woostify domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/latestwordpress/lonestar.a1professionals.net_public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6131Excerpt from new Texas fiction<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Excerpted from chapter 22 of THE HUNTING WIVES<\/strong><\/a> by May Cobb<\/strong><\/a>, published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright \u00a9 2021 by May Cobb.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 22<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span><\/span><\/span>H<\/span><\/span><\/span>E<\/span><\/span><\/span> CHURCH IS <\/span><\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span>ee<\/span><\/span>z<\/span><\/span>i<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>g<\/span><\/span> a<\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span> t<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span> b<\/span><\/span>l<\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span> o<\/span><\/span>f<\/span><\/span> s<\/span><\/span>u<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span> a<\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span> t<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span> l<\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>k<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span> I<\/span><\/span> w<\/span><\/span>r<\/span><\/span>e<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span>c<\/span><\/span>h<\/span><\/span> m<\/span><\/span>y <\/span><\/span>cover-up<\/span><\/span> around me and pad down the hallway, my flip-flops slapping the li<\/span><\/span>noleum floors as I make my way to Jack\u2019s classroom.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s<\/span><\/span> not a second past two thirty but he\u2019s the last one here, and Ms. Marcie, his sweet but overly zealous Christian teacher, is antsy. She\u2019s coating the surface of a little round table with a mist of Lysol and wiping it clean in agitated circles with a wad of paper towels.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Ugh. I\u2019m becoming my mother. Something I promised myself I\u2019d never do to Jack. Nikki arriving perpetually late to collect me from school, her waist-length hair shaggy and wild, excuses to the teacher spewing from her coral-lipsticked mouth. I can remember my face reddening when Nikki would interact with the other adults in my childhood sphere, and that peculiar, twisty feeling of being embarrassed for her.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I keep my distance. I don\u2019t want Ms. Marcie to smell the booze or sin on me.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Jack clocks me, drops a gnawed-on book to the floor, and toddles over,<\/span><\/span> leaping<\/span> into<\/span> my<\/span> arms. Hugging him tightly, I ask Ms. Marcie over his shoulder, \u201cHow was his day?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFine! He got really into painting today. With a brush, not just finger painting. And he ate all of his lunch! No nap, though, just so you\u2019re warned.\u201d She smiles and returns to the can of Lysol.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I sling his backpack over my shoulder and we head for the car. After I\u2019ve buckled him in his seat, my phone dings.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Graham: <\/span><\/span><\/span>I\u2019m picking up Pizza King tonight! And also, a surprise!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n My <\/span><\/span>face slouches into a frown; my shoulders sag with guilt. I am a truly terrible person. I feel sunstroked and icky. How could I have done that to him? And, also, I completely abandoned making the chicken potpie, which makes me feel even worse about myself. If that\u2019s possible.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I text him back:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sounds delicious!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I look in the rearview and Jack\u2019s eyes are sealed shut, his cherub mouth slung open with the tip of his tongue hanging out.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I drive around the wooded neighborhood near the church for a few minutes, cruising slowly through the wide streets, so Jack can have a full nap before heading home.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n AS I\u2019M WAITING <\/span><\/span><\/span>for our garage door to trundle open, I check my cell. There is a text from Margot.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Margot: <\/span><\/span><\/span>I swear I didn\u2019t know they were coming out! Please don\u2019t be mad!<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure I believe her. My hand is still slimed with sunblock and I <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>clutch the phone, trying to figure out how to respond. I begin typing but see that she\u2019s working on a fresh text.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Margot: <\/span><\/span><\/span>But it looks like you were having fun anyway. <\/span><\/span><\/span>\ud83d\ude09<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n My neck burns with shame. She continues typing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Margot: <\/span><\/span><\/span>See you Friday? <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Me: <\/span><\/span><\/span>