AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That evening at the supper table, they all talked and Leah even joined in. She was getting used to them all now and they treated her as though she belonged. His brothers talked about the cattle industry and things that were going on in their lives. Leah thought it nice, that this family actually communicated. And the best part was, they were for real.
Leah knew she didn't belong, but she liked what she saw in this family. She wished her own family was as functional.
Later that evening she sat on the porch steps with Jeremiah.
"So, what happened to your boyfriend?" He asked out of the blue.
"He's in jail."
"You miss him?"
"No," she hung her head. "I used him, Jeremiah. I see that now. He was an easy out for me at the time. I'll admit I'm used to taking the easy way out."
"What do you mean?" He looked at her sincerely now.
"I didn't have a place to live when my parents kicked me out, and he did, and I used him to stay at his place. I wasn't in love with him. But I let him call me his girl, so that I could stay there. He had a two-bedroom apartment and he let me have one all to myself. He had a roommate but he bailed on him and so the extra bedroom wasn't being used. I didn't sleep with him or anything, but I let him call me his girl. It boosted his ego a bit. My folks probably thought I did sleep with him. They thought the worst of me all the time. I guess, they never got to know me very well. I'd never do that."
Jeremiah nodded thoughtfully as though taking it all in. "Did you like him?"
"He was okay, but I wasn't in love with him or anything. He was rough, and I felt protected by that roughness at the time. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, I guess so. In a way."
"I wasn't street smart, I needed protecting. Anyway, I didn't realize he wasn't just all talk. When he stole that car, I di
dn't know what to do. On one hand, he gave me shelter, on the other hand, if he went to jail, who would give me shelter. And because I was with him in the car, I was what do they call it, you know, I helped him, they thought. I just needed a place to stay." She answered. "I didn't help him steal. I wouldn't do such a thing. But my folks probably thought I did. Like I said they don't know me very well."
"When you leave here, if you don't have to go to juvenile, where will you go?" Jeremiah asked.
"I don't know. And I'll admit, that scares me more than anything. I need to find a job and get a place of my own. But, I don't know…I don't know where to look for a job and I guess now I have a record."
Jeremiah hung his head. His guitar was sitting against the porch and he grabbed it.
He sang her a song and she stared wide-eyed at him. It was a lovely ballad and kind of sad. She listened and watched him.
"That was beautiful," she murmured when he finished.
"You like music?"
"Oh yeah. Your dad says there is a dance once a month, can I go?" she asked.
"Sure, I'll take you. That is unless you'd rather just go with someone else…."
"Yeah right, like I know anyone else?" She elbowed him and he smiled.
"It's the last day of the month." He told her with a smile.
"Good."
When she went to bed, she thought about the day and how Jeremiah had comforted her. No one had done that for her but Gloria. That's why she cared so much about the maid at her parents' home.
She was determined to work hard and maybe things would somehow work out for her. That was a big maybe because she didn't know where she would find a job, or a place to stay. It scared her witless. She was bright enough to know that with a record of arrest, finding a job would be hard for her.
She knew one thing, this was a nice family, and she sure wished she could take it home with her. But right now, she had no home, and she had to start thinking about that and planning for what she would do when she left here. It was scary.
She needed to decide what kind of job she could do.
Chapter Five
