BooksBarbecue
Back A Flicker of Light
Chapters (62)
  1. Cover
  2. Half Title Page
  3. Books by Katie Powner
  4. Title Page
  5. Copyright Page
  6. Dedication
  7. ONE
  8. TWO
  9. THREE
  10. FOUR
  11. FIVE
  12. SIX
  13. SEVEN
  14. EIGHT
  15. NINE
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. TWENTY
  27. TWENTY-ONE
  28. TWENTY-TWO
  29. TWENTY-THREE
  30. TWENTY-FOUR
  31. TWENTY-FIVE
  32. TWENTY-SIX
  33. TWENTY-SEVEN
  34. TWENTY-EIGHT
  35. TWENTY-NINE
  36. THIRTY
  37. THIRTY-ONE
  38. THIRTY-TWO
  39. THIRTY-THREE
  40. THIRTY-FOUR
  41. THIRTY-FIVE
  42. THIRTY-SIX
  43. THIRTY-SEVEN
  44. THIRTY-EIGHT
  45. THIRTY-NINE
  46. FORTY
  47. FORTY-ONE
  48. FORTY-TWO
  49. FORTY-THREE
  50. FORTY-FOUR
  51. FORTY-FIVE
  52. FORTY-SIX
  53. FORTY-SEVEN
  54. FORTY-EIGHT
  55. FORTY-NINE
  56. FIFTY
  57. FIFTY-ONE
  58. FIFTY-TWO
  59. Acknowledgments
  60. About the Author
  61. Back Ads
  62. Back Cover

“Then why hasn’t she said anything?”

His words were accusatory, but his tone fell flat. She had. Several times.

“She’s not a kid anymore.”

Mitch tossed the rag back into the sink, and it hit the dishwater with a splash. “I’m well aware of that.”

Jeremy set to work on the second pan and didn’t respond.

The ceramic bowl from the Crock-Pot was still soaking, but Mitch picked up the base and put it away in the cupboard. “You’ve been gone a lot lately.”

“Yeah. Meeting a lot of people. Getting a lot of good ideas.”

Ideas again. Mitch huffed.

Jeremy stopped scrubbing and set his hands on the edge of the counter. “You can’t eat ideas. I know. But I’m going to make this work. For Bea and our baby.”

“But they need you now.” Mitch lowered his voice to be sure she couldn’t overhear from the living room. “Bea’s on her feet all day. I worry about her stress level, and how are you going to pay the medical bills for the baby?”

“With all due respect, it’s not your job to worry about any of that.”

Mitch could feel his face heating up. “Well, if you’re not going to . . .”

Jeremy turned to face him, his eyes alight with a fire Mitch had never seen in them before. “I take my responsibility very seriously. I will provide for my family. I will do whatever it takes. But I won’t stand by and watch you disregard Bea’s wishes or dismiss my contributions to our family.”

He wiped his hands on his jeans and marched out of the kitchen. Mitch realized his mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut.

“Huh.” He shared a look with Steve, who had been lurking underfoot ever since scoring a bite of meat stick from Bea. “What do you know.”

He’d never seen this side of Jeremy before. Never would’ve guessed he had it in him.

Maybe Jeremy had what it took to be what Bea needed after all.

THIRTY-NINE

ch-fig

Thanks for coming with me, B.B.” Mitch drummed the steering wheel with his fingers. “I mean Bea. Sorry.”

Her eyes remained fixed on something far in the distance. “What are you going to say to him?”

Mitch let out a long breath through his nose. Good question. He knew he needed to have the hard conversation with his dad about what to do about his mother’s condition, and after spending a couple of days trying to figure out how to talk to Dad without his mom listening in, Mitch had come up with the solution of bringing Bea along to distract her. He’d even finished his typical Tuesday work ahead of schedule so he could get off early.

But he still hadn’t figured out what to say.