Everybody's Daughter Read Online Free

good woman in Vicki. I had a good woman in Leah . . .”
    She slammed the footrest down. “Hold on. Who is Leah?”
    He recoiled. He had never told his sister about his trip to Jerusalem, knowing she’d be on the phone to the nut house in a New York minute to turn him in. He struggled to come up with an answer. “She lives far away.”
    “Far away? Where? California? Europe?” She laughed, sounding like her younger self when she taunted him. “Is Leah your drinking buddy?”
    “She’s out of my life. Subject closed.”
    “Yeah, right. Does she even exist? Or is this one of your fantasies?” She shook her head, twisting her mouth in a mean sneer. “Geez. Even Dad doesn’t make up this kind of junk.”
    He held the bottle up. “Why don’t you stick this up…” He caught himself and stopped. She’s getting to me again. Michael stood and walked back into the kitchen.
    “Why are you running away?” she called out. “I’m just curious about this Leah woman.”
    “You’d never understand,” he shot back.
    “Come back in here. I promise I’ll listen. I’ll understand. Tell me about Leah.”
    Michael placed his glass down on the counter. She’s like Lucy to my Charlie Brown, always pulling the football away right before I can kick it.
    He took a long sip of his wine, hoping it would erase the last ten minutes of their conversation and headed back to the living room. He sat and looked into his glass.
    Connie threw back more wine as she settled herself comfortably in the recliner, crossing her legs. “C’mon. I promise I won’t tease you. Who’s Leah?”
    Michael hesitated, downed more wine for courage, and chose his words carefully. “You’re not going to be a jerk about it?”
    “I swear.” She put her hand over her heart.
    He blew out a loud breath. “Leah is someone I met a few months back. Elizabeth and I took a short trip, we got into some trouble and she helped us out.”
    “Hold on.” Connie leaned forward. “Trouble? Are you broke again?”
    “I’m not broke.” He scowled. “It had nothing to do with money. She kept us safe.”
    “Safe from what?” She looked concerned. “And since when did you start traveling?”
    Michael sighed. “It’s hard to explain. We were in a different town.”
    “Where? Here on Long Island?”
    “Not even close,” he replied.
    “Were you drinking before I came over? You’re not making any sense. I think the wine’s making you delusional.”
    “It has nothing to do with the wine. I’m telling you the truth. We were in a different town and Leah helped us.”
    “Well, then, where is she?”
    “I don’t know. I can’t get in touch with her even if I wanted to.”
    He rubbed his forehead. And I desperately want to know if she’s okay.
    “Didn’t you get her phone number?” she asked and Michael laughed. “What’s so funny?”
    He shook his head. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    “Well, where does she live?”
    Michael waited for the football to be pulled away. He emptied the remaining wine in his glass. “Jerusalem.”
    Connie’s eyebrows shot up. “Get out of here. When did you find the time and money to fly over there?”
    “We didn’t fly.” He let out a loud sigh.
    “You’re drunk.”
    “Maybe I am, but I was there and I know what I saw and who I met.” He dug into his pocket and fingered the coins. Should I?
    She laughed and sipped her wine, choking a few times. Michael stared. Connie continued. “Great fantasy you’ve got going there. This is better than the movies. So, did you take a boat to Jerusalem or did you drive?”
    Okay, this is where I stop . “Actually, we rode our bikes.”
    “Now you’re being a jerk.”
    “It’s called payback.”
    They sat in silence for a few minutes. After finishing her wine, Connie asked, “Were you serious about this woman?”
    “It doesn’t matter. She’s gone.” He leaned back on the couch, rubbing the space between his brows. “I didn’t expect you to believe