Page 151 of Somebody's Watching Me
Samuel adjusted his thick glasses. “What?”
“Chicken butt!”
Selah rolled the van door closed at his punchline and ran off.
“What is wrong with them?” Miranda wondered as Samuel hurled insults at his brother through the glass.
“They’re boys.”
Miranda shook her head. “How was Houston?”
“Complicated.” He slung his jacket over his shoulder. “But it won’t be for long.”
She never asked questions. Not like she did before the cancer came.
“Come on, Miranda,” Josie said, heading to the passenger side. “See you later, Ben.”
Miranda kissed his cheek. “Goodnight, husband.”
“Goodnight, wife,” he replied, rapping his knuckles on the glass where Samuel was blowing open-mouthed raspberries. “Hey, I just thought of something. Tomorrow is Friday.”
Miranda frowned. “So?”
“So, weekends mean Dad rules apply.” Ben slid open the rear van door. “Samuel can stay until Sunday.”
Not having to be told twice, Samuel flopped out of the van and ran full blast into the house as his mother sighed. “Dang it, Ben.”
“Did you not want a weekend alone with Josie?”
He and Laura Jean, like Miranda and Josie, were concealing their relationships from the children, and it was hard as hell to keep up the charade. Evie had already caught them dancing late at night together last Christmas, and they had sworn her to secrecy. Meanwhile, Selah’s intuitive nature had him noticing a few things, but it was Samuel who was the real problem. His son was brilliant, and smart enough to rule a small county at this point. Any day now, he would start putting two and two together.
As soon as the buyout was over, the charade could end. Well, at least for him and Laura Jean. It was up to Josie and Miranda to decide what they wanted to tell and what they wanted to keep a secret.
“Don’t let him torture Evie,” Miranda said, getting behind the wheel. “The two of them have been fighting all day.”
He loved Evie like his own, but Samuel and her together were every parent’s worst nightmare. They constantly argued over nothing and everything. “Wonderful.”
He waved them off and made his way to the house. Halfway up the walk, music blasted from behind him, and he turned in time to see Rebecca speeding down the driveway with her windows down. She had yet another new car, having wrecked at least three in the last year.
The one she was currently driving didn’t look anything like what he would have approved, and he made a mental note to have yet another discussion with Hillary. She had been known to allow large purchase requests for Rebecca to go through without gaining consent first.
“Whenever I hear her story, I think of how I could have easily been in that same situation. Desperation can force you into all kinds of messes,” Hillary had said after the last time. “A pretty man with a charming smile can sometimes ruin even a smart woman, Ben.”
But that wasn’t it. Rebecca wasn’t glamoured by looks or love, and each time she spent ungodly amounts on cars, partying, or even the expensive clothes she wore to nowhere except trash bars, he replenishedthe funds with his own money. Charlie—who could hardly handle adding and subtracting, let alone managing his finances—didn’t realize all that shit added up fast, and expenditures coming in that high would alert the board something was amiss.
Entering the foyer, Haven greeted him with her usual soundtrack. Music and laughter mixed with children’s excited voices as they readied for whatever shenanigans were planned for tonight.
Ty came out of the parlor with his face covered in yellow stars. “Hey, you finally made it.”
“You look pretty.”
“Don’t judge me. You didn’t see the woman doing the face painting at the festival.”
“I take it she was attractive?”
“Look at me, man. Do you think I would let just anyone do this?” Ty waved a hand in front of his face. “I’m meeting her for drinks in a minute.”
“She was hot,” Devon agreed, wisely skirting out of striking distance as he and SiSi came down the hall.
