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Elizabeth struggled to rise so Lloyd helped her as Milli carried a crying Emily and the carrier toward them. “The doctor said we will know next Thursday if Emily got it from Edgar too. The genetic testing takes three days.”
The doctor had followed Milli out, “Ms. Haywood, we really need to talk about your procedure.”
“Dr. Barrows, I’m not having an abortion! I’m Catholic!” Milli snarled at him.
“But you could die if you get sepsis, he isn’t really alive.” The doctor argued. “You have to consider your health for Emily’s sake. You don’t need to worry; she won’t have this.”
Milli snarled at the doctor's suggestion, “You get Emily’s DNA sorted, and then I’ll worry about myself. I will see you Thursday. I’m ready to go.” Milli huffed at Lloyd and Elizabeth.
“Fine, Ms. Haywood but if you have any cramping at all, fever, nausea, feeling faint, you call 9-1-1 and come straight in.” The doctor looked seriously at Lloyd and Elizabeth. “Keep an eye on he
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As Milli iced the gingerbread cookies Aunt Elizabeth had volun-told her to make, she struggled with the pain. It had only been a little over a month since her world went to heck in a cake box. She had spent two days decorating gingerbread cookies. Camille had asked for help from the Women’s Auxiliary since the diving coach wasn’t much of a baker and the dive team needed a fundraiser for the Winter Carnival and were assigned the cakewalk and bake sale booths. Every cookie brought back a memory of home Milli didn’t want to remember, and she ruined half of what she baked before she found her groove. She decorated the traditional cookies with red, blue, or green scarves and hats, then added white dots or stripes or zigzags. It had been an exercise in frustration at first, but Milli knew she needed the cookies to succeed if she wanted to build her reputation before her bakery opened someday. A hard knock on the door had her peeking at a sleeping Emily as she passed. A pretty blon
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Milli carefully arranged the iced shortbread cookies the Church Ladies’ Auxiliary had ordered for the evening service on several large trays. She had made almost two hundred more than needed to make sure the twelve hundred she brought tonight were perfect. Mrs. Wallace and Mrs. McConnell had oohed and awwed over the blue and white iced stars. Each cookie covered in two colors of flares, swirls, dots, and loops; this filigree work had taken a long time. The six-pointed stars looked more like abstract snowflakes or quilted ornaments than cookies. They were art, her art, but they were also an offering, each made with a prayer for her son while she ignored the inevitable. Truthfully, Milli was grateful for the work to keep her mind off the fact that Charlie’s monitor was now beeping more and more frequently. Any time his heartbeat became erratic, it beeped. Milli knew what was coming, and refused to admit it, or her fears. She may hate Edgar, but she wanted Charlie to live. The
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At 12:05 AM on December 26th, the doctor cut a thin line across Milli’s stomach. The nurse cleaned and wrapped Charlie quickly before placing him on Milli’s chest. Milli didn’t feel the rest of the procedure, she only remembered the priest blessing her child before giving him last rites. She remembered Jackson saying, “Charlie is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.” As he took pictures of Milli holding her baby. Milli ran her fingers over Charlie’s tiny perfect face in the quiet room, marveling at how much he looked like a mixture of Edgar and herself. “He looks like both of us.” Her baby never cried, never took a breath, but he would live in her heart forever. Dorine helped Aunt Elizabeth come in. She said softly, “He’s so handsome.” Aunt Elizabeth nodded in agreement, “I’m certain he will give Marni nothing but trouble in the afterlife. Look at that bit of mischief in his smile, oh yes, he’s an ornery one, a little troll just like you.”
