Page 35 of Exhale
Owen shot Jordan a smirking smile.
“Pick something on the radio,” he said.
“Wait…you can’t just say something like that and then listen to music!” Jordan waved his hands about.
“Why not?” Owen said with a lifted eyebrow.
Jordan squinted, glaring at him…but his mouth twitched, and it wasn’t from anger or sadness, it was from trying not to laugh.
Owen could tell.
“You suck,” Jordan said, throwing up his hands.
Owen chuckled, he was glad the mood turned light, but he wasn’t going to forget any of what Jordan told him.
First, though, they had to find his kids and take care of Billy Danner.
After that? He was going to get a commitment out of Jordan.
Come hell or high water, he was going to tie that man down.
Jordan was still snickering when he found an old rock and roll station on the radio.
Danner’s mom came out of the house around an hour later to lift the groceries delivered off the front porch and disappeared back inside.
“Let’s see if the kids are there,” Jordan said and slipped out of the vehicle.
“Jordan!” Owen hissed and quickly followed.
Jordan jogged across the street and walked down the sidewalk.
It was broad daylight, and Jordan was walking like they belonged there. Owen shook his head and dropped into step.
When they reached the top of old lady Danner’s porch, Jordan knocked.
She answered right away like she’d been close by. With gray hair in a fuzzy mess around her head and a house dress with washed out pale pink flowers on a white background, she looked like a mom from one of those family sitcoms.
“Can I help you?”
“Hi, we’re looking for Billy. Is he home?” Jordan said.
“He doesn’t live here.”
“Ah, okay.”
“How do you know Billy?”
“I don’t know if you remember me, but Billy and I went to grade school.”
Apparently, Jordan had done his homework, and Owen shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was fucking impressed.
“Oh?” She peered at Jordan
“Yeah, I was one grade below him, but Billy stuck up for me. I don’t know if you remember a Jimmy Cook?”
“Jimmy Cook!” She smiled wide and opened the door, gesturing them inside.
She closed the door to keep the Arizona heat out and walked into a large kitchen.
