Page 48 of Brew
“Fat lot of good that’s gonna do now,” Mom says, waving her hand at us. “I’ve got my sister callin’ me every time of the day, on the hour, askin’ if I’ve heard from her.”
“Maybe Nova didn’t want to talk to her,” Haze suggests. “It’s not like Aunt Elsie is the model citizen for mother of the year. Nova ran away from home more times than I can count as a kid.”
“Doesn’t mean Elsie is a bad person,” Mom sniffs. “She just didn’t know how to raise a child. If she’d had sent her over to my house when Nova was a girl, things might have turned out a little differently.”
Despite her gruffness, Mom is a good lady deep down with a big heart. You could say I inherited her personality. She did her best with us boys, and a drunk for a husband, but I always wondered what would’ve happened to her if her life had turned out differently. She’s not unhappy, but sometimes in her eyes I see a faraway look. I’ve never been game enough to ask her what her hopes and dreams were, or tell her that it’s not too late.
Instead, I clear my throat. “Ma, don’t come bargin’ in here upsettin’ the apple cart. You know if Nova feels even a tiny bit threatened she’ll bolt, it’s what she’s good at.”
Ma can hear me, but she pretends she can’t. “She still needs to call her mother.”
“And she will,” Logan says. “When she’s ready. We’ve given her a job and a roof over her head. Hopefully, this time she’ll settle down and stay in one place. She can’t afford to get into any more trouble.”
“Well, I’m not leavin’ here until I see her,” Ma sniffs.
Fucking fantastic. Nova would’ve seen Mom coming and bolted. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s still hiding under the desk. I pull out my phone and text Erica.
Me
Where’s Nova?
A few seconds pass, then my phone chimes.
Erica
She’s hiding in the office behind me
Fucking great.
Me
Don’t let her leave
Erica
I’ll try, but she’s pretty shaken up
Me
My mom isn’t a bad person. Nova just hasn’t called home since she got out
Erica
I’ll try to talk to her
I don’t know what Nova is hiding. Ma adores her, even if she’s a little ticked off right now. Nova has her own issues with her mom, and she probably thinks she’s on the way over here. Not gonna happen since she lives in Tennessee.
“Fine, just don’t be your usual self,” I mutter. “Guns blazin’ won’t help matters. Don’t know what happened to her, but she was back with that fuckwit boyfriend of hers when she got out. Won’t tell me shit about it, but we may need to find him if she won’t talk.”
“Language,” Ma scolds. “My usual self isn’t all that bad, thank you very much.”
I resist the urge for another eye roll because Mom drives us all crazy.
Sawyer returns with a steaming hot cup of coffee. Ass licker.
“There you are, Mrs. Dawson.” He beams at her.
She smiles back. “Thank you, Sawyer,” she sighs, then adds, “if I were fifty years younger…”
