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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

Amber was happy to fill in Bea’s stunned silence. “My goal is to make it to his first birthday. The lady at the WIC office says a full year of breast milk is super beneficial. Of course, she would say that since they don’t want to add formula to my WIC checks. That stuff costs a fortune.”

Hunter somehow got hold of a napkin and tried to put it in his mouth. Amber pulled it away and wiped his tongue.

“What’s WIC?” Bea asked.

Amber shrugged like she thought everyone should know. “It stands for Women, Infants, and Children. It’s the program where the state gives vouchers for certain types of food to pregnant women, nursing women, and kids up to the age of five. If they qualify.”

“Oh.” Bea’s mind swirled with a hundred questions she was too embarrassed to ask.

Amber continued, her persistent smile faltering for a moment. “I qualified easy since I only work part-time and I’m a single mom.” Her face brightened. “I bet you’d qualify, too, since Jeremy’s unemployed.”

So she was a single mom. What had happened?

Bea mulled Amber’s words over in her head. Jeremy was self-employed, not unemployed. At least that’s what he was working toward. But aside from his limited stint at the Duncans’, the amount of income he was bringing in was zero, regardless of what you called it, and her twenty-five hours a week at the Food Farm left a lot to be desired.

She wondered what Jeremy would say about WIC. How he would feel about it. Shouldn’t she know something like that about her husband? Her family leaned so far toward the too-proud-to-accept-handouts side of the fence they were liable to fall off and break their necks. But what about Jeremy?

Bea poked at an ice cube in her glass with a straw. “What happened to Hunter’s dad?”

Amber sighed and gave her son a smile. Ran a finger along his cheek and booped his nose. “Well . . .”

The waitress appeared with two milk shakes, each topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. “Here you go, girls.”

Hunter slapped the table and made happy gibberish sounds. Bea understood how he felt. The sight of all that cold chocolate goodness made her whole body take notice. She’d heard about cravings before but had never dreamed they could be so powerful.

Amber dipped the tip of her spoon into the whipped cream and let Hunter lick it. “The WIC lady would probably have a fit if she saw me doing this.”

Bea had to suck hard to get the milk shake through her straw because it was so thick. “Well, there aren’t any hidden cameras in here. I think you’re safe.”