Page 220 of Restless
Other times, she wondered how she’d allowed herself to get with child. She’d been so stupid! An upstanding good girl like herself who’d never had a lover before Joseph. If she’d been smart, she would demand he go to that loud black woman. Dinah was sure Joseph would’ve found the good time he wanted withher.
Instead,Dinahhad gotten pregnant by him. Joe ultimately agreed that not only shouldn’t Dinah meet his son, but the kid shouldn’t know about Meggie.
As if she conjured her, her daughter stumbled into the living room and blinked. Thick, golden blonde curls tumbled about her and sleepiness reddened her bright blue eyes. At almost two-years-old, she looked like a little doll.
She toddled next to Dinah. She tugged on her sleeve and tried to scramble on her lap.
Dinah held up her hand.
“My bowel empty, Mommie, and my bottles want to come.”
“How do you confuse those two words, I will never know,” Dinah grumbled. Incorrect speech and grammar annoyed her beyond reason.
Meggie rubbed her eyes. She was so gorgeous, but still a living embodiment of Big Joe. Of Dinah’s stupidity. She sniffled.
“Mommie cry?”
“Yes, baby,” Dinah said tearfully. “But you can help Mommie to feel better if you’re quiet.”
“Daddy?”
Dinah stiffened. “Daddy isn’t coming!” she screeched. “Now, shut up. You’re supposed to take care of me.”
“Shhhh.” Grinning, Meggie placed a finger over her mouth. “Quite.”
“Quiet,” Dinah corrected on a snarl. “Your daddy’s ruined my life enough! Don’t you do it, too.”
When Meggie blinked again, Dinah resisted the urge to punch her in the face, opting instead for a slap across the cheek. She didn’t see Meggie; she saw Joe.
Meggie yelped, so Dinah hit her again. In all her life, she’d never been so overwhelmed. She’d worked hard to earn her teaching degree. Just when she needed them most, her parents had been killed on her eighteenth birthday. An only child of only children who had no contact with their families. It was a tragedy that left Dinah alone and vulnerable to men like Joe Foy. Filthy bikers who promised her the world but surrounded themselves with sluts.
“Mommie!” Meggie sobbed, reaching her little arms up.
Dinah shoved her to the floor. When Meggie faceplanted on the carpet, she smiled in satisfaction. She wasn’t sure how long she watched Joe’s daughter cry and beg for her, but finally satisfied she lifted Meggie into her arms and kissed her wet face.
“I’m sorry, my love. It’s your daddy’s fault, but I shouldn’t be mean to you. You’ll love me when no one else will. You already do.”
Meggie leaned against Dinah’s shoulder. “Love Mommie!”
“You do,” Dinah whispered, wrapping her arms around her little girl. “You always will. You’ll love me more than you ever love anyone else. Isn’t that right, love?”
“Yes, Mommie,” Meggie sniffled, her speech almost perfect. “I want Daddy!”
“No! No, you don’t,” Dinah shrieked. “He’s mean, Meggie. He hurts you.”
“Daddy!”
Wrapping Meggie’s hair around her hand, Dinah started to wrench her head back. The wringing doorbell interrupted her.
God! Joe arrived early. If Meggie told him…God!
He’d kill Dinah.
The bell rang around.
“Daddy!” Meggie called.
“Shhh, baby,” Dinah soothed, desperate. Carrying Meggie, she hurried to the door. “It’s okay. Don’t cry anymore. I know you fell and got a boo-boo—”
