Page 66 of A Dirty Business
I had no other option, but Anthony made a point of coming to tell me before closing thathewasn’t here anymore, and it was then that I realized how I’d been half holding my breath all night long.
And I realized that I was disappointed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JESS
I had coffee in hand when I walked into my mother’s house the next morning but smelled freshly brewed coffee and almost dropped the two I was carrying.
“Ma?” Was I in someone else’s house?
“Hey, honey.”
Jesus. I almost dropped my coffee again. My mom was on the couch, curled under a blanket, but she had washed her hair recently. It was shining. She was also dressed for the day in normal clothes, like a sweater, and as she stood to greet me, I saw she was in jeans. Tennis shoes. She took one of the coffees and kissed my cheek. “So sweet of you, Jess. You’re a good daughter.”
My mouth was on the floor when she headed for the kitchen.
“You want any breakfast, honey? Leo made pancakes earlier.”
Footsteps sounded above me. The stairs creaked as Leo was coming down, pulling on a sweater. He looked like he’d just showered, too, andhe was dressed in jeans. I looked; he also had sneakers on. “Jess!” He came down, opening his arms for a hug.
I hissed as he enveloped me against his chest. “What sorcery have you done? Whose soul did you sell to the devil?”
He froze just for a second before releasing me, stepping back. “Nothing like that.” But he glanced to the kitchen and drew me to the door. “Outside?”
I knew it.
He went first, and as soon as the door was closed behind me, I pointed inside. “Who is that? That’s not my mother.”
“Jess.” He sighed, sitting down on the front-porch swing.
“She called me ‘honey.’ My mom’s not called me ‘honey’ since—”Oh, dear god!“Are you two fucking?”
“What?!” He shoved back up to his feet, the swing hitting against the house behind him. “No! Why are you saying that?”
“Because that’s when she last called me honey. When she was getting laid. When Dad was alive. What is goingon? You’re over here all the time lately.”
A resigned expression sobered him. “I’m not actually. You happen to come the very few times I’ve checked on your mom. You know my local hangout is Bear’s Pub. A lot of our friends hang out there. It’s easy for me to come over in between games.”
“Um.” I was in an alternate universe. “It’s eight in the morning. There’s no between games. You made pancakes this morning?Howearly? I’m early.”
“You have been gone for a long time.” He gentled his tone. “Your mom called me one night, out of the blue. I had nothing to do with it, but she suddenly wanted ‘to get healthy’ again. I have no idea what brought it on. I didn’t ask. I never ask, not with this family. I support and I help. That’s my job, what your dad would’ve wanted me to do, so I agreed. Four mornings a week, I come over, and we walk at six in the morning.”
“At six?”
He nodded.
“In this neighborhood?” We weren’t exactly in SoHo.
Another nod.
“The local gangs like to curse at me. That’s our neighborhood.”
A third nod, and a sigh. “I’m aware. I get the same curses. Why do you think I go with her? She said she’s going to go with or without me. I go. And I let my gun show.”
Jesus Christ. My mom was in a walking phase.
“I have to sit down.” My head was starting to pound. “I’m getting PTSD from her mood changes. She hates me one visit, now I’m ‘honey’ and ‘dear,’ and she’s walking. She looks sober.”
