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When Avery doesn't answer my text, I try to work. But I'm worried. I don't want her to go away. Yeah, I know I started this with the idea that I wanted her out of my house, but my panic is beginning to take over. The thought of being here alone makes my eye twitch.
I rise out of my chair and start pacing in my office. Meredith is watching me, as she has all day. With her mistress away, she seems to be out of sorts.
"I know exactly how you feel, Meredith."
"Meow."
"Exactly."
I breathe deeply to calm my nerves, but it isn't helping. Not one bit. My phone vibrates on the desk, and I rush over, realizing it's a phone call from my mother. I've been avoiding her for hours, but she'll keep calling me until I answer.
"Mom."
"Darling boy."
There's a sarcastic edge to that name. She's irritated with me, and I have no idea why.
"What's up?"
"Nothing much, but I wanted you to know I'm heading to Juniper. Take I-35, babe."
"What?"
"Sorry. I was telling Ted which way to go."
"He's coming with you?"
"Yes. Your grandmother wants to meet him."
"Travis Fillmore wants to meet him too."
She chuckles. "Yes, I got a text from Nancy about it."
I collapse into my office chair and look over at my laptop. I have the JSE open and notice that Avery and Liv are at the diner. My soul seems to settle down now that I know she's safe again.
I run through a few of the posts and frown. Only Juniper Springs' residents can access the app, but this is a safety issue. If someone hacked into it, they could stalk someone.
"Are you listening to me?"
"Sorry, I was just working something out."
She sighs. "I wanted to do dinner tonight, but your grandmother said there is some kind of town meeting."
He had seen the notice. A Juniper Springs town meeting was always an exciting time. And by exciting time, I mean irritating. They constantly went off script, and things always got out of hand. I know there was one time a fistfight broke out.
"She's going?"
"Yeah, she said something about a proposal for more money for the animal shelter. That young woman she has living with you is very interested in it, so she was going to show her support."
"Are we sure she didn't have some kind of stroke? She's acting weird."
"Weird, how?"
"She's spending time with the LOLs, knitting, drinking."
"Oh. My. Gawd! The horror!"
Once again, it's easy to hear the sarcasm in my mother's voice. "It's not like her."
