EXCERPT FROM BETRAYED - A romantic suspense novel | Page 29

BETRAYED

trouble. You wouldn’t stay away home for no reason, and
neither would your sister.” She got up from the mahogany
telephone bench in the hall and complained, “My legs ache so
bad I can hardly stand it.”
Mary Margaret stared at her mother through thick glasses,
her wide pale blue eyes caused her to look exactly like what she
was—a frightened little kid.
After taking a deep breath, she blurted out, “Mama, maybe
there was an accident and they’re in a hospital somewhere.
Maybe she and Sherry are all bloody with broken bones or
something. Mama, what if they’re dead?” Tears streaked her
face.
Maude managed to give her a stiff hug, as Mary Margaret
whimpered, “I wish David was here. Why does he have to be off
with the Air Force?”
Patting her daughter’s back, Maude said, “Honey, your
brother is doing his service for his country, you know that.
We’re not going to bother him with this ‘cause there’s nothing
he can do.” Over the past year it had never even occurred to
Maude to let David know about Laurel’s problems.
“It’s not worth the trouble anyway, Mary Margaret. They’ll
find Laurie and she’ll be all straightened out by the time he
comes home.”
Maude held her daughter at arm’s length, thinking that
Mary Margaret looked just like her. Plain and almost colorless.
Short and plump, with mousy brown hair usually tightly plaited
into two skinny braids. Her felt poodle skirt, with all of the slips
under it, made her look even chubbier. Laurie and her brother
David were the lucky ones. They took after Patrick’s family—
tall and good-looking with fair skin and black hair.
Mary Margaret pushed her thick glasses up on her nose.
Whenever she smiled, she revealed a big overbite and a wide
space between her two front teeth.
Despite her anxiety, it amused Maude to think that like
most girls her age, Mary Margaret and her friends were crazy

23