Saving Sue: Weaver's Circle, #3

By Christa Maurice

To be rescued, you have to let someone help you.

Greg has had a crush on tough, resourceful Sue since high school, but getting close to her has proven impossible. She spends so much time dealing with her alcoholic parents that the first chance Greg gets to talk to her is when he's serving her with foreclosure papers. If he can find a way to keep her from losing her family's farm, maybe she'll learn to like him.

But Sue doesn't believe Greg could care about her. Either he pities her, which is humiliating, or he wants to get into her pants, which is disgusting. If she could just find someone who would love her for who she was and not what she could do for them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christa Maurice
• Release date: Jul 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386282808

Book preview

Table of Contents

Saving Sue

Copyright 2018 Christa Maurice

Contemporary Timeline

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Epilogue

Weaver’s Circle is the kind of town you come back to

Chapter One

About the Author

Also By Christa Maurice

Saving Sue

By

Christa Maurice

Copyright 2019 Christa Maurice

eBooks are not transferable. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE:

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

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Contemporary Timeline

Because my series are interlocking, characters cross over into other books and they share a timeline. This list will allow you to figure out where the book in your hands falls in the timeline and if you spot a character you want to know more about, track them down in another book. The dates provided are not the years the books were published, or even the years the books were written, but when the action in that book took place. Shorts show up in my newsletter.

2007

Satellite Of Love, Maureen & Bear, Drawn To the Rhythm

2008

Heaven Beside You, Jason & Cassie, Drawn To the Rhythm

Decisions, Decisions (short), Maureen & Bear, Drawn To the Rhythm

2010

Love the One You’re With (short), Suzi

2012

Waiting For a Girl Like You, Alex & Marc, Drawn To the Rhythm

2013

Victim Of Love, Rick & Tara, Rock And Roll State Of Mind

2014

Let Me Be the One, Brian & Suzi (& Logan though not all at once), Drawn To the Rhythm

Send Me an Angel, Alan & Angie, Rock And Roll State Of Mind

Kickstart My Heart (short), pretty much everybody

2015

Not Second Best, Tessa & Brett, Drawn To the Rhythm

Gift To Be Simple, Gian & Rachel, Rock And Roll State Of Mind

Baby Come Back, Trent & Jenny, Rock And Roll State Of Mind

Remembering Beth, Beth & James, Weaver’s Circle

Redeeming Johnny, Johnny & Elaine, Weaver’s Circle

Saving Sue, Sue & Greg, Weaver’s Circle

2016

Try a Little Tenderness, Ryan & Taylor, Hollywood Nights

Protecting Lucy, Lucy & Dan, Weaver’s Circle

Rescuing Jack, Marie & Will (& Jack), Weaver’s Circle

Celebrating Flora, Flora & Wally, Weaver’s Circle

2017

Love Me Tender, Mick & Sarina, Hollywood Nights

Keep Coming Back To Love, Candy & Ty, Drawn To the Rhythm

Tender Is the Night, Gale & Lisa, Hollywood Nights

2018

Sacked By the Quarterback, Sonny & Mandy, Lumberjacks Football

Rushing the Passer, Hoagy & Danni, Lumberjacks Football

Chapter One

Sue parked the car in the bay of the garage nearest the stairs to her apartment and leaned into the back seat to get the bags. Since she wasn’t cooking for her parents any more, it wasn’t a particularly heavy shopping trip. She still wasn’t used to cooking in her own place, but everybody in Al Anon said she had to stop enabling her parents and the easiest way to do that was to make them take care of themselves. If they would. She dragged the first load up the stairs, dropped her purse on the counter and was headed down for the rest when the door to the main house banged.

What the fuck is this? her father bellowed waving a torn piece of paper as he lurched across the asphalt. Sue braced herself. She couldn’t give in no matter what. She couldn’t enable them anymore. But he looked awful. Thinner, pale, waxy—and furious enough to have another heart attack. His hair was more gray and blond. Johnny had gotten Dad’s blond hair while her mother’s and father’s genes had combined to produce red on her. It made her stick out more than she ever wanted to. What’s what, Dad?

This bullshit. He shoved the paper under her nose. We own this house. My parents gave it to us for a wedding present.

Sue scanned the paper while her father ranted. Notice of eviction for back taxes. Back taxes? Johnny said he was taking care of things. He promised. If the county kicked her parents out of the house, they were kicking her out of her apartment over the garage too. God dammit. She thundered back up the stairs.

Where are you going?

To figure out where I’m going to live when they kick us out.

What about your mother and me?

