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“Yes, but your mother is skittish. Understandable considering her marriage.”
That is one thing about my grandmother. She doesn’t suffer fools. And there is one thing I know for sure. My father is a fool. He’s also lazy and probably cheating on wife number three. Or is it number four? Either way, if he isn’t cheating, he’s planning on it. It’s his one defining personality—other than laziness.
When I pull back from my thoughts, I realize my grandmother is staring at me. It’s almost as if she’s studying me, seeing my reactions. That’s nothing new, but there is a different edge to it.
“What?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing. Just…there’s something different about you.”
“Lack of sleep. I don’t know how she does it.”
“Who?”
“Avery. She said she’s had a bout of insomnia since her grandmother died.”
Estella nods. “Yes, but it’s probably been bothering her for months, not weeks.”
“That’s not healthy.”
“No. It’s not, but Avery has been unmoored since her grandmother died. They were very close.”
There is a wistful sound I have never heard in my grandmother’s voice.
“And you envy that?”
Her sharp look almost has me apologizing, but I lock my jaw. I will not cower. Maybe.
“Not really. I was never a motherly type.”
But there is that wistfulness threaded within the words that make me think that she wishes she was. I don’t know how to deal with her saying things like that in that tone. Howards are not good at emotions. It’s like in our DNA.
“Don’t freak out, Jon.”
“I’m not freaking out. And since when did you use terms like that?”
She shakes her head and sips her coffee. “I just want you to be nice to her. Maybe…take her for a milkshake or something. She loves the diner’s milkshakes.”
“You want me to take her out on a date?”
“No, of course not. Just…get her out of that house. She gets out, but she’s usually with the LOLs, her sister, and her kids.”
I sigh and nod. There’s no use arguing with my grandmother. She will always win. Just because I agreed doesn’t mean I have to do it.
“Now, tell me what I have to do to help you host.”
ChapterSixteen
Avery
The sun is the first thing I see the following day. It’s shining in my eyes because I forgot to shut the freaking fracking blinds.
I groan in irritation. Opening my eyes, I realize that it’s probably mid-morning. I listen, waiting to see if I hear anything in the house. I have a feeling Jon probably gets started working so early that this is probably mid-day for him. I grab my phone and see a few texts from my family, one from a former client I refuse to work with anymore, and then there is a weird text from Estella.
Estella:I expect you to be at my annual fundraiser.
I blink. I heard people talking about it but didn’t think anything of it. It’s a fancy dress kind of thing, and unless there is cake, I don’t like attending those kinds of things.
Me:No, I did not.
