âWe need to get a few things straight, Ray Clyde.â Ginger kept her voice low.
âWhat is it we need to get straight?â Ray asked.
âThese two little girls are precious to me,â she said quietly. âThey donât need to be used as pawns so you can try to make amends with me.â
There was a slight hesitation, then, âYou know better.â His voice chided but remained gentle, maybe a little sad. âLetâs be honest with one another for a moment. You feel you need to place some distance between the two of us on this trip, and so you must make sure I donât bond with Lucy or Brittany.â
âYou have a problem with that?â she asked.
âI do. A considerable amount as a matter of fact.â
Ginger shifted in her seat. No one else had quite the same knack of rendering her speechless like he did.
is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife writing team Cheryl and Mel Hodde (pronounced Hoddee). When they first met, Mel had just begun his new job as an E.R. doctor in Cherylâs hometown, and Cheryl was working on a novel. Cherylâs matchmaking pastor set them up on an unexpected blind date at a local restaurant. Surprised by the sneak attack, Cheryl blurted the first thing that occurred to her, âYouâre a doctor? Could you help me paralyze someone?â Mel was shocked. âOnly temporarily, of course,â she explained when she saw his expression. âAnd only fictitiously. Iâm writing a novel.â
They began brainstorming immediately. Eighteen months later they were married, and the novels they set in fictitious Ozark towns began to sell. The first novel in the Hideaway series, published in the Steeple Hill Single Title program, won a prestigious Christy Award for Best Romance in 2004.
On New Yearâs Eve, Lucy Jameson dreamed she saw her dead mamaâs face in the fire. Mama had a pretty face, with eyes the color of sunshine through leaves, eyes that filled with love when she smiled. That was what Lucy missed the most about herâthe smile, the love.
Mama didnât always smile, though.
In the fire, her eyes looked scary, and her mouth moved as if she might be shoutingâthough no sound came from her lips. She acted this way when she needed to get high. Soon, if she got high, sheâd be happy for a few days.
Lucy wasnât supposed to know about these things, because she was only eight and a half. Some kids just knew, whether they were supposed to or not.
Mama stepped out of the fire and came toward Lucy, her hands black and smoking. Her feet burned into the wooden floor, spreading flames with every footstep.
Lucy gasped and sat up in bed, trying to scream as her eyes flew open in the dark. The sound came from her mouth like the chirp of a cricket. She knew it was her own voice; there werenât any crickets outside the window the week after Christmas in Hideaway, Missouri.
She hated these dreams worst of all. They made her remember the bad times, when her mother was scary-mad, when she slapped and screamed at Lucy and Brittany and called them nasty names. That was when Mama hated them.
âSissy?â
Lucy winced at Brittanyâs frightened voice. âIâm here.â
âWhat was that noise?â
âItâs okay, it was me.â Good thing she sounded normal again, not like the screechy cry from her dream.
There was a whisper of covers, then a thud of bare feet as Brittany dropped from her own bed and crossed to Lucyâs.
She climbed up beside Lucy without asking permission.
Lucy pulled the blankets back and helped her settle under them. Even though Brittany kicked the covers off, and sometimes even snored, Lucy didnât mind. Much. Brittany couldnât help it, she was only five. She wouldnât be six until February.
Brittany squirmed close, right into Lucyâs face. Eeww! Her breath stank.
âDid you have another bad dream?â
âGuess so.â Lucy protected her nose with a handful of blanket.
âWas it about Mama again?â
Why did Aunt Gingerâs spaghetti make their breath smell like this?
Brittany tugged at Lucyâs arm. âHuh? Was it?â
âYes,â Lucy said. âNow be quiet or everybody will wake up and nobodyâll get back to sleep and weâll be tired all day tomorrow.â
Brittany shiftedâ¦settledâ¦shiftedâ¦settled, then snuggled close to Lucyâs side. âTomorrowâs New Yearâs Day. Mama used to let us stay up until midnight on New Yearâs Eve.â