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He shrugs. “Yeah. We were talking, and I figured we should finish this conversation before walking into my momma’s house. She’s fairly private, and I didn’t want her to think we were talking bad about her.”
Oh yes, heart of gold.
Chapter Twenty
Andi
Less than five minutes later, we are pulling up to a large farmhouse. It’s white in color, but I can see that it’s been weathered over the years.
“This house is beautiful,” I say as Jonas drives up the unpaved dirt driveway.
“It belonged to my grandpa. He raised Mama here, and when he died, she inherited it. It was a good thing, too, because she was the only one paying any of the bills. She could never afford a house like this on her own. It was a great house to grow up in.”
Jonas walks around to open the truck's door and takes my hand, helping me step onto the running board and step out. Once my feet are firmly on the ground, he takes my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
Before we even make it to the porch, the creaky screen door swings open, and a teenage girl comes storming out.
“Thank God you’re here! Your mother is being unreasonable.” The girl shrieks.
“Last time I checked Jenna, she was your mother too.“ Jonas laughs.
“Not anymore. I’m disowning her.” She says with the same Southern twang as Jonas.
Looking at her, I can see that the two have more in common than just their accents. Jenna has the same dark blonde wavy hair, but hers hangs down to her butt. And they both share those same light blue eyes.
“What’s she doing now?” Jonas asks.
The door swings open once more, and an older woman steps out. “Boy, don’t you dare indulge your sister! Jenna, why don’t you tell your brother about how you want to start dating a college boy?”
Jonas’ stare snaps back to his sister. “You want to do what? No way. Momma’s right.”
“Ugh,” she scoffs. “I hate this house!”
Jenna storms back inside, and their mother walks toward us. “Your sister is going to be the death of me. I never thought I would miss having teenage boys around, but a teenage girl is so much worse. But enough about her, come hug your momma.”
Jonas leans down so the petite woman can wrap her arms around his neck. She hugs him tight for a few seconds before kissing him on the cheek and letting him go.
“And who is this pretty young thing?” She asks, looking over at me. “Did you forget your manners, Jonas? Introduce me.”
“Mom, this is Andi. Andi, this is my momma, Annie.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I hold out my hand for her to shake, but instead, she pulls me in for a hug.
“Oh, darlin’, the pleasure is all mine. Any woman who has my son interested is okay in my book,” she says with a warm smile. “This one isn’t quick to let that stone-cold heart of his be melted.”
“Well, Mrs. Mitchell…”
“Call me, Annie. Please.”
“Okay…Annie. I have to say that your son has been amazing to me since the moment we met. You’ve raised a good man.”
She gives me the most genuine smile I’ve ever seen. “That means a lot, honey. Thank you.”
I take a moment to look at her, and I can see out of the two children I’ve met, both of them resemble their mother in hair color alone. Her dark blonde hair is pulled up in a top-knot bun on top of her head. Behind her red-rimmed glasses are pretty green eyes, so I assume that they got their eye color from their father. She’s also relatively small compared to her kids. All of them, even Jenna, tower over her…and me for that matter.
“Well, come on. Let’s get inside. I have to check dinner.”
We follow her into the house, and immediately the smell of delicious food fills my nostrils. My stomach growls, and I pray it’s not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
