social security card, and all of the hidden cash found its way into the
tote. She glanced at the summer wardrobe spilling over into Zach’s side
and decided there wasn’t anything she wanted to take. She tipped down
the rear stairway into the kitchen, snatched the keys from a hook near
the door to put as much distance between herself and those people as
possible.
Shannan only vaguely heard the youngest of her seven children call
her name. Her heart constricted as she ignored them, tears blinding her
as she slid behind the wheel of an SUV that was almost a second home.
Basketball. Volleyball. Football. Gymnastics. PTA. Never any breaks
between or any time for her to simply breathe.
I will die if I stay here.
Those seven words came to mind, summarizing her current status.
Something that first hit her when she had the argument with Zach before
his family arrived …
“My mother raised five boys on her own and never complained about
having to manage a household,” he said, still keeping his focus on the
circuitry in his hands.
“And she was on her own because she ran your father off,” she replied.
“Let’s be real about that.”
Zachary’s face twisted into a mask of annoyance as he glared at her. “I
can’t talk about this with you.”
“I’m done talking. I’m tired,” she snapped. “There’s going to come a
time when I say to hell with it.”
Zach paused at the end of the wooden bench, scoffing as he asked,
“And where are you going to go? Who’s going to be a father to seven
children?”
“They have a father,” she said, and the sorrow of her reality was heavy
indeed. “I need a husband.”
I will die if I stay here.
The moment Shannan hit the expressway, she wiped her tears with
the back of a trembling hand. A startling thought hit her. She could not
leave her baby girl in that house.
Naleighna Kai is the national
bestselling author of several
controversial novels. She’s the
founder of the NK Tribe Called
Success, NK Literary Cafe
Magazine, and the Cavalcade
of Authors Literary Tour. She
is an agent, developmental
editor, literary consultant and
marketing and promotion
specialist.
www.naleighnakai.com