Promises to Keep Read Online Free

if she chooses, making herself tea, curling up on the sofa to watch some TV. It has become her favorite time of day—the hours when the phone doesn’t ring, other than Reece to say what time he’ll be home, and no one is demanding anything of her.
    “How about the kids? Are they like you, or Reece?” Steffi smiles, thinking of the niece and nephew she adores.
    “Eliza’s just as strong willed and stubborn as I am, and moody as hell. God, Steff, I don’t remember ever being this rude to Mom when I was young. Sometimes it just takes my breath away.”
    “My perfect niece is rude? Seriously?”
    “Not for the past couple of days, thank God. She’s liking me this week because I just donated a family photographic session to the school auction, and apparently she overheard one of the ten-year-olds saying her mom was desperate to have me take their pictures. So this week I’m cool again. Jack, on the other hand, bless his soul, still adores me unreservedly. God,” she sighs, “I love that boy.”
    “Favoritism!” Steffi points out. “And by the way, despite what Eliza may think this week, you’re not cool,” she says. “You’re a total Stepford Wife.”
    “Steff, if you weren’t my sister, I’d kill you.”
    “But it’s true. How many times do I have to tell you there are wardrobe choices other than Gap shorts and FitFlops?”
    Callie laughs. “How do you know I have FitFlops?”
    “I don’t, but I took the train out to stay with Lila a couple of weekends ago, and every single woman I passed on Main Street was wearing those damned things. It’s obviously some weird suburban Stepford thing.”
    “Bedford isn’t the suburbs, it’s the country.”
    “That’s just what you tell yourself to make yourself feel better. Hey, by the way, this guy who comes into the restaurant may let me use his farmhouse in Sleepy Hollow. Wouldn’t that be awesome?”
    Callie lights up. “Sleepy Hollow? That’s so close! That would be amazing. What would it be, a weekend place for you or something?”
    “Something. Not sure yet. I haven’t seen it but I’ll keep you posted.”
    “Hey, how is Lila, anyway? And how come you went out there? That’s just sad. She’s my best friend and you get to see her more often than I do.”
    “I totally don’t, but this boyfriend of hers, Ed, had his son staying, and the boy’s a fan of Rob’s so we came out to meet him.”
    “That’s adorable! She never told me!”
    Steffi sniffs. “Some kind of best friend . . .”
    “No, it’s my fault,” Callie says guiltily. “I’ve been so busy with life, I’ve barely had a chance to speak to her, and she’s terrible at email. So did you meet Ed? What did you think?”
    “Yes. He seems like a great guy.”
    “I think he is. In fact, for all the times Lila has said that this time she’s met the one, this is the first time she hasn’t actually said that. It seems more real than the others. Very measured and balanced. I think she may actually have found the guy.”
    “She seems happy. They do seem right together, and she was calm around him.”
    “That’s exactly it,” Callie says excitedly. “He calms her down, and that’s what was always missing. Lila always got so completely amped up about her boyfriends that you knew it couldn’t last.”
    “Also, he does have that amazing English accent.”
    “I know!” Callie giggles. “If I close my eyes I can think of Hugh Grant.”
    “So,” Steffi says, “although, darling sis, I would love to talk to you all day, they might very well kill me if I’m more than about twenty minutes late, so did you just call to chat or is there a reason?”
    “Both. I called to chat, and to say that I’m kind of worried about Dad.”
    “You are? Why? Is he sick?”
    “God, no! Nothing like that. It’s just that he’s started calling me every day, which, as you know, isn’t like him at all, and I just worry that he’s really lonely.”
    “That’s because he’s a bad-tempered old