Page 29 of High Density

“Quite sure. It looks like I’ll be spending quite a bit of time here this coming week, and I have a pile of things left to do at home.”

He flashes me a grin. “Understood. Maybe we’ll find an opportunity in the days to come.”

It’s not very likely, but to say so now would seem unnecessarily rude.

Instead of responding, I shoot him a friendly smile and dart out the door, yelling, “See you tomorrow,” over my shoulder.

Chapter Nine

JD

How long are you going to avoid me?

I tuckmy phone back in my pocket. Since the disaster on Saturday, my sister has left me three voice messages before resorting to texts, which have been coming in pretty steady.

I’m not ready to listen to what Una has to say.

Ma is still pissed and ignoring me, and Pa is trying to be a peacemaker, but so far has only managed to get Ma angry at him as well.

I don’t know what my sister thought was going to happen with a dramatic announcement like that, to be honest. It’s almost as if, by creating a circus around the revelation of her sexual preference, she was trying to force a bad reaction from our parents; in order to justify keeping it from them for all those years.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for her she found someone she wants to spend her life with, but I have a sneaking suspicion this woman, Rachel, might have been the catalyst for the grand reveal this past weekend.

“Talk to her.”

Pa is standing in the door opening, his hands in his pockets, looking a little forlorn.

So much for hiding out in the tack room until the end of my last workday before I take off for the rest of the week. I sigh, put down the rag I’ve been oiling my saddle with, and wipe my hands on my jeans.

“Not sure that’s going to do any good.”

“Fucking try. She’s not listening to me. She’s banging around the kitchen, huffing like a damn bull at anyone who even crosses her eyesight. Everyone is tiptoeing around her, and I think Jonas has had just about enough. You know there’s gonna be fireworks if he calls her out.”

Shaking my head, I curse under my breath. Yeah, I know. Jonas and my mother adore each other, but both are blunt and headstrong. It could get ugly.

“Fine. I’ll talk to her.”

I can hear her moving around the kitchen when I step in the front door of the ranch house. Walking down the hall, I pass Jonas’s office and glance inside. He’s sitting at his desk, his jaw clenched, and his eyes on me.

“Make it fucking stop,” he grinds.

I nod.Shit. No pressure.

The moment she catches sight of me, she slams the pan she was holding on the stove with a loud bang, puts her hands on her hips, and locks her eyes on me.

“What?”

“Two minutes, Ma. Out on the deck.” I move to the sliding doors and reach for the handle. “Two minutes you can yell at me, but then I want two minutes to have my say.”

She stays put and tries to stare me down, but I’ve learned from the best and stare right back.

Finally, she starts moving, looking down at the ground in front of her feet. I slide the door open to let her pass and follow her out on the deck, making sure to close it again. Ma keeps walking until she reaches the edge, bracing herself on the railing as she looks out at the view. I move up right beside her and lean my back against the railing, turning my head toward her.

“All right, let me have it,” I invite her, but it’s like the starch has gone out of her.

“You lied.”

I expected that one, but I’m discovering it hits harder when it’s delivered in a soft, pained voice, rather than yelled in my face.

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