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An older woman with short and wavy salt and pepper hair poked her head out the open front door.
“Maggie, the fried chicken is ready. Oh, hello.” She glanced at Jack, her eyes scanning the uniform and then turned to Maggie again. “Is anything wrong?”
“No,” Maggie answered immediately. “This is my neighbor, Jack Butler. Jack, this is my mother-in-law, Paula Bradshaw. Lexi’s grandma.”
Jack stuck his hand out and shook Paula’s. “Nice to meet you.”
“Maybe you’d like some fried chicken, too. It’s Lexi’s favorite, and I made plenty,” Paula said.
His perpetually empty stomach almost spoke for him, but the dejected expression in Maggie’s eyes kept him from accepting. Somehow, he realized that would make her unhappy, though why, he couldn’t hazard a guess.
“No, thanks, ma’am. I’m fine.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Maggie said to Paula, who shut the door again.
He stole another glance at Maggie. Her arms were folded in front of her in a defensive posture. Obviously, something bothered her, though he would think she should be glad to have the help with her obnoxious teen. If it were him, he’d take a long drive and reconsider coming back.
“Well, you all have a good dinner.”
Turning, he started to walk next door. He wanted to get inside and away from this strange feeling, different from his normal hunger pangs, roiling around in the pit of his stomach.
“How did you like my lasagna?” Maggie asked, and he turned back to face her.
“It was delicious,” he lied.
Her smile was so genuine that for the first time in months Jack felt something stir inside the cold place he used to call his heart.
“Thanks. Lexi doesn’t like my cooking for some reason. Paula’s a great cook. In fact, she’s pretty much great at everything.” She shrugged.
He recognized that look because it was one he saw in the mirror every day. Resigned, defeated, worthless. No way would he let Maggie feel that way about herself.
“I meant to tell you. Lexi is…”
He didn’t know where he was going with this. Flying by the seat of his pants maybe, but no more lies. “A very smart girl. You’ve done a great job.”
The kid was smart all right, since she seemed to be two steps ahead of her mom.
“Thank you. Her dad was the real brains in the family. I think she takes after him.”
She certainly didn’t take after her sweet mother.
“That’s what she told me.”
“She did? What did she say?” Maggie asked.
Leaving the kid’s snide comments about Maggie out, he repeated what Lexi had told him about her father.
“She’s right. I guess it would be boring if she was just like me.” Maggie caught the silver lining.
“Good point.”
“I better get inside. Paula likes it when we eat dinner together.” She turned toward the door.
Jack walked back to his quiet home, wondering what kind of canned food he’d open up and heat tonight. He was getting used to this hermit-like existence although a nagging thought he wanted to ignore reminded him it might not be a good thing.
Ryan was forever trying to fix him up on a date, and he’d refused every time. He didn’t even like the thought of talking to anyone, much less buying a dinner and sitting through it. Better not start up anything he couldn’t finish.
After all, he would return to Virginia and the Marshals as soon as he got the insomnia and the nightmares under control. That had been the plan all along. Out here in the boondocks, he might not have to be at the top of his game to function, but that wouldn’t do for the Marshal Service.
