"Then we're well matched because I haven't been in a relationship either and I know I'm a bad bet and believe me when I say people are going to give you shit for me, too." He pressed his lips to mine, easing us in to the kiss, not pulling back until my head started to swim. "Do you still want me to take you home?"
"No." I sighed. "But you should anyway. School starts next week for the kids and I need to take them shopping which means I have to figure out what they need first." I rubbed my temple, even though the headache was only a vague memory now. "And I need to go over the articles my staff sent me and start working on the mockup for next month's issue."
"I have to drive over to Savannah on Tuesday to meet with a distributor about a new beer. Why don't we get a couple hotel rooms for the night and you can take care of the stuff for the kids while I handle my business?"
"Why don't we?" I waited until he'd slid back over to his seat, started the car, and pulled out on the road before speaking. "Abraham-have you ever taken a road trip with a teenager and two kids under the age of ten?"
"No." He glanced over at me and frowned. "It can't be that bad, can it?"
I slipped my sunglasses on and leaned my head back against the seat. "Guess we're going to find out, aren't we?"
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The next morning, I stumbled in to the kitchen only to draw up short, frowning as I studied the table. "Something isn't right here."
"What do you mean?" Tammy wiped her hands on her apron, one with honest to God frills, cocking her head and smiling. "There's coffee. And pancakes. And bacon. I know you love bacon."
"Yeah, that's why I'm thinking something isn't right because as much as I love bacon, you think it's a tool of Satan." I dropped in the closest chair and pulled the coffee cup toward me, my suspicion mounting when I saw she'd already doctored it the one I preferred. "Okay, kid. Spill. What do you want and how much is it going to cost me?"
"That's not a very nice way to say ‘thank you'." She lifted her chin and sniffed. "Why can't I want to do something nice for you?"
"Because when I came home yesterday, I'm pretty sure you throw Holy Water on me and I know for a fact I heard you praying for my immortal soul last night, probably because you were standing right outside my bedroom door, throwing your voice to make sure I heard you." I took a tentative sip of coffee, biting my tongue to hold back a sigh of appreciation. She might be a stuck-up little prude but she knew damn well knew her way around a cup of coffee. "So, why don't you cut through the crap and tell me what you want?"
"I wanted to see if whenever we go to Savannah I could invite Kitty." The words came out in a single, long rush of breath, and if it hadn't been for that first sip of coffee there was a good chance I wouldn't have been able to decipher what she'd said. She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before blurting out, "She needs stuff for the baby and she can't get it here and her parents won't buy anything and-."
"Stop, please, before my brain starts leaking out of my ears." I set the cup down, closing my eyes and rubbing my forehead while I tried to think of a single reason why what she was asking to do was a bad idea. I knew there was one I just couldn't see to think of it at the moment, probably because she'd ambushed me before I'd really had a chance to get any caffeine in my system. "I guess we could see about taking Abraham's car-it's a little bigger than mine-but I'm not going to get the pair of you a separate room. You'll just have to share with Dolly and Conway."
"Oh, no, that's fine, that's totally fine."
"And yet there is something about your tone of voice which makes me think there's still another shoe waiting to drop." I opened my eyes, not surprised in the least to find her chewing on her lower lip and wringing her hands in her apron. "What, Tammy?"
"Do you think maybe you could talk to her parents? Instead of her asking them?" She game me another smile or at least attempted to, the effort falling more than a little flat. "Since you're an adult and everything."
"I think the jury is still out on whether or not I can really be considered an adult but I'll make an attempt in this case." I stared at her, certain there was something she wasn't telling me. "You're not setting me up for failure here, are you? Because if you are, I'm not going to be happy."
"No, of course not." I might have bought the outrage if her smile wasn't still one shade shy of sickly. She laughed, the sound brittle and harsh. "I mean, her parents are a little strict but that's it. I promise."
"Uh-huh." I took another sip of coffee, continuing to study her. "Let me eat breakfast and wake up and I'll go see what I can do."
AN HOUR LATER, I knocked on the flimsy glass door of the trailer Tammy had pointed me toward, turning a slow circle while I waited for someone to answer. It was nicer than most of the trailers in the park-the Havertys had added a large, spacious screened front porch, wood siding, and a veritable sea of flowers. The car in the gravel parking space might have been a little old but it was shiny and clean and obviously well-maintained. If I had to guess on the character of the occupants, I would have said they were firmly upper lower class, struggling to pull themselves up to middle class and doing a better job than most of their neighbors.
I turned back to the entrance when the interior door creaked open, blinking once in surprise. "You're very, very pregnant."
"Yeah." Kitty-because I doubt my niece had more than one pregnant friend-rubbed her hand over her protruding stomach with a sad, Madonna-like smile. "Thirty-two weeks. Feels like thirty-two years."
"I bet it does." I'd never even come close to being pregnant-thank you, Depo shot-but I'd heard enough from Loretta to know that carrying another human was never a walk in the park, especially during the summer. "Uh, is one of your parents home? I needed to talk with them about something."
"My mom is in the kitchen." Kitty pushed the glass door open and then stepped to one side, her profile reminding me of Alfred Hitchcock, minus the cigar. "She's organizing her coupons."
"Sounds... fun." It was the best I could come up with under the circumstances so I tucked my tongue in my cheek and followed the waddling girl through a living room stuffed with knick-knacks and plastic-coated furniture. I wasn't surprised to find the kitchen, when we reached it, was as spotless as a showroom and just as cold. "Mrs. Haverty?"
"Yes?" The woman who glanced up from the papers strewn over her kitchen table was an older, somewhat softer version of her daughter, her dark hair cropped in a pixie cut, brown eyes carefully lined, lashes long and dark, her Betty Boop mouth painted a dusky pink. She blinked once, cocking her head before narrowing her eyes. "You're Loretta Jackson's sister."
"One and the same." I stuck my hand out. "Jeannie Jackson." When she didn't take it, only stared, I pulled my hand back, sliding it in my pocket. "I hope I'm not interrupting but I wanted to see if you had a few minutes to talk."
"I'm very busy at the moment."
"Five minutes." I tried a smile, the kind which usually managed to get me the interview everybody said was unattainable. "After that, you're more than welcome to kick me out."
She made a humpf sound in the back of her throat but gathered her papers together in a neat stack and set them to one side. Folding her hands neatly on the table, she nodded at the chair opposite her. "I suppose I can spare five minutes."
"Thank you." I glanced over at Kitty, rubbing her stomach absently. "Do you want to sit down, too, since this concerns you?"
"Me?" Kitty looked from her mother to me and back again, waiting until her mother gave an almost imperceptible nod before taking the third chair, settling herself awkwardly in the stiff-backed wood. "What about me?"
"Since school is starting next week, I'm taking the kids over to Savannah for clothes and supplies and... whatever." I was praying there was a list or something I could consult because I had no idea what sort of crap kids needed for school. "Tammy asked if Kitty could come with us and I don't have a problem if you don't have a problem. We'll leave tomorrow morning, stay the night, and be back-."
"Thank you for the offer but no." Mrs. Haverty pressed her lips in to a thin line, her knuckles turning white as she clutched her hands tighter. "If there's nothing else-."