Page 18 of Moonshine Kiss
“You’re going to keep your mouths shut. You’re not going to get into a single bar fight. You aren’t going to say so much as ‘Hey, y’all,’ to a reporter or I’ll drive up here and parade you out in front of the courthouse and make you give a press conference.”
Jameson visibly shuddered. None of us wanted to stand up with a dozen microphones in our faces and explain how we didn’t think our dad had anything to do with the death or disappearance of Callie Kendall.
Especially since I wasn’t sure which side I fell on. Was my father a killer? I didn’t think it was likely that the man I’d known my entire life had committed some gruesome murder. But could he have hit her driving drunk? Hadn’t he taken out an entire hedgerow at the house after a bender? I looked up and met Gibs’s eyes. He was thinking along the same lines.
I didn’t know. Maybe I’d never know. Maybe Callie’s disappearance would never be solved and my father’s memory would always be in question.Did anyone ever really know their parents?
“Judging by the crickets around the table, none of you want me to make good on that threat. So let’s all do our best not to ruin the advantage we were just handed.”
“Yes, ma’am,” we all recited together like a kindergarten class.
* * *
With belliesfull of egg white omelets, Jonah and I climbed back in his car.
“That woman is intense,” he commented.
“She’s terrifying. You should ask her out.”
He snorted. “I’m still dealing with finding out that I have four siblings and that my biological father might be a murderer. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with dating right now.” He winced. “Sorry. I didn’t sleep well. I don’t mean to say shit about your dad.”
“Our dad,” I corrected. Accepting Jonah had been easier than I thought. He didn’t want a damn thing besides getting to know us. “Too much hot sausage and ‘shine last night?”
Jonah took the whole healthy lifestyle to levels that even I considered unhealthy. If it was processed or greasy, it went nowhere near his plate. He probably lay in bed at night starving from his rabbit food and protein shakes.
“I was rudely awakened by my roommate’s hissy fit this morning. What was with all the door slamming?” Jonah asked with a yawn.
“I was fighting with Cassidy,” I sighed.
“Really?” he perked up. “What’s up with that?”
“She knew about the DNA and didn’t tell me. Us. Didn’t say a damn word.”
“Well, she is a cop,” Jonah supplied.
“Whose side are you on? The next-door neighbor’s or your new roommate’s?”
“Depends on who’s right. Does she usually talk to you about ongoing investigations?”
“No.” She didn’t talk to me about much of anything. She talked to people around me. “But we had a right to know.”
“Maybe she was only following orders?” He was parroting Cassidy’s words back at me. The walls were too thin.
“Heard a lot, didn’t you?”
He shrugged and turned off the engine. “What’s her deal? Is she seeing anyone?”
Cassidy and my half-brother Jonah? The half-brother my dad had right after me. I’d sit across from them at Thanksgiving as they juggled babies and side dishes. I’d stand up for Jonah at their wedding and drink myself stupid for a week afterward. The mounds of snow scooped from the walkway took on a blood-red haze.
Jonah laughed. “Relax, man. I’m messing with you. I know you’re into her.”
I could feel my heartbeat in my head. Now I really wanted to kick his ass.
“I’m not into her,” I lied. It was easier than telling the truth,facingthe truth.
“You’re full of shit,” he said as we climbed the front porch steps. “Why don’t you just tell her?”
We both paused and looked at Cassidy’s front door.
