Searching for Tomorrow (Tomorrows) by Katie Mac, Kathryn McNeill Crane Page A

or do, nothing is ever good enough for her. I stop for a minute to take some Legos back to Bekah’s room. I need to remember to talk to her about taking better care of her toys.
    These last few weeks have been hectic without her help, yes. They have also been very quiet and peaceful to a certain degree. It amazes me that little to no tension has been felt around the house. I lift the cushions off the couch to vacuum up the stray pieces of popcorn from our movie night last week. Some of the tiny rips in my soul have started repairing themselves, making it a little easier to get out of bed each morning and face the day. I find myself smiling more, and even caught myself singing a little Tim McGraw the other day. I have not been getting aggravated with the girls as much, and it seems they’ve noticed that I don’t seem quite so drained.
    So , I really have to question whether I want to punish myself by approaching Mother Tidwell to help. Will she make things easier and better, or will she drag me back down to where I was before? I am so deep into the conversation with myself that I fail to hear knocking at the door over the sound of the vacuum. As I lean over to direct the nozzle under the couch, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. I look up to find someone standing in front of me. I immediately scream and throw the vacuum hose as my heart starts trying to pound its way out of my chest. In the seconds before I realize it is Liam, I find myself on the edge of a full-blown panic attack.
    Turning the vacuum off and then holding his hands in the air, Liam says, “Whoa, Sis. What the heck? I have been pounding on your door for five minutes. How could you not hear me over that?” Coming over to me, Liam takes me by the elbow and leads me to the couch to sit.
    Feeling faint, I immediately put my head between my knees and take long, slow breaths. After a few seconds, I feel the fog lifting from my head, and my heart rate finally starts slowing down. “Liam, I swear you just took ten years off my life.” My voice shakes as I give a small chuckle. “I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn’t hear you knocking. You know how I talk to myself.” I sit here drawing in deep breaths, trying to get my heart back to its normal beat.
    “Sis, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’ve got some news for you. To be honest, I am not quite sure how you are going to take it. Just listen to me before you say anything and I will try to answer any questions that I can.”
    Liam ’s voice is so serious. I have only heard this tone one other time in my life as Liam tried to help me understand what the man in the uniform had tried to tell me. It was on the worst day of my life. I know that whatever he is getting ready to tell me will not be something that I want to hear. As I try to get up off the couch, Liam grabs my hand and pulls me back down beside him.
    “You can’t run from this , Wrynn. You have to stop and at least hear what I have to say before you run out. It’s her. Grandma Tiddy. She’s been making noise all over town. I’ve lost three jobs this week because of the threats that she is making to my customers.” Liam takes a deep sigh and pulls me into his side. Leave it to him to try to comfort me when he is the one being hurt.
    “Threats ? What kind of threats? I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me, Liam.” I know the confusion I am feeling is coming through loud and clear. What kind of threats could Mother Tidwell make that could possibly harm my brother? Then it hits me. She has the power to destroy Liam’s landscaping company. If she threatens enough businesses and they drop him, he will have to either change his line of work, or move somewhere else and start over.
    “ Yes, Wrynn. Now you get it.” Liam knows the moment that I understand just how much damage that evil woman can do to him. “She’s told several of the businesses in town that their rent will be going up considerably at the next