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I knew that but I didn’t care. “You might be right but I don’t like him and I don’t trust him. With all the weird shit going on lately I need my complaint to be official.” If there was some hinky shit going on with the government, that Dodds guy would be involved.
He nodded again and took the statement. “You’ll have to come back to the station to sign it and make it official.”
“I will,” I assured him and I’d make sure Tanya came with me.
“And watch yourself, Mr. Wylie. There is some weird shit going on and I don’t know what, but I can feel it in the air.”
I sardonic laugh escaped me. “You too, huh?”
With a tired nod, Haynes turned and walked away, giving me the perfect opportunity to flip off Dodds, who watched angrily before returning the gesture.
What a fucking asshole that guy was. It almost made me hope he was dirty, because then I might get the chance to end that fucker.
Chapter Fourteen
Moon
Business at the shop still hadn’t returned to normal so I closed up early, feeling out of sorts and not wanting to face an empty house. Times like this reminded me how important it was to have a life for myself outside of work and Beau. I’d been fooling myself these past few years, preaching the benefits of a work/life balance, while hiding in my own stressful world of being a single mother and small business owner. I failed miserably at that balance, so today I decided to work on it by making an unscheduled visit to Jana.
I felt nervous standing on her doorstep and waiting for her to answer. What if she was busy? What if she didn’t want to be bothered and felt obligated to entertain me? I’d just talked myself out of my foolishness when the door opened to reveal a very pregnant Jana. Smiling. “Moon, hey.”
I froze at her tone. “Did I come at a bad time? I just wanted to check on you, see how things were going.”
“No, you’re right on time,” she said in a tone I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but I followed her through the house and out to the backyard where Rocky and Teddy sat on blankets while the babies played in the sun.
“Oh! I didn’t mean to crash your party, Jana.” Mortified, which was something I hadn’t felt since leaving the suffocating arms of my family, I stopped before the cement turned to grass. “I’ll catch up with you another time.”
“You damn well won’t. Get your butt over there and sit down with the others who just wanted to check in,” she said with a smile that took the sting off her words. “If I was a suspicious sort, I’d think you all planned this.”
“Certainly not. I closed up early and thought it was the perfect time to catch up with a friend.”
“If that’s the case then you know you aren’t intruding and you’re just being weird.”
I laughed. “I’m always weird.”
“I know. Come on.”
I joined the women on the blankets laid out to accommodate curious babies and toddlers. Charlie, Jana’s first born, climbed into my lap and began playing with my colorful necklaces hanging low enough for his curious hands. I laughed and tickled him playfully. “Hey Charlie, good to see you too.”
He giggled and his attention turned to the string of turquoise around my neck. First he played and tugged on them but inevitably they found their way inside his mouth.
“Mommy,” he said around the beads and held them up for Jana’s inspection.
“Sorry about that,” Jana said with a smile and a sympathetic expression.
“Don’t worry about it, I made it myself with nontoxic paints and topcoats. It’s just a bit wet and I’m used to it. When Beau was a baby he was fascinated by my colorful outfits and jewelry, so I began to wear more of it just for him. Except for earrings. I stopped wearing them because he kept pulling them out of my ears.”
“You did?” Teddy seemed impressed by my handmade jewelry, which surprised me. This was the same beautiful woman who always dressed like she just stepped off the runway. Today she wore casual denim capri pants and a soft green tunic and looked like she just came from a photo shoot.
If Teddy hadn’t been so down to earth I’m sure I would have felt intimidated. As it was, I explained how I shared my creativity with Beau.
“I’ve always loved art and when Beau was young it was a good activity to do together. You should see some of the pieces he’s made for me over the years.”
I laughed to myself as I remembered. They were crooked or cracked and over-painted but I loved them and wore them. But I thought, enough about me. I turned to my hostess. “How are you feeling Jana?”
“Yeah, Jana,” both Rocky and Teddy said at the same time, drawing a laugh from me.
“I’m fine,” she sighed like a woman sick to death of answering that particular question. “The doctors are keeping a close eye on me until the wound is completely healed, in case the unexpected occurs. But I’m fine.”
