Page 83 of Flyboy
"I said that's what I'd do," she whispered back.
"I know but I'm just making sure you haven't chickened out."
"I'm not changing my mind." She wasn't. Wouldn't. Once she'd realized Jack wasn't going to pressure her, that he really was leaving the choice up to her, it had triggered a kind of freedom she'd never felt before. Sure, she'd been in charge of her life from the time she'd left Gina's house fifteen years ago, but she'd never actually felt in control. It was why she kept fighting against anything that was beyond her influence.
The brain was a funny thing. Throw in emotions and you had synapses firing left and right and not always in a way that made sense. Or was beneficial. Instead of doing what she wanted, she'd fought against it just because it hadn't been her instigating the choice.
One of the first things she'd do when they were settled was find a good therapist. Both she and Penny would benefit from talking to someone outside of their lives, who didn't have a corrupted view of Gina, a trained professional who could help them work through the conflicting emotions and trauma left behind by their childhoods.
"Uh oh. Jack is leaving the office." Penny spoke loudly so Roark and Maryn could hear.
"Shit! Think of something you want to eat or drink or have, anything, so I can message him and get him to stop on his way home," Maryn demanded.
"Ice cream?" Alyssa offered.
"We've got ice cream. Something else. Something…" Maryn snapped her fingers. "Don't worry, I know what." She didn't bother to tell them what, she just tapped away at the screen of her phone, a smug grin on her face.
"What are you telling him to get?" Alyssa asked.
Maryn stuck her head between the seats and grinned. "I told him Penny needs tampons."
Roark made a choked snort sound, Penny laughed outright, and Alyssa sat there staring.
Maryn's phone beeped and she chuckled as she read Jack's reply. "He told me to fuck off and stop to get them myself."
"Tell him to grab a pizza," Roark said. "I'm starving."
Maryn frowned. "He's got dinner planned already. He has that steak house he loves delivering in about an hour so that won't work either."
"Look, it doesn't matter if he gets there first. He won't be able to see me through the tinted windows, right?" At Roark's affirmative nod, Alyssa continued, "Okay, then I'll hide in the car until you all get out and go to the back to grab the bags. Then I'll say hi."
"You know…" Maryn smiled. "That's not a bad plan at all. And if we happen to make it home before him you can hide in one of the rooms and wait until he gives Penny a tour of the house."
"Perfect. That's settled." Alyssa sat back in her seat and watched the scenery go by.
Penny gave whereabouts updates on Jack every few minutes and they were still five minutes from the house when she informed them he'd made it home.
"Okay. Hiding in the car it is."
When they pulled through the gates of the Townsend estate, Alyssa had to work to keep her jaw from dropping.
"Holy shit!" Penny had no qualms about showing her awe. "This place is fucking huge!"
"Language!" Alyssa chastised.
"What? C'mon, this place has earned a swear word."
It had but she had to at least try to be a good parental influence. Looking through the side window, she tried to find Jack. "Anyone see him?"
"Yeah, he's in front of the house," Roark muttered. "Looks like he's expecting me to pull up at the door instead of parking in the garage."
"Our plan will still work though, right?"
"Yep. I'll drive past and stop at an angle so he can't see through the windshield at all."
Alyssa ducked down in case Jack could see through the front window now.
"What are you doing?" Penny asked.
