Solid Foundation Read Online Free Page B

everyone’s protector,” Jameson said.
    “That she is,” Candace agreed before making her way to
the sink.
    “Candace?” Jameson began. Candace turned and raised
her brow. “Would you really let me adopt Jinx? ”
      “Lunatic.”
    “That will make you Mrs. Lunatic,” Jameson quipped.
    Candace picked up a dishtowel and tossed it at
Jameson. “I guess they call it committed for a reason,” she said.
    ***
    “So? What is going on?”
Michelle asked pointedly.
    “What
makes you think anything is going on?” Candace asked as straight faced as she
could manage.
    “Umm…Besides
the fact that J.D. keeps finding reasons to leave the room, there is the fact
that you have casually kept your hand hidden
this whole time. Nice ring, Mom,”
Michelle laughed.
    “Shell,”
Candace whispered.
    “Oh,
I know. Mum is the word until J.D.’s
folks and Grandma Pearl get here. You do know that you can’t walk around with
your hand in your pocket all afternoon,” she laughed.
    “Sometimes,
Shell…if I didn’t know better, I would swear you and Jameson were related,”
Candace commented.
    “Will
be soon enough!” Michelle responded.
    “Will
be what soon enough?” Maureen Reid asked as she entered the living room with
Jameson, Duncan, and Pearl.
    Jameson
looked at Candace curiously and Candace shrugged. Michelle was trying not to
laugh. Jameson rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you guys have a seat?” she
suggested. “I’ll go grab a bottle of wine and we can relax before dinner.”
    Pearl
looked at Jameson and crossed her arms. “You’ll go get the wine?”
    “Well,
yeah. You are guests…”
    “Sit
down, Jameson,” Pearl ordered. Jameson sighed and took a seat between Candace
and Michelle. Michelle could no longer hold back her amusement and feebly
attempted to conceal her growing smirk with her hand.
    Jameson
looked at Candace and then at Michelle. “Busted?” she whispered to Michelle.
    Michelle
nodded “Nice ring, though,” she whispered back just as Candace lightly smacked
Jameson’s knee.
    “What
was that for?” Jameson asked Candace.
    “All
right, you two,” Pearl interceded before Candace could respond. “First off, I
have not been a guest in this house in more than forty years. Impromptu family
dinners. Jameson wants Candace drinking wine at three in the afternoon. Shell
is giggling like a school girl. Quit whispering. Who died? Who is pregnant or
who is getting married?”
    “Shell!
You’re pregnant?” Jameson asked excitedly.
    “Yeah,
and the Pope is a Jewish lesbian,” Michelle quipped.
    Candace
looked a Jameson. “Face it, honey, we are…”
    “Busted,”
Michelle said.
    “Am
I the only one who is lost here?” Maureen asked.
    Jameson
took a deep breath and then took Candace’s hand. “Sorry, Mom. Okay…The thing is,
I asked Candace to marry me.”
    “And
she said yes?” Maureen responded.
    “Yes,
she said yes!” Jameson answered. Candace laughed.
    “About
time,” Pearl said. Her smile belied the firmness in her voice. Candace looked
at Pearl and shook her head.
    “J.D.,
when?” Maureen asked.
    “When
what?”
    “When
are you getting married?” her mother inquired.
    “We
haven’t decided that yet,” Candace answered honestly.
    “Yeah.
We still have to tell Marianne and Jonah,” Jameson said quietly. She felt
Candace squeeze her hand in reassurance.
    “Don’t
sweat it, J.D.,” Michelle said. “Marianne will be fine . It’s not like you got Mom pregnant or anything. Although, I’m
sure you tried,” she whispered not so softly in Jameson’s ear.
    Jameson
rolled her eyes. “I’m never going to live that down; am I?”
    “Well,
at least it will be legal now,” Maureen said.
    “Mom!”
Jameson scolded her mother.
    “You
mentioned wine?” Candace asked. “I think I could use a glass now.”
    Pearl
chuckled and followed Candace into the kitchen. She watched as Candace grabbed
a bottle of white wine and began opening it. “So, let’s see