‘Don’t worry, cousin,’ she said. ‘Mom went to a church function in Topton, a women’s support group or something. She and Dad are getting div...rced, did you know that?’ Tommy was surprised how calm Kim was about her parents’ marriage breaking up. He nodded. ‘She told me,’ he said. ‘I’m sorry.’ Kim shrugged. ‘Hey, Dad’s been a jerk the last few years,’ she said. ‘I can’t blame Mom for not wanting him around. I, you know, kinda feel funny it happened, but that’s the way it is, I guess. Hell, most. ”“Did your dad ever hit you with a belt?”“Once when I was fifteen and came home two hours late, drunk as hell,” Jerome said. “He had that same damn look.”“If you were so damn drunk how would you remember what look he had?”“He threw me in the cold shower so I was stone-cold sober when he used the belt on my ass,” he told her. “Take my word for it, okay? I know the look.”Leah gave an unladylike snort and said, “Drop me off at the next corner and I will call Marcus to come to get me. You can tell. I felt like I was positively floating and that the lengths were over before they began. In fact I kinda lost count of where I was at in my workout when I felt somebody tap me when I came into a turn. I stopped and as I pulled off my goggles I looked up to see Matt crouching at the edge of the pool. “Hey kiddo, you about done? Everybody else is showering or already gone!” Crap! I looked around and I was the only one left in the pool. I’d been completely absorbed in my workout and hadn’t even. "Hmm. We should try not to have an orgy in front of our guests," I suggested as I saw Jennifer and Courtney move together to kiss."Oh, don't worry about us," Geoff said. "It's all inspiring. If Robbie weren't so comfortable being hugged by Dani, we'd probably all be in bed by now." Is having a baby really bad?" Robyn asked in a small voice. She'd been looking at Matthew nursing on Doreen ever since we came downstairs."The best thing ever," Doreen sighed. Matt had drifted off to sleep pillowed.