Read Loving Promises for Free Online

could play with them. They’d enjoy that,” Dotty said.
    Dale arched a brow at his mother, but did as Bev asked.
    “Sorry to put you through that,” Bev said, settling back on the bench. “I just need to get my wits about me before I talk with Michael. Sometimes he’s so hard to handle, and I need to keep calm.”
    “Kids can be a handful,” Dotty said. “It’s much harder when you’re alone. I always had Al to stand by me when we needed to discipline Dale, although he was a good boy most of the time.”
    Bev had a difficult time imagining Dale as a boy. She truly wondered if he’d ever really been one.
    “I’d better rescue Dale,” she said, rising. She marched across the grass, and as she neared, she beckoned Dale aside. “I wanted to talk with you away from your mother.”
    His face brightened. “You’ve thought of someone?”
    Someone? When she realized he thought she had information about a caregiver, the awareness smoothed the edge of her anger, but she still had to speak her mind. “It’s not about your mother. It’s about my children.” She drew him farther away from the kids so they wouldn’t hear.
    His expression darkened.
    “It’s obvious you don’t like kids. I want—”
    “I never said that.” He glanced toward his mother then back to her.
    She let her gaze drift to Dotty, trying to make their conversation appear to be genial. “I can see it in your actions.” She tried to keep her voice low and controlled. “I really don’t care how you feel, but I want you to know that I love my kids, and I don’t expect you to discipline them.”
    “Look, Bev, I didn’t—”
    “You bellowed at Michael. That’s my place, not yours. I can criticize my children, but you can’t.”
    He stepped back. “Sorry, I just thought you were having a problem getting him to—”
    She felt tears blur her eyes. “I have problems, yes, but I don’t need your help. I can handle it myself.”
    “I’ve recently asked for your help.” He gave a feeble gesture toward his mother. “I only thought…” His voice faded, then he rallied. “Sometimes people need someone else, but I hear you.” He lifted his hand. “I’ll stay clear of your kids.”
    “Good,” she said, though she didn’t feel good at all. She’d begun to like Dale.
    “Why don’t you go back to your mother, and let me take care of things here?”
    Dale felt the sting of Bev’s comment. He’d thought she would appreciate his making an effort to get Michael’s attention. He guessed he’d been wrong.
    He kicked a stone as he headed back toward his mother, hoping she hadn’t spotted the tension that flashed like sparks from Bev’s eyes. He’d called her amother hen earlier. Mother tiger would have been more realistic.
    The kicker was he liked Bev—a lot more than any woman he’d met in a long time, but that didn’t change his attitude. Still, he’d hoped to remain on a friendly basis for his parents’ sake.
    The truth shimmered over him. His last thought was a coverup. She’d been growing on him, and if the blossoming friendship would have any hope of continuing, he needed to stay out of Bev’s business. Yet something inside him wanted to help. The kids needed discipline—the boy especially—but both needed something more. Direction, he thought. Bev gave orders, but didn’t seem to follow through. He could give her some good pointers. He faltered, knowing he’d better learn to keep quiet.
    “Is Bev angry with you?” Dotty asked as soon as he reached her.
    He grimaced, wondering how a woman with blurred eyesight could see so much.
    “You shouldn’t discipline her children, Dale. That’s her business.”
    He opened his mouth to refute her comment, but she didn’t give him a moment.
    “She’s a lovely woman,” his mother said. “She’s had a hard life.”
    Her words made Dale realize he knew little about Bev’s life except she was a widowed mother. “How do you know about her life?”
    “Women sense things,