Larry paused for a moment. He looked at the ground and then up at Nina. With Precious cradled in his arm, he grabbed Nina’s hand and started to walk toward the door.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Larry.
“But you’ve known all this time. I’m so sorry I’ve caused you so much pain. I should’ve told you. I should’ve told you rather than you hearing it from Val.”
“Baby, how I found out is not important. We’re going to work through this.”
Lugging his wife and daughter in his two arms like a person carrying grocery bags into the house, Larry walked over to Barbara and stood in front of her. Nina’s body was slouched over as she cried and looked down at the floor. She was too embarrassed to look in Barbara’s direction. She had been so combative toward Barbara and now she owed her a debt of gratitude because Barbara came to her defense by convincing Larry to show compassion.
Nina tried to look away, but Barbara grabbed Nina’s chin and forced her to look at her.
“Nina, I’m not going to stand here and pretend like I am suddenly your biggest fan,” Barbara said as she fought back her own tears. “As a matter of fact, whenever I think about Chrissy, I have to pray to keep from hating you. But believe it or not, I actually understand the difficult decision you had to make.”
Barbara glanced at Larry. Her bottom lip trembled as she gave up her battle to hold back the tears and allowed them to stream down her face.
“I do love my brother, and it is very clear to me that he truly loves you. So I will always support him. I have grown to love Precious, and I’ll continue to treat her like a blood relative. I’m praying that God softens my heart so that I can someday embrace you like my sister . . . but I’m gonna need some time.”
After she laid out her true feelings to Nina so that there was a clear understanding of the status of their relationship, Barbara wrapped her arms around Nina and led her into the bedroom.
“Come on; let’s get you cleaned up,” she whispered into Nina’s ear.
Larry stood in the living room, holding Precious.
“Don’t cry, Daddy. You want me to get you something to drink?” Precious asked as she wiped her dad’s face.
“No, baby. I’m fine. It’s time for you to go to bed.”
Larry took Precious upstairs into her room. He looked over at the bed in the corner. The pillow with Chrissy’s name was still on the bed. It felt like someone had shoved a stake through Larry’s heart. He wanted to cry out loud, but he couldn’t. There was another child sitting there who needed him.
As he tucked Precious under the covers, Larry looked into her beautiful eyes.
“Do you know how much I love you?”
“Yes.”
Larry kissed the child on her forehead.
“Are you mad at my mommy?” Precious asked.
“No, baby. Your mommy and I just have some things to talk about.”
“Are you still gonna be my daddy?”
“Yes, baby, I’m gonna always be your daddy.”
Precious smiled and hugged Larry’s neck tighter. Her hug nearly brought him to his knees. He could feel Chrissy’s spirit flow through Precious’ tiny arms. Chills ran up his spine as tears ran down his face.
“Daddy,” Precious whispered.
“Yes, sweetheart, what is it?”
“Do you remember that day we went for the walk in the park and you were pushing me on the swing?”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember that I told you what happened on that day Mommy, Chrissy, Ms. Val, and me crashed the car?”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“Did you tell Mommy what I said?”
Larry thought long and hard about that afternoon at the park with Precious. He grimaced when he thought about the way he felt when he’d learned that Nina had an opportunity to save Chrissy, but didn’t try.
The images of his autistic daughter drowning with little to no hope of being saved ushered in additional thoughts; thoughts that were far more fiendish. Frown lines slowly extended from one side of Larry’s forehead to the other as he recalled his decision to punish Nina for her deceit. It was clear that it would take time for this wound to heal, but Larry was determined to move on.
Larry looked deep into Precious’ eyes and then kissed her forehead again and said, “I will never tell your mother that you told me everything that happened during the car crash. That will be between us. Now we have our own little secret.”
BOOK CLUB QUESTIONS
1. Considering the circumstances surrounding this storyline, did Nina do the right thing by saving her child or should she have saved her handicapped stepdaughter first?
2. If you were Nina and you knew that there was absolutely no way Larry could have found out what really happened in that crash, would you have told him the truth about your decision, or taken that secret to your grave?
3. This next question is for those people who emphatically say they would have saved their own child rather than the stepchild. If you felt secure and justified in your decision, but you chose not to tell your partner ALL of the details because you are afraid of upsetting him/her, aren’t you guilty of being a hypocrite?
Brian W. Smith is the author of several bestselling novels, Mama’s Lies—Daddy’s Pain, Deadbeat, Beater, and Nina’s Got a Secret. Originally self-published, Nina’s Got a Secret made several bestseller lists; was voted to the Sankofa Literary Society’s “Top 100 Books of the Decade” list; and was featured on the Oprah Book Club’s “What to Read” list.
During his six-year writing career, Brian has received several awards; been a Featured Author at several literary conferences; and was recently named “2011 Male Author of the Year” by AAMBC.
Brian continues to expand his “literary territory” by engaging in projects outside of writing novels. He is the co-host of the popular literary radio show on the Internet—On the Air with Trice and Brian. Brian is also a member of the successful all-male literary tour, The Love Literature Tour, and is an Adjunct Professor of Creative Writing at Collin County Community College (McKinney, TX).
Brian’s educational background consists of two Bachelor of Science Degrees (Business Administration and Criminal Justice) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Dallas. Brian is a native of New Orleans, LA, and currently lives in Dallas, Texas.
Learn more about the author at www.hollygrovepublishing.com; www.facebook.com/HollygrovePublishing; www.facebook.com/AuthorBrianWSmith (Facebook fan page).
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COVER DESIGN BY MARION DESIGNS • COVER PHOTO BY KEITH SAUNDERS
Strebor Books
P.O. Box 6505
Largo, MD 20792
http://www.streborbooks.com
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
© 2012 by Brian W. Smith
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.
ISBN 978-1-59309-411-9
ISBN 978-1-4516-5744-9 (ebook)
LCCN 2011938329
First Strebor Books trade paperback edition September 2012
Cover design: www.mariondesigns.com
Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Marion Designs
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