“If she ever comes back, phone the cops. Don’t answer the door and certainly don’t let her in. The bitch is sheer poison,” I said, and the boys nodded.
I stared out of the window as Mom drove off. Something told me this wasn’t over.
Chapter Fifteen.
Jody – two days later.
“Bitch just expected you to sign everything over?” Magic asked incredulously.
“Yup. Didn’t ask how I was, or where I’d been. For a moment, when Mom saw Lars and Laila, I thought I witnessed a softening. I was wrong.”
“Sorry, babe,” Magic muttered, rubbing my arm.
“Don’t be. I know what they’re like. It was always Mimi and Myles. It seems Mimi’s still messing up her life. That’s not my problem.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard some shit. Mimi crashed out of college about a year after you left. Family claimed she’d chosen another route, but the truth got around that she’d been kicked out for plagiarism. She ended up working in a supermarket and was fired for theft.”
I snorted. “Seems Mimi never learned to keep her sticky fingers to herself.”
“No. Mimi married some guy, a salesman or something, but he had money. They had a decent home, but Mimi kept running through jobs. Heard she had two kids that she rarely sees.Husband divorced the bitch five years ago and took them. Rumours claim Mimi still hasn’t learned a lesson.”
“And now I’m back, they think they can force me to sign Crook House over. It’s too late. I’ve already made a will, and Laila gets Crook House and the estate. Anything about Myles?” I asked.
“Did the same as Mimi, dropped out of his final year of college. Planned to be a musician…”
“What?” I gasped, roaring with laughter. “Myles couldn’t play an instrument or sing!”
“Apparently, no. He bummed around for a few years, and your mother was telling everyone he’d got a part in a film. Then she claimed Zack Elfrond stole the role because he’d crossed Myles’s path and realised what a threat he was,” Magic said, and I began laughing hard again.
“What’s Myles doing now?”
“No idea, not seen him for years. Myles dropped off the face of the planet. Anyway. I thought we’d take the kids to the dinosaur park for a picnic. Let Jesper run around for a bit,” Magic suggested.
“Now?” I asked, looking down at my comfortable jeans and tee.
“You look perfect. Come on, Jody, get your ass moving. We’ve not got time to hang about.”
“Magic, I have to make food.”
Magic grinned. “Already done it. I bought burritos filled with cold cuts and snack stuff. Laila is grabbing some items from your fridge. Just gotta round up the kids.”
“Okay,” I replied, smiling and climbing to my feet. “Let’s grab the gang.”
???
Three hours later, I lay back on the blanket and let the sun warm my face. The children had split into two teams. Oskar,Henrik, and Viggo made one, and Lars, Jesper, and Jerrik the other. Laila was busy relaxing, like me. Magic was giving them tasks, and whoever finished first got a point. Jesper was in heaven, needless to say. They’d been at it for an hour, and Jesper was still going strong.
“Aunt Jody!” Jesper screeched, and I winced. The kid could raise the dead. “Moster Jody, Nogen tog Lars!” (Aunt Jody, someone took Lars.)
Heart skipping a beat, I sat bolt upright, startling Magic as Jerrik and Jesper raced towards us.
“What?” Magic demanded, picking up on my fear.
“Jesper said somebody snatched Lars!”
The boys skidded to a halt, terror on their faces. “He came out of that treeline, hit Lars and began dragging him off,” Jerrik gasped.
Magic was up and running. I went to scramble after him. “Stay with the kids and phone the cops!” Magic bellowed as he lumbered away. He moved with surprising speed for his size.
