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Chapter Twelve
Mitch
“Where’ve you been?”
Mulaney sauntered into the kitchen with an armload of grocery sacks. “The correct greeting would have been ‘let me help you with those’.” She dropped them on the counter, and Stone came in behind her with more. I stood, but she waved her hand at me. “Sit back down. Your brother caught me at the truck and helped me carry everything in. This is all.”
Mama came in from outside, the screen door slamming behind her. She shivered. “It’s freezing.”
I helped her out of her coat and hung it on a hook beside the rest of ours.
“Got everything on the list,” Mulaney said proudly.
Mama kissed her cheek. “Thank you, baby.” She hugged Stone too. “Now y’all get out of here so I can get supper on the table.”
“Want some help?” I offered. My sister scowled, and Mama softened.
“I appreciate that, but Ruby’s on her way.”
Right on cue, Grandmama blew into the kitchen, immediately offering her cheek to me. Dutifully, I kissed it. She reached up and patted mine.
“Ruby, you got anything to drink over at your house? These two have cleaned us out.” Mulaney cast an accusing look over to Stone and me.
“Uh, I don’t think so, big sis. You drink me and Mitch under the table.” Stone gave her a playful shove.
“I was trying to score some moonshine,” she said under her breath, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
“Nobody is drinking moonshine before dinner,” Mama scolded.
“After?” I asked hopefully, shrinking back a step at her admonishing look.
Stone grabbed a few beers from the fridge and headed for the back door. I snatched our jackets off the hooks and followed him, Mulaney on our tail.
She rushed for the swing, and I sat next to her. Stone waited on us to put on our coats before he handed us each a bottle.
“You ain’t said much about what happened with Juliana earlier.” He twisted off the cap and flicked it toward the end table beside his rocking chair.
I tensed. We hadn’t really had a chance to finish talking, but as far as I was concerned we were back together. I shrugged noncommittally, not ready to share that with my siblings.
“We talked a little bit.”
“She apologize?” Mulaney asked.
“Not really.” She picked at the label on her bottle and swung her feet. “What is it?”
My sister was a lot of things, but the nervous type wasn’t one of them. Whatever she had to say, she usually had no filter. Yet she wouldn’t meet my eyes, staring off at the backyard.
“I saw her at the store.” She took a long swig of beer and finally looked at me. “With her boyfriend.”
“He isn’t her boyfriend,” I protested, though I didn’t know that for certain. Jules had said she hadn’t been with anyone else, and I believed her, but she had been awfully cozy with him. Maybe she hadn’t completely called things off. I shook my head. No. Juliana wouldn’t do that to me or to him, if they were dating.
“No? Then why were they kissing in the parking lot?”
I stopped the swing with my foot. Mulaney grabbed the armrest to keep from falling off.
“Today?”
“Yeah. Not more than an hour ago. And it wasn’t some peck on the lips.” She kicked my leg to start the swing again. “I didn’t know Juliana had it in her to be so public. I thought clothes were about to start flying.”
