rested on top of
the brown leather.
    “ Let me see,” I said to
distract myself. “I suffer from a case of mild parental neglect
with sudden bursts of extreme controlling and long-distance
concern. You?”
    She shook her head and I could see the
corner of her smile when she replied, “Nope. My dad’s the opposite.
He’s overbearing, extremely protective, and determined that I’m
going to get myself caught in a situation I can’t get out of
without him.”
    We both sobered at the thought that he might
be right. I took a testing breath and let it out slowly. “My dad
pretends that he doesn’t have a son.” My heart clenched at the
words I hadn’t admitted to anyone. I don’t know why I told them to
her, but the truth sounded so much harsher when spoken out loud.
“When I moved here, he found it more convenient to forget about me
than to keep up the exhausting job of staying in touch.”
    I waited for Nora to laugh or brush it off,
but she didn’t do either. Her fingers strayed to the hem of my
pants near my bare feet and she toyed with the fraying cloth. The
light brush of her hand against my skin made me close my eyes.
Besides Traer patching me up occasionally,