The Touch of Fire Read online

  There was a small silence, and she knew they were looking at each other again, communicating in that mental way sisters had.

  Her mother cleared her throat. “I’m not quite certain I understand. Is there someone in particular to whom you’re referring?”

  Bless her mother’s heart, she was an English teacher to the core. She was the only person Daisy knew who actually said whom—well, except for herself. The acorn hadn’t fallen far from the mother oak. Even when her mother was upset, her phrasing remained exact.

  Daisy shook her head, and wiped the tears away so she could face them again. “No, I’m not suffering from unrequited love. But I want to get married and have babies before I get too old, and the only way that’s going to happen is if I make some major changes.”

  “What sort of major changes?” Aunt Jo asked warily.

  “Look at me!” Daisy indicated herself from head to foot. “I’m boring, and I’m mousy. Who’s going to look at me twice? Even poor Wally Herndon wasn’t interested. I have to make some major changes to me.”

  She took a deep breath. “I need to spruce myself up. I need to make men look at me. I need to start going places where I’m likely to meet single men, such as nightclubs and dances.” She paused, expecting objections, but was met with only silence. She took another deep breath and blurted out the biggie: “I need to get my own place to live.” Then she waited.

  Another sisterly glance was exchanged. The moment stretched out, and Daisy’s nerves stretched along with it. What would she do if they strenuously objected? Could she hold out against them? The problem was that she loved them and wanted them happy, she didn’t want to upset them or make them ashamed of her.

  They both turned back to her with identical broad smiles on their faces.

  “Well, it’s about time,” Aunt Jo said.

  “We’ll help,” her mother said, beaming.

  © Brian velenchenko

  LINDA HOWARD is an award-winning author whose New York Times bestsellers include Open Season, All the Queen’s Men, Mr. Perfect, Kill and Tell, and Son of the Morning. She lives in Alabama with her husband and two golden retrievers.