Fencing You In Read Online Free Page A

car and closed the garage door. She was thinking of Gage. It was like she was obsessed with the man. She walked through the door leading into her home and then smiled as she came through the laundry room and into the kitchen. She saw Mrs. Webb washing her hands at the sink and Jenny sitting at the dining table.
    “Hi, Mommy.” Jenny slid out of her chair and ran up to Tess who caught her in her arms and hugged her tight. “You’re home early.”
    “Grandma hired a new bartender to work on Fridays and Saturdays.” Tess ruffled her daughter’s curls. “So Mommy will have a little more time off and won’t have to work so late.”
    “Yay!” Jenny clapped and bounced on her toes.
    “How are you doing today, Mrs. Webb?” Tess asked as the woman dried her hands on a dishcloth.
    “Very well.” The older woman smiled. “Jenny finished her homework. Didn’t you, girl?”
    “I had to trace the alphabet.” Jenny nodded. “Mrs. Webb helped me.”
    “And she did a fine job of it.” Mrs. Webb grabbed her purse off the breakfast bar. “I need to get home. My Travis is coming over tonight.”
    “That’s great.” Tess walked Mrs. Webb to the door. “Tell your grandson I said hello.”
    “I’ll do that.” Mrs. Webb hugged Tess then headed out the door.
    When Mrs. Webb had driven away, Tess closed the door and locked it, then turned back to her daughter.
    Jenny twirled around. “Katie Sue is going to start ballet school. Can I do it, too?”
    Tess bit the inside of her lip. She wasn’t sure she could afford it. But now that the restaurant was starting to turn a profit, her income should be increasing—at least she hoped so. She might just need a little more time.
    She smiled at Jenny. “No promises, but I’ll look into it.”
    Jenny grinned and twirled around again. “See? I can dance.”
    “You certainly can.” Tess laughed as her daughter looked like she was going to make herself dizzy from twirling so much. “Be careful that you don’t fall and hit your head on the furniture.”
    Jenny stopped whirling around and looked a little woozy but was still smiling. “That’s fun. I like dancing.”
    “It’s time for bed.” Tess shooed her daughter toward her bedroom.
    “Awwww, Mom.” Jenny stuck out her lower lip. “It’s Friday.”
    “Which is why you got to stay up until seven-thirty.” Tess had to struggle not to smile at her daughter’s pout. “That’s late enough for a kindergartener. Now go put on your nightgown and then I’ll be in to read you a story.”
    “Okay.” Jenny ran into her room.
    Tess took a moment to sag against the kitchen counter. Damn, she was tired. What she would give for a normal job where she could make decent money, have more time with Jenny, and maybe even have medical benefits. At one time she had run an office in Albuquerque, before she moved with her parents to Prescott to help them start up their new restaurant. After her father died, Tess’s mother needed her more and more until Tess was working way too many crazy hours.
    Feelings of guilt stayed with her daily at her inability to be there more for Jenny and at missing some of her daughter’s fleeting childhood.
    She braced her elbow on the breakfast bar, her chin in her hand. This had not been her dream, growing up. Instead of following a path using her creative writing talents, she’d ended up in an administrative position with a loan company and now running her family’s restaurant.
    With a mental shrug she pushed away from the breakfast bar. She had a good life and for the most part, she was happy. Eventually the restaurant would really pick up and she could work fewer hours and see Jenny more.
    Right now that time seemed like a long way off and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. What could she do about it? If she looked for another job, her mother would go nuts. Plus, finding something that met all of her needs was bound to be an impossibility.
    For the time being she just needed to hang tight and