Texan's Convenient Marriage

Addy pressed the heel of her hand against the ache building between her eyes. Another five minutes on the phone with her mother and it would surpass the one that had throbbed low in her back all day.Drawing in a deep breath, she searched for patience. "I know you don't like to talk about my father," she began, choosing her words carefully. "But this is important. A lady called. Stephanie Parker. She said her father served with mine in Vietnam.""So what if he did?" her mother snapped. "Thousands of American soldiers went to Vietnam."Ignoring her mother's bitterness, Addy forged on, determined to get through this conversation without screaming. "Stephanie told me that her father sent her mother a letter from Vietnam with a torn piece of paper inside. She thinks Tony might have had a similar piece and sent it to you.""The only thing Antonio Rocci ever gave me wasyouand that was an accident."Addy didn't flinch at the jab at her illegitimacy. She'd had the circumstances surrounding her birth thrown in her face so often over the years that hearing it no longer had the power to sting."This paper may be valuable," she persisted. "Do you remember Tony sending you anything like that?""That was over thirty years ago! How am I supposed to remember something that happened that long ago? I don't even remember what was in yesterday's mail.""A torn piece of paper, Mom. That's odd enough that you should remember.""If you called to talk abouthim,I'm hanging up. I'm missing my shows."Before Addy could say anything more, the dial tone buzzed in her ear."The baby and I are doing fine, but thanks for asking." Scowling, she slammed down the phone, furious with herself for letting her mother's lack of concern get to her. Mary Claire Richards-Smith-Carlton-Sullivan was a neurotic, self-centered woman who raced from one bad marriage to the next, fueled by a bitterness she'd clung to for more than thirty years and oblivious to anyone else's needs, including her daughter's.With a sigh Addy swept a stray lock of hair from her face and told herself it didn't matter. She'd survived thirty-three years of her mother's disregard. Why should she expect her to show any concern now?She stooped to untie her shoelaces but froze when she caught a glimpse of her reflection on the patio door. Straightening slowly, she stared, barely recognizing the woman who stared back. Her stomach looked as if she'd swallowed a soccer ball, her feet and ankles so swollen they looked like an elephant's, and her long, black hair -- which she usually considered her best feature -- was wadded up in a frizzy knot on top of her head. Add to that lovely image nurses' scrubs in a putrid shade of green and a well-worn pair of Reeboks and she was almost glad Ty wasn't around to see her now.Grimacing, she reached to untie her shoelaces again. "As if I'd let him past the front door," she muttered under her breath. Ty Bodean was a lying snake and she was better off without him, even if it did mean she'd be raising her baby alone.She caught her lower lip between her teeth as she eased the shoe off her swollen foot, thinking what all that meant, what lay ahead of her. Money was going to be a problem. Eighteen months ago, she'd bought the house, which had depleted her savings and shackled her to a mortgage payment that already stretched her monthly budget to the limit. At the time she'd made the purchase, it had seemed a wise investment. She'd always wanted to have her own home, and the previous owner had offered it to her at a ridiculously low price. Of course, when she'd agreed to buy the property, she hadn't been pregnant and had no plans of becoming pregnant in the near future. An unforgettable -- albeit brief -- affair with Ty Bodean had changed all that.The second problem -- which was tied directly to the first -- was child care. She hated the thought of her baby being raised by strangers, but as the major andonlybreadwinneMoreland, Peggy is the author of 'Texan's Convenient Marriage ', published 2006 under ISBN 9780373767366 and ISBN 0373767366.