Sue stopped at the top of the stairs. Her dad stood at the bottom with a look of betrayed fury on his face. Yeah well, he needed to get in line. For fifteen years, she’d been managing for the two of them while they went deeper and deeper into the bottle and this was the thanks she got. Slamming through her door, she called Johnny and listened to the phone ring until it hit voice mail. Johnny! Johnny, they’re kicking us out. The county is evicting us because of the taxes. I thought you were taking care of this. Where are we supposed to go? No, screw that. Where am I supposed to go? Sue’s throat closed. Where was she going to go? She didn’t just live in this crappy apartment over the garage behind her parents’ house; she ran her nail salon out of it. With it she had very little income, without she had nothing. Damn it. Call me back.

She slumped in her tech chair. Things were supposed to get better when they got their parents dried out. Everything was a peachy for Johnny. He’d moved in with Elaine Luis and they were living the standard middle class dream. Nice house, stable income, planning their wedding next summer. Yippy skippy. Except he’d left her behind again, still stuck in this mess.

Sue wiped her eyes. She had to do something. Keep moving forward. Something. She’d gotten through fifteen years without anybody helping her. One foot in front of the other, just like always. She dialed Johnny again, and he didn’t pick up. He’d gotten her into this by wanting to fix everybody. Things had sucked before, but at least it was a maintained suckage.

Except they weren’t. Dad had been pissing away the family business and the house for years, she just hadn’t realized because she’d been focused on day-to-day survival for all of them. She needed to stop blaming other people for what happened and take responsibility.

What she needed to do was stop spouting that Al Anon crap. It made her head hurt. Dad had stopped yowling, so he’d probably gone back inside the house. One reliable thing about Dad, he wasn’t quiet. After unloading the car and stashing the frozen stuff in the freezer, she headed back into town. She had to shut down the gossip train before everybody in town found out what was going on. As she passed Mrs. Vorac’s house she saw the curtains twitch. Everybody did know. Or would in about fifteen minutes.

Zack, who happened to be coming out of the building, met her in the parking lot. Hey Sue, how’s it going?

How’s it going? How’s it going? Sue threw her purse on the ground, pebbles skidding as it hit. You probably did it, didn’t you?

Did what? Zack took a step back. What is wrong with you?

My parents’ house. I am getting kicked out, you idiot. The back taxes. I’m homeless. Tears welled up in her eyes again. Goddamn it, she would not cry in the parking lot of the township building.

Jeez, I’m sorry, Sue. Hey, come on. Don’t cry. It’ll take a couple of months before the sherrif’s sale, y’know. Zack put his arm around her shoulders.

Let go of me. She shook him off.

We’ll go talk to Greg. He’ll know what to do. Zack held out his hand, but didn’t grab for her this time.

Greg. Shit. She’d forgotten that Greg worked in the auditor’s office. If there was anything worse than having a breakdown in the township office parking lot in front of the town playboy, it was having to talk to smug, smart, dark haired, dark eyed Greg Morocco about losing her house

Sue followed Zack into the county building and up the stairs, checking her phone as she went. No response from Johnny. Bastard was ducking her. He wouldn’t be able to avoid her when she was standing on Elaine’s front porch with all her worldly belongings because she didn’t have anywhere else to go.

Zack pushed open the door of the auditor’s office and Greg, seated behind a metal desk three feet from the door, looked up. He jerked, glanced at his computer screen, swore and stood up, clearing his throat. Susan. How nice to see you.

Don’t give me that horseshit, Sue shouted. You know what you did.

Now, Sue, it wasn’t my call. Your dad is over two years in arrears on the property tax. As it is, I delayed processing it for three months hoping your brother would come up with the money.

You’re a real hero, Greg.

Greg pursed his lips. He didn’t look too much different than he had when they were in high school together. Well, not together. He was three years ahead of her, in National Honor Society and on the football team. She’d been a stringy freshman still reeling from the disappearance of her brother the year before, trying to keep body and soul together, failing most of her classes because she had to spend her nights taking care of her parents who’d sold their souls for the next bottle of booze and no longer bothered by the niceties of clean clothes or even hot meals once Johnny left.

Sue rolled her eyes toward the ceiling to stop the flow of tears. Crying would only make Zack and Greg act like bigger doofuses. Shit. I better go find someplace to sleep tonight. Oh, and somewhere to work because I ran my business out of in my apartment, too. How are my customers supposed to find me?

Aw Jeez, you work out of your place, don’t you? Greg caught Zack’s gaze. It’s gonna take a couple of months before the sheriff’s sale. I can try to delay that to give you some time.

He sounded upset. Sue set aside her fury to study him for a minute. Eyebrows gathered, lips still pressed together and turned down. What did he care if she lost her business as well as her house? He wasn’t a client of hers. Why?

Because it’s not your fault your parents screwed up. Come on, just let me do this for you.