“What do you want for dinner?” I say, grabbing a towel.
He leans out, that look on his face.
“Oh God, you quit,” I hiss.
He disappears behind the curtain, soft laughter following me as I go out to put my clothes on. If I don’t get myself out of this bedroom and downstairs, he’s going to figure out some way to sweet talk me back into that bed again. It wouldn’t take much convincing.
Smiling to myself, I go down to the kitchen just as Julie-Mae walks into the hall. She’s always got shopping bags on her arms. Tonight, it’s from the boutique in Knifely.
“Hey, a couple of us are going out to the bars tonight,” she says, clearly in a good mood. “You care if I’m back late?”
“No, that’s fine,” I say. “Just make sure somebody safe brings you home if you drink.”
“It’s just Jenine and me driving over,” she says, hanging up her purse.
“Who’s Jenine again?”
“Stenographer for the courthouse,” she says. “She’s only a couple years older, going out with Harvey.”
“Harvey?”
Julie-Mae gives a patient sigh. Ever since she started working for the city, she’s all over town, hanging out with everybody. I can’t keep up with all her friends now.
“Harvey Reed,” she says.
“Oh, you mean Jay Reed’s grandson,” I say, setting a pot on the stove. “I didn’t know he was working for the city now.”
“He’s not. We just see him a lot at the courthouse.” She fluffs her wavy dark hair, leaning in to inspect her makeup in the microwave door.
“Why’s he at the courthouse?” I ask distractedly.
“He’s a lawyer, Mom.”
I give myself a little shake, trying to get my head on straight. Jensen appears then, rubbing the water from his hair.
“Anybody else coming for dinner?” he asks.
“I’m going into town,” says Julie-Mae. “I’ll be back late.”
His eyes narrow. “With who?”
I roll my eyes, turning my back to them. Something I didn’t anticipate from Jensen is that he tends to overprotect his kids. I don’t know if it’s his past and the neglect he experienced, but he’s always a little worried about them. I get it, after everything I went through to bring Landis back to me. But Lord, does it cause fights sometimes.
“Dad,” Julie-Mae whines.
“It better be your coworkers.” I hear him in the hall, getting his boots and hat.
“It is,” she sighs.
Her footsteps disappear up the stairs, and her bedroom door shuts. Jensen comes into the kitchen, taking a piece of gum from my purse hanging on the doorknob.
“Gonna shut the barn up, baby,” he says. “Be right back.”
“Don’t helicopter around Julie too much,” I say. “She’s eighteen.”
“Yeah, but her brain doesn’t appear until she’s twenty-five.”
“That’s not…medically correct.”
