A Home Come True. Cheryl Harper

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СКАЧАТЬ from the bus stop by a pack of kids who thought it was funny to watch a skinny redhead cry, this fence was a dream come true. Then, she’d wanted something else between her and the world besides a single flimsy door. Anyone who thought about coming over the top would be discouraged before even trying.

      Once she was inside her fence and her house, she would have no worries anymore.

      Jen waved the piece of paper at her mother. “It will mean you’re safer, too, after you move in. That’s important to me. Think of all the space we’ll have, and nothing but the best of the best. Just what you deserve.”

      Brenda Barnes shook her head slowly. “How many times are you going to bring this up? I’m not moving in with you. One of us would murder the other in the first week and then what would happen with all your precious lottery money?”

      “Well, you could take it and run off to Mexico. We aren’t that far.” Jen fluttered her eyelashes at her mother. There was no doubt in her mind who would kill whom. The Great Cake Baking Assignment of 2016 had proven beyond any doubt that her mother was tough as nails. They’d managed to make dozens of cakes for the Paws for Love bake sale, and only extreme love and true devotion had prevented Jen from telling her mother where she could put her measuring spoons. “If I’m dead, I won’t be slowing you down, will I?” That had been her mother’s number one complaint—Jen worked too slowly in the kitchen.

      Since Brenda had been waiting tables at Sue Lynn’s for as long as Jen could remember, she was an Olympic-level star in the kitchen. Jen might as well have wandered in off the street. Between Brenda and Rebecca, she spent zero time cooking and liked it that way.

      Jen had worked every job she could find for years to pay off all the debt she’d picked up in college, yet having to cook had never been one of them.

      After she’d hit the lottery, Jen had concentrated on the job she was good at, teaching math to surly teenagers. The baking thing had been a moment of insanity that turned into a two-week long sentence and dishpan hands.

      “You need to get a hobby.” Her mother slid into the Honda Civic that had been missing the back bumper ever since she bought it.

      Jen wandered over to the driver’s window and motioned for her mother to roll it down. “I have a hobby. Spending money completes me, Mom.”

      A reluctant laugh escaped her mom’s lips. “Lie to everyone else, but your mother knows.” She narrowed her eyes. “We are never going to live together again, Jenny. My house is perfectly spacious now.”

      “Can I buy you a new car, then?” Jen motioned at the back. “I know bumpers are extravagant and all...”

      “Have you talked to your brother about your investments lately?” Brenda asked as she always did when she was ready to end a conversation.

      Jen and Will, her stepbrother, were closer now than they ever had been. Since they’d mixed like orange juice and toothpaste when they were kids, that wasn’t saying much. This time Will brought with him the world’s coolest daughter, a niece Jen wished lived in Holly Heights instead of Austin. If Chloe were here, she’d have opinions on every bit of the landscape drawing.

      “I saw him just last night. Besides, you know we meet every week to talk about investments and charities and Paws for Love. Don’t worry. Will’s got his eye on me.” Since he was the golden boy who always reassured her mother. The fact that Brenda was only his stepmother had never convinced her to take Jen’s side over Will’s.

      And the guy was smart, even if he had fallen like a rock for Sarah Hillman.

      “Get a hobby.” Her mother pointed to punctuate every word. “Or a date. And if you put up razor wire or hire men with dogs to patrol this compound, I will ask Bobby Hillman how to steal every penny you have for your own good.”

      Brenda tilted her head. “You understand? Now give me a hug. I’m going to be late for the dinner shift.”

      Jen awkwardly stuck her head in the window and wrapped her arm around her mother’s neck. For so much of her life, Brenda had raised her all alone. When she’d married Will’s father, they’d had a hard time working two new people into their lives and her mother’s tiny house. After her divorce, her mother had done her best to make sure Jen and Will stayed connected. Her mother’s smell of fresh laundry and lavender was expected and reinforced Jen’s decision to convince her mother to move.

      Brenda worked too hard. Now that Jen was a woman of luxury, she could spoil her mom. She felt so guilty as she watched her mother pull out of the driveway.

      Jen refused to accept a no. That’s who she was.

      Her mother didn’t want a roommate. Fine. Maybe a house next door? Jen crossed her arms as she walked the large expanse of yard to the empty lot beside her property.

      How long would it take to build another home?

      Jen bent down to pat Hope, the pit bull mix she’d adopted from the Paws for Love shelter. All the noise had rattled Hope, but she was sprawled out in a sunny spot next to the lead Jen had put in the yard. When the fence was finished, Hope would have total control of a truly spacious kingdom. “Getting what we both deserve, right, Hopey?”

      Hope turned her head to give Jen’s hand a lazy lick and she stretched her legs out behind her. The spot of fur that had been cut out where she’d been wearing the collar when they rescued her was growing in nicely, but she seemed to like the pink bandannas Chloe had insisted were the perfect accessory.

      This dog. Jen blinked away tears as she considered what Hope’s life had once been. Everything was so good right now. With Hope snoozing peacefully in the sunshine it was difficult to remember all the hard times.

      Which made her think of Sarah.

      Since she’d been clutching her phone like a lifeline ever since two o’clock had rolled around, she knew she had no messages. Surely Sarah would let them all know about how the visit with Bobby went.

      Maybe her friends had made plans to get together after she’d left the dinner party.

      The old familiar feeling that everyone was having fun without her rolled across Jen.

      “Don’t be an idiot. They care for you. There’s no news yet.” Jen shoved the phone in her pocket as Luke Hollister’s car came down the street.

      She didn’t return his wave but started for the driveway.

      Then she realized Luke would have the news she was so anxious for.

      Suddenly wishing she’d done a bit more than pull on a faded orange University of Texas sweatshirt and gray sweatpants with a hole in the knee, Jen marched across the street in order to catch her prey before he disappeared inside. No way was she knocking on the door.

      Instead of hustling to avoid her, Luke Hollister slowly pushed down the lock on his car door down and closed it. He didn’t lean against the vehicle, but waited; his careful stare seemed to be cataloging details as she approached.

      “What’s the news?” Jen asked. She would not run her hands through her hair in an effort to make it look less Saturday stay-at-home matted to her head. She would control the conversation.

      “Hi, I’m Luke Hollister. We didn’t introduce ourselves last night but I like to observe the usual pleasantries.” СКАЧАТЬ