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Cornell Rowling and Heith found Edgar passed out in his apartment. His company credit card had informed them he bought a round-trip ticket to Las Vegas late on the 26th. But instead of returning the 29th on his scheduled flight, Edgar had bought a first-class ticket back to Dallas the evening of the 28th and then paid cab fare after charging nearly a thousand dollars at a liquor store. He had not talked to anyone in the family since Christmas Day. Empty tequila bottles littered each of the rooms, it smelled like something had died. Edgar mumbled incoherently as they carried him into the bathroom and put him in the giant tub, soiled clothes and all. As Heith’s father filled the tub around his inebriated nephew, Heith looked for the reason behind Edgar's bizarre behavior while he filled a trash bag with empty bottles. Edgar had taken Marni’s death hard, but this was a whole new level of self-destruction. Something black and shiny caught his attention. Heith tapped Edga
Red Velvet & Anemones (Pagosa Cliff, Book One) 19
Four days after Christmas, Dallas... After two weeks of helping the last of her father’s miners quit Rowling Enterprises, Jean Lasater arrived back in Dallas to see her doctors. They said the same thing they did at every other appointment and always before she had politely listened, but this time, she stood up and walked out without a word. She wanted to go home to die but she didn’t have a home any longer. She had sold her parents’ house years ago, so she drove to the spartan upscale apartment where she had lived for almost a decade. Looking around, she didn’t have photos or paintings, nothing lovely decorated her dwelling; she didn’t even have a Christmas tree. Her home was as lonely as her but it’s not time to think about that. There was little time left and she needed to be quick with her actions. Thinking about the next move, she went to her answering machine and pushed the play button, waiting to hear the messages that filled in.
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Jean Lasater stood tall and proud in her shimmery red dress. “This gentleman is going to make sure that you and your family pay for the suffering you have caused.”The man in the gray suit introduced himself and announced, “Colleen Rowling, I am Special Agent Whitman with the Texas State Attorney General’s Office and you are under arrest for murder, attempted murder, extortion, embezzlement, fraud, tax evasion, stock manipulation, and… oh hell... we’ll be standing here for an hour if I have to name all of the charges. You have the right to remain silent...” He rattled off her Miranda rights.Heith and Chloe rushed to the stage as their family, friends and business partners backed away.“What is going on here?” Heith demanded.“Jean, why are you doing this? Mom’s your best friend,” Chloe gasped in shock.“Heith, you deserve this after what happened to Marni and Milli Hayw
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Milli was preparing to bake and decorate a birthday cake for Camille’s daughter Gracie. The young diver’s birthday brought an unwanted bitter memory from only three months ago. Milli’s birthday had fallen the day after her sister’s death. The day after she discovered the truth about her sister’s love for her and the truth about her marriage. Only Jackson’s dad, Bill, had remembered her birthday during the chaos of that week. Milli didn’t know if she could ever celebrate her birthday again. Her weary heart pushed away the tainted memories of all the birthdays, memories she and Marni would never share again, and she tried to focus on the positives like her therapist wanted instead of the bitterness of her betrayal craved. Dry ingredients were measured and sifted together while wet ones sloshed in her three mixers. A large double oven warmed the whole house as it filled the rooms with pleasant smells. Milli thought again about how she would need to consider investing in an air
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Milli laughed malevolently to herself as she drove straight to City Hall and parked on the side in front of the Sheriff’s Offices. “Hello Ms. Ruby, I need to talk to the sheriff about borrowing your nephew,” Milli began handing the woman a box of carrot cake muffins. She saw Lloyd standing in the office with Sheriff Tanner; they both walked out seeing Milli. Ruby smiled up at her and winked. “Can I help you, Ms. Haywood?” Sheriff Tanner asked in a concerned voice. “Actually, you can, Sheriff,” Milli smiled wickedly and held out a box of pastries to each man, “I came to offer you cake-mail in an attempt to get a favor from you concerning your deputy.” Sheriff Tanner grinned handsomely as he lifted the lid to the box. “I’m listening.” Milli could almost hear Marni’s ‘hello, cowboy’ to Tank as Milli winked at Lloyd. “I am sure you heard about my little trade at the Bingo game last night.” “No,” Lloyd said firmly, holding
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- Red Velvet & Anemones (Pagosa Cliff, Book One) About the Author
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