Back for Seconds Read Online Free

good-looking man had even spared her a second glance, much less offered some innocent flirt.
    She was still flustered when he turned to visit another table, to check in with the customers, that personal touch that Lillian’s Place was known for. Lillian turned to Joely. “Are we almost ready to go home?”
    “I never wanted to leave home,” Kari muttered just under her breath, but loud enough for the table to hear. Lillian was immediately sympathetic, but Joely glared at her daughter, a warning to be polite.
    “I’ll go get my purse and Granny Faye. We’ll meet you at the house.”
    Joely nodded and Lillian once again disappeared in back.  Joely turned to her brood. Hannah’s head bobbed as she rubbed her eyes. It had been an emotional day for all of them. She led them from the booth and toward the door, passing the saloon-styled bar near the entrance. Xander was there, chatting up a beautiful patron who wore a slinky black mini-dress, her blonde hair teased high. He may have spared Joely a wink, but the woman nursing a tall, colorful mixed drink clearly earned the platinum package of his charm. He leaned close, smiled wide and kept his dark eyes focused on her full lips.
    He was taking that hometown hospitality a little too seriously for Joely’s taste. It reminded her immediately of Russell, giving her some unwanted insight what he was probably doing with his first night of freedom. She was as cranky as her kids as she pushed open the double doors and headed out to the parking lot near the noisy freeway.
    Joely beat her mother and grandmother home. She already had a key so she and the kids went inside. She turned on the lights and the kids followed her quietly into the large living room just off of the foyer. The furniture was a neutral bone color, and the walls were painted a light blue. Red popped from the paintings and the throw pillows and candles, which sat tall in wrought-iron candelabras on the polished oak tables.
    Though her kids had been in this homey room many times before, they wandered around aimlessly, uncertain of what to do next. It wasn’t their furniture. It wasn’t their front room. They were suddenly ill at ease, faced with all the huge changes taking place without their consent. Joely empathized with them more than they knew.
    “Let’s put our things up in our rooms,” she suggested as she lifted her bag as well as Hannah’s. The kids did what they were told, following their mother up the spiral staircase to the second floor. Since they had stayed with their grandma before, each already had a designated room. Joely was grateful for that. It would make the next few months a little more bearable. By the time she got to Hannah’s room, adjacent to her own, her youngest was practically asleep standing up. Joely picked her up, carried her to the bathroom and got her ready for bed. She was out cold by the time Joely tucked her into her pretty pink sheets, covered with an old white eyelet blanket. She kissed Hannah’s head before she left the room, turning out the light as she went.
    When she reached the ground floor, her two eldest were watching TV in the large family room. Well, Nash was watching TV, flipping through channels, doing anything to avoid conversation. Kari, who was desperate for someone to recognize her suffering, was waiting for her doting great-grandmother, practically pouncing her when Lillian and Granny Faye walked in the back door.
    Granny Faye did not disappoint. She swept the young girl in a powerful bear hug. “Don’t you worry,” she promised her. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ll see.”
    Tears poured from her cheeks as Kari clung to her. Granny Faye’s rotund figure made her a great hugger. No one ever wanted to let go first.
    “Y’all know the drill,” Lillian announced as everyone walked into the living room. “Same room. Same rules. Same Nanna and same Granny Faye. I expect everyone to make themselves at home while you’re here.”
    The kids