Four Times the Trouble Read Online Free

Michelle. You know it’s not. You used to have so many friends I couldn’t keep track of them. Every time I talked to you, you were running off to help one of them or on your way to a party. You thrive on people, just like I do. Needlework, no matter how beautiful, and jobs, no matter how satisfying, can’t take the place of people in your heart.”
    “I gave my heart to Brian. As long as there’s a chance he’s alive, it’s not mine to take back.”
    “He has only a part of your heart, honey. What about the rest? What happened to Sarah and Jaime? I haven’t heard you mention either of them in months.”
    “I still talk to Sarah, but with her new job, any free time she has she likes to spend with Roger. It’s the same with Jaime. She’s on a husband hunt again and inevitably has some guy in tow. I’m always the odd one out. Believe me, I’m happier at home with Noby than feeling like a fifth wheel every time I leave my house. Besides, I don’t think they understand about Brian. Ever since he was declared dead they’ve been after me to start dating again.”
    Grace bent to take the tortillas out of the oven. “And maybe you should.”
    “What?” Michelle’s shock was evident in her voice.
    “You’re twenty-eight years old, Michelle. Brian’s been missing for more than five years. At some point you’re going to have to either get on with your life or die right along with him.”
    Michelle paled. “How can you say that? I finally have word on Brian and all of a sudden you want me to give up on him?”
    “The word is three years old, honey.”
    “But it’s still more than I had a month ago.”
    “I’m just afraid this is going to drag out forever, Michelle, with a word here and there, just enough to keep you hoping. And then one day you’ll realize your whole life has passed you by. You’ve always wanted a family more than anything else—you’d be a wonderful mother. But it’s never going to happen if you don’t lay the past to rest and start building a future for yourself.”
    “You’re saying I should just call Frank Steele and tell him thanks but no thanks? That I should forget Brian, forget the vows I made to him, the love we shared, and go find some other man to father my children?” Michelle’s voice was clogged with tears.
    “I’d never suggest that you forget any of it, sweetheart. I know how much you loved Brian. Your father and I loved him, too. I’m only saying that maybe it’s time for you to consider the possibility that Brian isn’t coming back.”
    Michelle looked at her mother. “Would you, Mom? If it was Dad missing, would you give up, ever, if there was one iota of hope?”
    Grace held her daughter’s gaze for a long second and then turned away. “If you run low on money to pay Frank’s fees, let us know. Your father and I will give you whatever you need.”
    * * *
    J ACOB WAS WAITING , already in his swim trunks, when the girls got home from school. He knew they’d want to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather with a swim in the ocean.
    “What’s for a snack?” Allie asked as she led the line coming in through the front door of the beach house. Her long dark hair was falling loose from the ponytail he’d put it in that morning.
    “I want peanut butter,” Jessie said, following right behind her sister. She was missing a barrette.
    “Hi, Daddy,” Meggie said, dropping her book bag on the floor as she headed for the refrigerator. She’d braided her hair sometime after he’d left them that morning. There were straggling pieces sticking out all over her head.
    “How was school?” Jacob asked, depositing three granola bars on the table. He reached past Meggie to grab the milk, then shut the refrigerator.
    “Okay. Billy Martin spilled his juice at lunch and cried. Only babies cry, don’t they, Daddy?” Allie said as the three girls slipped into their chairs at the table. He used to have a glass tabletop. Now he had Formica. It was a breeze to