On the Line Read Online Free Page A

she saw the house and my appearance, she gave me a hug, took Zach from
me, and told me to go take a shower.”
    “I always liked her.”
    Janelle nodded her agreement. Having grown up with Nathan and his two younger brothers,
Janelle, Kelsey, and their brother Sean had spent their fair share of time as children
with Nancy Harris. She didn’t have daughters and she’d always doted on the Morgan
girls. If she knew the girls were coming, she’d bake cookies for them, and if they
surprised her with a visit, they’d bake with her. Janelle could still remember occasionally
wishing Nancy were her mother and would sometimes escape to Nancy’s house for cookies
and tea without Mary’s knowledge.
    “Do you know what I did first?” Janelle asked with a laugh. “I cried,” she answered
soberly. “I cried, and she wrapped me up in a big hug, let me get it out, then shooed
me away for my shower and told me to take as long as I wanted. When I got out, she
had Zach asleep on a blanket on the floor in the living room as she picked up around
him. While she did that, I cleaned up the kitchen, and when we were done we sat on
the couch, had coffee and cookies, and just talked. She reassured me that every first
baby is a difficult adjustment, but I’d get the hang of it.”
    “That’s awesome,” Kelsey said. “So, how did that lead to an affair with Nathan? I’m
sure she didn’t just bring him over one day and say ‘Hey, let my son help fill your
needs while I babysit.’”
    “You’re horrible!” Janelle said as she suppressed a slight smile and Kelsey simply
shrugged. “If I had a pillow, I’d throw it at you.”
    Kelsey pulled a pillow from under her head and held it out to her sister. “Just be
careful, the nurse is really scary.”
    Janelle took the pillow and swatted her with it as Kelsey re-settled herself, wincing
slightly.
    “It was nothing like that. It’s hard to explain, really. It’s just that she began
to come over every two days or so, she’d help me straighten up and then we’d just
chat. She’d catch me up on local gossip and I’d keep her updated on you. Nathan and
Mason even started calling me if they were looking for her or stopping by on their
lunch break to see her if they knew she was there. Even when Dad would come over,
he’d chat with her like it was normal for her to be there.” Janelle placed the pillow
behind her head as she laid it on the back of the chair. “One day, probably three
months later or so, I was in the middle of trying to fix the garbage disposal when
she showed up. It was something I’d been after Richard to do, so of course it hadn’t
gotten done. She called Nathan.”
    “Little matchmaker,” Kelsey said, smiling.
    “Maybe,” Janelle replied with a shrug. “Well, he fixed it for me and asked if there
was anything else that needed attention.”
    “Other than you?”
    “Would you stop it?” Janelle said with an exasperated sigh. “It wasn’t like that.”
    “I’m still waiting for you to tell me how it was, Janelle. So far, I’m not getting
any heat at all from this story. It’s all about Nathan’s mother, not Nathan.” Kelsey
yawned as she raised the head of the bed.
    “That’s the point. It wasn’t any one moment that did it. Nathan has always been my
friend. After that day, he started coming by more often. He began to call after work
to see if I needed anything. He’d come over and have dinner with me and keep me company
as late as he thought he could without setting tongues wagging. He’d leave around
ten, and Richard would still not be home until two or three in the morning.” Janelle’s
voice faded as she reflected on that time in her life. “Actually, it was one moment.”
    “Really? What happened?” Kelsey began to sit up and tried to hide the pain. Janelle
stood up and helped Kelsey adjust as she tried to remember everything. Once Kelsey
was adjusted and comfortable, Janelle sat on the edge of the bed and faced her sister.
    “It was