The Mother. BEVERLY BARTON

      Don’t Cry

      Beverly Barton

      Copyright

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      AVON

      A division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in the U.S.A by Kensington Publishing Corp as Don’t Cry New York, NY, 2010

      DON’T CRY. Copyright © Beverly Barton 2010. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

      HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

      Beverly Barton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

      Source ISBN: 9781847562487

      Ebook Edition © DECEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780007452460

      Version: 2018-07-23

      Dedication

      To Billy, for a million and one reasons, but most of all

       because he loves me

      &

      In memory of Pelham, Alabama,

       Police Officer Philip Davis, who lost his life in the line of duty, December 4, 2009

      Contents

       Cover

      Title Page

      Copyright

      Dedication

      Prologue

      The Humpty-Dumpty night-light cast a soft, honey-white glow over the…

      Chapter 1

      J.D. Cass listened to his breakfast date’s end of the…

      Chapter 2

      Charlie Scott kept his arm clutched tightly around his wife’s…

      Chapter 3

      For most of her life—certainly after the car wreck that…

      Chapter 4

      Audrey had spent a restless night, tossing and turning, waking…

      Chapter 5

      After Audrey’s arrival at his home that morning, Mayor Don…

      Chapter 6

      Audrey disagreed with Garth. And not for the first time.

      Chapter 7

      Wayne Sherrod couldn’t get away from headquarters fast enough. He…

      Chapter 8

      After they had made love, while he held her close,…

      Chapter 9

      Audrey balanced her briefcase in one hand and a mocha…

      Chapter 10

      After her uncle’s phone call that morning, Audrey had asked…

      Chapter 11

      The hot, humid summer breeze did little to cool the…

      Chapter 12

      Jeremy caught a glimpse of the dark-haired waitress at the…

      Chapter 13

      Wayne Sherrod hadn’t seen or talked to Steve Kelly in…

      Chapter 14

      J.D. left the Chattanooga Funeral Home’s East Chapel with the…

      Chapter 15

      Audrey had waited until she and Zoe had arrived at…

      Chapter 16

      Tam had left Marcus sleeping when she crept out of…

      Chapter 17

      All J.D. wanted to do was pick up his daughter…

      Chapter 18

      J.D. had immersed himself in work, leaving the situation with…

      Chapter 19

      “Was that Porter Bryant you were talking to?” Hart asked…

      Chapter 20

      “Are you sure you want to do this?” Grace Douglas…

      Chapter 21

      J.D. dropped Zoe off at Audrey’s town house Saturday night…

      Chapter 22

      Eileen Campbell came straight from morning church services to her…

      Chapter 23

      J.D hadn’t slept worth a damn. And it was more…

      Chapter 24

      Hart had used the interview with TBI Special Agent Cass…

      Chapter 25

      J.D. had kept tabs on Jeremy Arden and Hart Roberts…

      Chapter 26

      Somer Ellis enjoyed her part-time job as a salesclerk at…

      Chapter 27

      Tam had known Garth Hudson most of her life. She…

      Chapter 28

      “Is he gone?” Zoe asked as she walked up beside…

      Chapter 29

      Somer Ellis’s head hurt. Maybe she should get up and…

      Chapter 30

      The sketch artist had drawn a picture of the person…

      Chapter 31

      Jeremy had needed a fix last night. Had needed one…

      Chapter 32

      Hart pumped into the woman lying beneath him, his thrusts…

      Chapter 33

      Driving like the proverbial bat out of hell, J.D. arrived…

      Chapter 34

      Somer heard his footsteps.

      Chapter 35

      Within an hour after Porter Bryant’s arrest, the small, dilapidated…

      Chapter 36

      A week later the test results came back from the…

      Chapter 37

      What