Deadbeat Dads (14 page)

“Hello.”

“Erica, hi, I just came in. Sorry I missed your call. What’s going on?

I filled her in as best I could and asked about her problem. “Have you decided what to do about Matt?”

“You’re not going to believe this. I talked to him this morning and he’s fine with it. Said he didn’t want to lose me as
his assistant and is still willing to pay for me to become a hygienist.” Becky laughed. “He said he needed a good one and he knew I’d fit the bill.”

“That’s great, Beck,
are you going to have a problem working with him? I mean, what if he said all that just so he could try to convince you to change your mind?”

“Actually, I thought of that, so…guess what? I have a new job. I start next week. I gave Matt a week’s notice, said I was sorry, but it would be better to part ways. And…are you ready for this? I got a call from
Daniel, uh Chief Lawrence. You remember him, the fire chief who helped Sammy down from the tree. He asked me out.”

“And you’re going of course.”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I? You never know, he might be the one.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Becky would never change. But at least she was moving on and handled Matt well. And a new job to boot. The woman never ceased to amaze me. Two months ago, she was a mousy little thing afraid of her own shadow. She’d come a long way. “Good for you. And you’re right. He just might be the one.” I hoped he was. Beck deserved to be happy.

“Hey, don’t want to cut you short, but I have to go. I’m meeting Daniel in half hour. Keep me posted, okay?”

“Will do.” I hung up and set the phone on the counter. It was going to be a long afternoon. I decided to clean out the refrigerator to pass the time. Besides, it really needed it.

After I cleaned the refrigerator, I scrubbed the floor. Could the day pass any slower? The kids came home, had their snack and went to their rooms. I started dinner and flipped through the cookbook to help pass the time. Not that I knew what I was looking at. All the recipes looked the same to me.

Finally the phone rang.

I grabbed it, took a breath, and pushed the button. “Hello.”

“Mrs. Morris, this is Claudia Hartwell, from the District Attorney’s office. I have some news for you.”

I held my breath.

“I just finished talking to Randy Strickland
, and he told me what he saw that day. While you should have called the police, you didn’t break any laws, and I’ve dropped the charges against you.”

I slid down the side of the counter. Tears poured from my eyes. “Thank you.” Such inferior words to mean so much. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. Goodbye.”

I sat on the floor crying. I couldn’t help it. The tears just flowed. Tears that I hadn’t shed when Johnny died, tears that I hadn’t shed through this whole crazy nightmare. Katie came in and found me.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

I looked at my daughter and reached my arms out to her. How close I’d come to losing my kids. How stupid I was to go to that office, to not call the police and take my chances. All of this could have been avoided. What if Carr hadn’t been friends with the D.A.
? What if Randy hadn’t seen everything that happened? Carr said the homeless guy only saw me leaning over Johnny’s body. If Randy hadn’t been there, it would have been my word against his. And Carr said they had all Johnny’s phone records from home and work. All those calls Babette wouldn’t let me talk to him.

It probably looked like I was stalking him. This whole thing could have turned out differently but for Randy and Carr.

Carr….

Where was that relationship going? I liked him – a lot. But
was I ready for a relationship? I wanted our friendship. I enjoyed talking to him, being with him, and his touch…..

His touch did things to me even Johnny didn’t do. If we continued on this path, no telling where it would lead. Did I want to go there?

The phone rang again.

“Hello.”

“Erica, did Claudia call you?”

“Yes, she did. Carr, I don’t know how to thank you. You and Randy.”

“How about dinner Friday night?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Friday dinner it is.”

No telling where this path would lead, but I definitely wanted to find out.

The End

About The Author

Multi-published author, Roseanne Dowell, writing instructor and former school

secretary, is an avid reader and writes various types of romance—paranormal, contemporary and mystery. Living in Northeast Ohio with her husband of forty-nine years, she has six grown children, fourteen grandchildren and one great grandchild. She spends her time between writing, quilting and embroidering. She's been published since 2006. She also enjoys blogging, tweeting, facebooking and posting on various writers groups. To learn more about Roseanne:

Check her website: www.roseannedowell.com

Or her blog http://roseannedowell.blogspot.com

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