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“Well, he hasn’t asked me out. We’re just friends. Like we’ve always been.” It wasn’t a lie, but definitely not the whole truth. They were friends, but not like they’d always been.
Lily seemed content with that answer. Jenna, however, looked down the front of herself, her standard attire feeling suddenly boring and drab. Was Colt really considering asking her out? Enough so that his sister was questioning him? Lily would never be the source of gossip, so Jenna wasn’t worried that Colt had slipped or tried to talk to Lily and she was onto him. Actually, Jenna was kind of…giddy.
“Why don’t I head home and change first, then I’ll go to the bonfire.”
Lily smiled and clapped. “Perfect. I’ll swing by and pick you up after I drop off Alex.”
A ping of excitement rang down her spine. “See you soon.”
…
“Well, look at you, little girl.”
Jenna screamed and clasped the shirt she was just about to try on to her chest.
“Easy, now. It’s just me,” Miranda said, walking into Jenna’s bedroom.
She turned to face her mother. “What are you doing here?” And what was up with people barging into her home lately? “I thought you were in Wichita.”
Miranda ruffled her box-blond hair, fluffing it up and causing the fat bangles on her wrist to jingle. She sat down on Jenna’s bed. The scent of cigarettes and Wild Turkey wafted from her and Jenna recognized the familiar smell from her childhood.
“Ox and I broke up, so I came home early.”
Her mother tended to pick men named after animals—she’d never forget the summer when Miranda had an affair with Rooster Miller and his brother Hound at the same time.
Something very sick and awful settled in Jenna’s gut.
Colt. Technically an animal name. Oh God! She threw her shirt on quickly, hating the thought of having something in common with her mother. She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to get back to the point of why Miranda was here.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Mama.”
Her mom’s trailer park was on the west end of town and the only reason Miranda would go out of her way to see Jenna before getting home was if she wanted something.
“He was an ass anyway. But I missed you, baby,” Miranda said and Jenna checked the urge to roll her eyes. “I was thinking maybe you and I could catch up.”
“What do you want, Mama?”
“Just to spend time with my daughter is all.”
When Jenna continued to stare, waiting for the other shoe to drop, it finally did and Miranda raised her chin in the air. “Fine. I’m late on rent.”
Didn’t surprise Jenna since Miranda hadn’t been in town to pay it in the last two months. “How much?”
“Six hundred should get me by. Or maybe I can stay with you?”
The way she smirked around that last statement made Jenna sick in a whole different way. Neither of them wanted to room together, but it was Miranda’s way of getting what she wanted. She threatened the much-needed space Jenna put between them. It was the one thing that made her cave every time. A few hundred bucks here and there was a small price to pay to keep her mother as far from her as possible.
“I’ll drop it by tomorrow.”
Miranda slapped her thighs and rose, not bothering to pull down her way-too-short pink denim skirt. “Thanks, baby.”
When she hit the doorway, she turned and looked Jenna from her toes to her head. “Who you dressing up for tonight?”
Jenna swallowed hard. “No one. Just friends.”
Miranda raised a brow, obviously not believing Jenna for a second. “Don’t lie to me Jenna-Jayne, I know that look. And seeing as how your closet is all over your floor, my guess is you’ve been going through outfits for some time now.” A triumphant smile spread her face and it was the first time Jenna really saw how tired and worn her mother looked. “You’re getting ready for a man.”
“No,” Jenna said way too quickly. But Miranda’s smile only widened. “Like I said, just going out with my friends.
