The Secret She Kept Read Online Free

Allie, then faced her. “You said there wasn’t a man in your life. I guess I didn’t know you had a family.”
    “What with you leaving town for so long, I’m sure there’s a lot you don’t know.” As soon as she said it, she silently scolded herself for getting defensive.
    Jake watched her for a second too long, then addressed the children. “My name’s Jake.” He extended a hand to Logan, who got up on his knees in the booth and shook it for all he was worth. “What’s your name?” Jake asked.
    “Logan Michael Moser. This is my sister, Allison Elizabeth Moser. Mom’s name used to be Savannah Elaine Moser, but her last name changed to Salinger because she got divorced.”
    Savannah cringed. Why couldn’t she have two children giving her the silent treatment instead of just one?
    Jake glanced at her, a smirk on his face. “Saves me a couple of questions, anyway,” he said. “Would that by any chance be Michael Moser?”
    “You know it is.” She raised her chin, daring him to say anything about her choice in husbands.
    Jake focused on Allie, as if finally noticing she hadn’t even acknowledged his presence. “Allison Elizabeth. That’s a pretty name,” he said to her.
    Allie continued to ignore him, working away with her pencil on the sketch pad on her lap.
    “Allie,” Savannah said firmly.
    Her daughter glared at her, then uttered a curt “Hi” to Jake.
    “She gets involved in her drawings,” Savannah said, unsure why she felt it necessary to explain away her daughter’s behavior. The truth was this was status quo, and had been for the ten months since the divorce was finalized. In fact, Allie’s anger had begun when Savannah and Michael first split up. She apparently blamed Savannah more than Michael, because she treated him with a fraction of the hostility she showed Savannah.
    “You like to draw?” Jake asked Allie. “I drew a lot when I was your age.”
    That piqued Allie’s interest. “Did you draw horses?”
    At that instant, it all came rushing back to Savannah—how Jake had been into art during grade school, working extra hard on his projects in art class, proudly but quietly accepting the teacher’s continuous praise. It was the one area in which Savannah hadn’t had a hope of competing with him. Maybe that was why she’d blocked it from her memory until now.
    She tuned back in to their conversation, her stomach gurgling with nausea. Jake was listing shows and contests where Allie could enter her drawings.
    “I didn’t realize you were still active in the art community,” Savannah said.
    “I’m not. I haven’t been for years, but I’m certain those events are still around. Now it’s probably easier than ever to hook up with them. Just look online.”
    “Can we check on the Internet, Mom?” For the first time in weeks Allie was animated. While that brought a small measure of joy to Savannah, she was also ticked off that Jake was the cause of it.
    “Of course we can.” She strove for offhandedness, as if having a normal conversation with her daughter was…well, normal.
    “Can Jake help me?”
    Not on your life. “We can handle it ourselves.”
    “Mom—”
    Savannah held up a hand and gave her daughter The Look, the one that stopped whining in its tracks. And now garnered a hateful glare from her once sweet little girl. Savannah sighed inwardly. “Tell you what,” she said without thinking. “When we get home, we’ll check into signing you up for that art class you’ve been hounding me about.”
    “Really?” she asked, eyes bright.
    “Really.” Savannah forced a grin. No way would she let Jake be the only one to make her child happy.
    Allie squealed and bounced in the booth. “Thanks, Mom! Can we go now? I want to get home and fill out the application right away.”
    “Logan’s still eating, honey. We’ll leave soon.”
    Savannah knew already this was the absolute dumbest thing she’d done for some time. She couldn’t afford art classes. Was