Page 26 of Second Chance Saloon

Mitch grinned, dipping his chin. “Sounds good.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

October, fourteen years ago

Jackie

Her boots clacked on the tiled floor as she walked into the ranch’s large, open-plan kitchen. The house underwent a major revamp a couple of years ago, when Jackie’s parents had finally managed to convince her grandmother that it would be a lot more comfortable for her. Now, the kitchen looked like something straight from the pages of interior design magazines. Charcoal gray units, marble countertops, high-end appliances throughout and underfloor heating. There was even a wine cooler, which Jackie had been eyeing with increasing interest but pretended otherwise whenever Mimi caught her looking.

“There’s a fresh jug of iced tea,” Mimi croaked from the corner, not raising her eyes from her book.

“Thank you!” Jackie jogged up to the fridge, humming under her breath. “Do you want some?”

Mimi grunted, the sound of a page turning in lieu of an answer.

“Oh, Mimi, don’t be angry. I told you last week I like him.” She filled the glasses lined up on the kitchen counter.

“That doesn’t mean you had to brin’ him round here without telling me first.” Mimi glanced up from the book, her thick-framed glasses sliding down her nose. She pushed them up. “You turn up, unannounced, with a stranger in tow and tell me you’re both stayin’ for the weekend. I had no time to prepare the guest room for him, and now I need to change the sheets and dust up there—”

“I told you I’d do all that,” Jackie interrupted, annoyance creeping into her tone. “And, I didn’t think I needed an invitation to come home,” she added, much quieter.

Mimi blinked, her silver ponytail twitching. She slammed her book and wordlessly got up from the armchair by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the garden, her favorite place.

Jackie had always thought the garden at Brooke’s Plains was Mimi personified: untamed, wild but also, somehow, controlled chaos. Vegetable patches intersected with flowers and knickknacks, including several bird feeders and water bowls—Dixie, a loving rescue German Shepherd and Border Collie mix, chased the birds whenever they dared to land for a drink.

Busy watching the plants outside and reminiscing about their previous dog getting stung by a bee one summer, Jackie hadn’t noticed Mimi walking up to her.

“My sweet girl, you can always come home.” Mimi enveloped her in a hug. “I never want you to think otherwise.”

Jackie sniffed, inhaling her grandmother’s scent: Chanel N° 5, hay and fresh air. Another constant in her life since she could remember. “Why are you upset, then?”

Mimi let go of her and put her hands on her shoulders. “I’m not upset, but I wish you gave me a heads-up you’d be bringin’ home some boy for the whole weekend.”

“He’s not just any boy, Mimi.” Heat bloomed across her cheeks. She looked directly into her grandmother’s eyes. “He’s my boy.”

Mimi snorted, turning away from Jackie and walking up to the vast kitchen island with the marble top. Her hand hovered by the fruit bowl. She hesitated for a moment, then plucked an apple from the middle and faced Jackie again. “Even so. Next time, call me before. Or at least send me a text.”

Jackie laughed. “You never reply to any texts.”

“I don’t like them.” Mimi bit into the ruby red apple.

“Then you can hardly complain when you get surprised by guests,” Jackie said but bit the tip of her tongue when she caught Mimi’s stern eyes boring into her. She sighed. “Fine. I’ll let you know next time.”

Mimi nodded, chewing a piece of apple. “That’s all I’m askin’, sweetheart. Some heads-up.” She tilted her head and crossed her arms. “So. He’s your boy, huh?”

Jackie blushed, spinning back to face the countertop where her and Mitch’s iced tea sat. “He is.”

Mimi grunted again, letting out a heavy exhale like she didn’t see anything exciting about any of it. “Very well, then. Go and enjoy yourself. I’ll prep a room for him. But mind you, it’ll be the one downstairs.”

Jackie swallowed a chuckle rising in her chest. Trust Mimi to be concerned with proprieties. The house had five bedrooms in total: Mimi’s, Jackie’s, her parents’, and two designated for guests. Only one of the guest bedrooms was downstairs, at the back. Not only was it on a different floor, but it was also at the opposite end of the house from her room.

“Thank you,” she said, knowing there was no point in arguing over it. At least not this time round. “We’ll be back for dinner.”

“He isn’t one of those vegans, is he? I’m makin’ chicken stew tonight.”

“He eats meat.” She grabbed both glasses. “Thanks, Mimi.”

Mimi waved her hand, muttering something Jackie didn’t catch on her way out. Iced tea sloshed inside the glasses. Jackie glanced down at them every now and then, hoping she wouldn’t spill any on her way through the house. She didn’t need another thing to annoy Mimi today.