Page 79 of Tangled Trust

"I’ve been a little short with you. I feel bad about that."

Uh-huh…Am I awake? Is this some sort of nightmare? I know pregnancy can bring with it pretty vivid dreams, but this one takes the cake.

"I’d like it very much if we could start over. Perhaps we could have lunch? My treat."

Answer her, Ella. Use your words.

"I appreciate that. Thank you, Amanda. I would like that very much," I say, careful to close my mouth after I speak in case I step on my lower jaw.

"Excellent. I’ll call you, and we can arrange it."

"I’ll go get Jagger, shall I?"

"Thanks."

I’m sure her eyes are burning a hole in the back of my skull as I walk away. This isn’t normal. Amanda must be up to something. Either that or she’s had a near-death epiphany. Either way, I plan on proceeding with caution. Carter never told me she was this fickle. Good grief!

"Jagger, your mum’s here, sweetheart."

He’s out back with Carter.

"Oh, goody," Carter says in a low voice.

"You’ll never believe what just happened," I whisper to him so Jagger can’t hear.

"What?"

"I’ll tell you as soon as Amanda leaves."

Jagger bids us goodbye, and soon Carter and I are alone.

"Uhhh, thanks for telling me Amanda is a psycho," I start.

"What did she do this time?" he sighs.

"She apologized to me and invited me to lunch."

"Woah! Okay, that’s new."

"Oh, good. I thought it was a pregnancy hallucination."

"I wonder what crawled over her grave."

"She isn’t going to lure me in with the promise of a green juice and antifreeze my ass is she?"

"Honestly, Jones. I have no idea. This is a side of her I haven’t seen before. Maybe she is genuinely interested in keeping the peace," he says, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, I don’t think so. Your ex-wife is up to something, Mr. Moore. Count on it."

"Poor baby," he says, wrapping his arms around me. "Don’t be afraid, Jones, I’ve got you. I won’t let anyone bully you."

"Hey, I can take care of myself. I’m just warning you; if I suddenly go missing, you’ll know where to look."

"Gotcha. Now, give me a snog fatty."

"Oh, you’re going to pay for that."

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