Page 80 of Remiss
Folding his arms, he glared at her. “Wouldeverymotherfucker stop correcting me and listen to what I got to say?”
“Are you calling me a motherfucker?”
“Do I need to write the definition of context clues?”
Unable to help herself, she laughed again. “Are you calling your mother a motherfucker?”
“That woman’s a saint, so she’s exempt. She can correct me for the rest of my days.”
Kendall nodded. “Agreed.”
“Sustained?”
She’d almost forgotten how obsessed with the law Axel was. “Sustained,” she amended, then returned to her stool, still gripping the neck of the bottle.
“When I get my law degree, can I join the firm with you and Diesel?”
“I don’t see why not.” Although, if she left, it wouldn’t be her decision. “The firm will benefit from a young man so intelligent and passionate about the legal profession.”
“Oh boy!” Hooping and hollering, he jumped up and down. A small plume of flour wafted from him and she squinted. “Thanks, Aunt Kendall!”
“You’re welcome,” she said, distracted by the dusting of flour landing on his clothes. He must not have showered as Meggie instructed. “Uh, dinner was delayed because Georgie and Brynn left earlier than planned.”
“Mom has her boot thing on. She shouldn’t drive.”
“She rode in the car they hired to see them off. Allowing us use of their plane was a big deal. Anyway, honey, you can always find another outfit.”
“I already changed,” he said dismissively, then climbed onto one of the stools on the other side of the island. “But as the man of the house for now, I got to talk to you.”
Draining the bottle, Kendall returned to slicing the tomato. “As long as you don’t mind my slight distraction,” she said, humoring him.
“Doyou know what a context clue is?”
“A hint about an unfamiliar word.”
“Close enough. In my particular case, context clues are telling me you’re drinking out of the bottle for a reason.”
“I didn’t feel like getting a glass.”
“See, Mom doesn’t feel like doing a lot when she’s mad at Dad because he’s a stupid motherfucker or sad because he’s a mean motherfucker. And since Uncle Johnnie is both meanandstupid every day, context clues tell me you’re upset over him.”
Kendall pasted a smile on her lips. “Thank you so much for your concern, love. I’m fine. Truly. But I don’t talk to my children about adult things, so–”
“Am Iyourchild, Aunt Kendall? Besides, if you hadsomebodyto talk to, you wouldn’t be drinking from a bottle all by yourself.”
“Thank you for–”
“Andif you were really hereforMom, you would’ve been with her when she was crying in the middle of the night.And-andI came to get you butyouwere crying too.” Drumming his fingers on the countertop, he narrowed his green eyes. “Dad and your man are related, so it stands to reason neither of them have a lot of sense and then they’re both so old. Senility is probably eating away their brain.”
“Do you know I’ll be forty-seven in September?”
“They’ve lived a rough life then. Btw, in Medieval times, you probably would’ve been long dead. Forty-seven was elderly.”
“Are you trying to make me feel better?”
“Uh huh. That’s what a man of the house does for his women. Is it working?”
Not in the least. “I’m feeling much better,” she said brightly, finished with the tomato and starting on the cucumber.
