Read Online Shannon's Daughter by Karen Welch - Free Book Online Page B

He could only imagine her
portrayal of the day’s events, given Michael’s almost jovial mood now.   Behind the easy conversation and her
convincing smile, the pain in her eyes should have been evident to any
observant parent.   Kendall was certainly
aware of it, so much so that he felt a compassionate twinge in the region of
his solar plexus, as he watched her performance.          
    He
drifted toward sleep with his ears open, listening to the two say good night.   It was Peg who offered reassurance and
Michael who responded gratefully.   Much
like his own relationship with his mother, he realized.   Years of protecting and pampering had almost
convinced him that sort of thing was normal, but now he was struck by the
injustice of a girl like Peg, already motherless, coddling her father at a time
when she herself was suffering.   Punching
his pillow, he rolled over on the narrow bed and told himself it was none of
his business, that in another few days, his time with the Shannons would be nothing
more than fading memories.
    A
minute or an hour later, he couldn’t be sure which, he
was awakened by a rhythmic scraping.   That adrenaline reserve flung him from sleep, off his bed and into the
corridor before he had time for conscious thought.   Haloed in the doorway of her room, Peg was hopping
on one foot while unsuccessfully dragging her cast along the floor.  
    “What
do you think you’re doing?” he demanded in a hissing whisper.
    “What
does it look like?   I’m trying to get to
the bathroom.   I’m not a camel, you
know.”
    The
urgency in her own hiss prompted him to hold out his
arms.   “Here.   Let me carry you.”
    “I don’t
need carrying!   Just give me your
arm.   I can hop, I think.   This stupid thing weighs a ton.”   She reached, nearly losing her balance, and
caught one of his forearms in that all too familiar grip of hers.   “Hurry!”
    Hurrying
was unrealistic, but they managed to make the few steps to the bathroom door
without incident.   He escorted her as far
as seemed feasible, releasing her only when she’d grasped the edge of the basin
and turned in the proper direction to achieve her purpose.
    “Wait
outside,” she snapped impatiently.   When
he hesitated, assessing the security of her position, she fixed him with a
scathing glare.   “Go!   Now!”
    He
slouched outside the door, brooding on the bizarre twist of fate that had
thrown him into such a situation.   Bad
enough that he’d endured the day’s ordeal, but now his night promised nothing
but the same kind of trauma.   He took a
moment to bitterly regret agreeing to bring Peg and Michael back to town.   A polite refusal, the suggestion that one of
the other men in the family would be better equipped, and he could have avoided
that horrific drive, a possibly disabling back strain, and the humiliation of
playing nursemaid to an ill-tempered woman-child.  
    “Kendall?   I’m done.”   Stunned by the soft, girlish tone in her voice now, he cautiously opened
the door to be greeted by a grateful smile.   “Thank you,” she sighed.   “I knew
I’d never wake Dad in time.   He sleeps
like a log once he’s taken his pills.”
    It
would have been fruitless to point out that her father had taken those same
pills at her insistence.   Besides, he felt
perversely gratified by her trust.   Probably fatigue and the illusion of helpless innocence before him, he
mused, as he offered his arm and they hobbled back toward her room.  
    When
she was safely on the bed, he made the fatal error of asking if there was
anything else she needed.   “Stay with
me?   I’m not at all sleepy now.”
    There
was nothing to do but take a seat on the hard wooden chair by the bed.   Mildly queasy, no doubt the aftermath of the
most recent adrenaline surge, he dropped his head in his hands.
    “Poor
Kendall.   I suppose you’ll hate me now, after all I’ve
put you through.   I meant to apologize
earlier for