Page 117 of Fish out of Water
Grant
JULIA WASN’T LYING when she said I was going to ruin my shoes.
They were covered in mud.
Filled with mud.
Hell, at this point they might have become mud.
“Your car is never going to recover from this.” Julia sat stick-straight in her seat, hands gripping her knees.
“My car will be just fine.” I didn’t really give a shit about the car. Not anymore.
It was bought when I thought I had to be something I wasn’t. When I thought I’d be happier if I was someone else.
“We should go get my car.” Julia swiped at a loose clump of hair as it fell down over her forehead. “Then you won’t have to worry about this anymore.”
“I’m not worried about it now.” I glanced at her. “Does this happen a lot?”
“Not until recently.” She scowled out the front window. “That housing development they’re building on the land behind the gardens is screwing everything up.” Her lip curled, crinkling one side of her nose up. “Assholes.”
“It doesn’t seem like the best place to put in a development.” The area was inconvenient to reach, requiring a series of turns and narrow roads to reach the main entrance.
“It’s not.” Julia scratched at one mud-covered knee. “That’s why we tried to buy it but the developer outbid us. It would have been the perfect way for us to expand the gardens.”
That made more sense than another subdivision. I didn’t see the appeal in a house that was essentially in the middle of town without the convenience of being easily accessible.
But what in the hell did I know?
“Maybe all the people that buy the houses will want passes to the gardens.” It might be a perk. Being close enough to walk through the gardens with your morning coffee. Even before meeting Jules I enjoyed the gardens. It was one of the prettiest places around and the many waterscapes filled the place with the soothing sound of running water, making it a great place to visit when you were stressed out.
Which I usually was.
Now that I thought about it, I might like a house that was attached to the gardens. Especially if it meant I could walk over and find Julia whenever I wanted.
“Only if we can keep it from freaking washing away.” Julia reached into her purse, fishing around until she came out with her cell. “I should check on Collette.”
“She didn’t seem too happy about being hauled away.” I’d pulled up right as they were loading Julia’s friend into the ambulance.
Julia’s thumbs moved across the screen of her phone. “She wasn’t, but Andrew was probably right. She needed to go.”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” I pulled onto my street as Julia’s phone started to ring.
“It’s Sally.” She answered the call. “Hello?”
Her eyes came my way, holding for a second before going back out the windshield. “That’s great. I’ll let him know. Thank you.” She hung up and dropped her phone back into her purse. “Sally said my apartment is done and the window in Vito’s apartment is fixed.”
“I guess that only matters if he ever decides to show back up.” My mother was sure letting Lester go was a great idea, but so far there was no sign of him or Vito.
Julia turned my way, her eyes wide. “You don’t think he’s—” She coughed a little. “He’s—”
“No. I’m sure he’s fine. Just hiding.” Vito talked a good talk, but at the end of the day he was a pussy, always running away with his tail between his legs to let my mother and grandmother deal with his bullshit. “He does this all the time.”
“Why does your mother put up with it?” Julia clearly didn’t understand the way my family dynamic worked, which made more sense now that I knew a little about hers.
“He’s her uncle. He’s family. Blood.”
Julia stared at me, still looking a little perplexed by the explanation. “Do you think that’s why he keeps doing this? He knows someone will bail him out.”
