Page 52 of His Best Friend's Baby

Julia laughed, feeling free and easy in a way she couldn’t remember feeling. Jesse’s kiss still burned her lips, his touch still burned her hand and her heart floated someplace above her head, in the low-lying clouds that filled the California sky.

“That’s good to know. I just got a job and I am going to need someone to take care of Ben while I’m working in the mornings.”

“Really?” Amanda’s face lit up. “I could totally do that. I mean, I could do it at your house or—”

“Hey, this is me,” Julia said pointing at the Adamses’ house. They’d done some work on the lawn and it no longer looked like a neglected eyesore. She knew she’d done that. Well, she and Ben. They’d given Agnes and Ron the emotional boost they’d needed to rejoin their life.

She was glad she’d been able to do something, besides fill out applications and listen to Mitch stories.

“I totally forgot,” Amanda said, the smile and color leeching from her face. “You live with the Adamses.”

“Yeah, I’m Mitch’s widow.” Julia watched her, puzzled by Amanda’s suddenly nervous and worried demeanor as she walked Ben back to Julia.

“I won’t be able to babysit here. I’m sorry, I should get going—”

“Julia!” The front door opened and Agnes, animated and clutching a letter, stepped out onto the cracked sidewalk. “You’re never going to guess—”

“I really need to go,” Amanda whispered and she took off running back to Jesse’s house.

“What was she doing here?” Agnes asked, her eyes following Amanda as she ran. “What were you doing with her?”

Julia forced herself not to roll her eyes like the kid Agnes seemed to think she was. “I met her the other day, she offered to babysit Ben if I needed her to.”

Agnes’s mouth fell open. “Absolutely not.”

Julia blinked, at a loss for words. “Agnes, what—”

“She’s completely inappropriate to take care of Ben.”

“I think I can judge the appropriateness of who takes care of Ben.”

Agnes’s eyes turned to hard stones. “All right, but that girl was arrested a few years ago. Did you know that?”

Julia swallowed. “No, I didn’t. But I’m sure there’s—”

“She burned down a farm.” Agnes crossed her arms over her chest, looking as smug and mean as possible. “Nearly killed a man. And now, thanks to her father marrying Rachel Filmore, she’s related to—” Agnes’s face turned hard, as though her anger turned her into a statue “—Jesse Filmore. Who, I don’t have to tell you, shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe the same air as Mitch’s little boy.”

Julia reeled, silent. There were so many things wrong with Agnes’s assumptions and prejudices that she felt paralyzed. “Amanda has been nothing but kind to me and Ben,” she said, lamely. “And Jesse—”

“I can’t expect you to understand in a few short weeks what that girl is like.” Agnes patted her arm in a patronizing way. “You just have to trust me on this. That family is trash.”

Julia pulled away, determined to defend Jesse. “Agnes, that’s not fair. And it’s untrue. I know what everyone in town is saying about Jesse. But they’re wrong. Jesse didn’t kill Mitch. They were friends. Mitch’s death is tearing Jesse apart.”

For a second Julia thought Agnes was going to slap her. Or have a heart attack. Her nose flared and the letter she carried crumpled in her fist. Her skin went pale and sweat beaded her lip. She even seemed to sway.

“Agnes…?”

“Do not mention that man’s name again.” She bit the words out.

“Jesse?”

“He should have burned in that accident. He should be dead, not Mitch.” Her eyes dilated, her eyelids fluttered. “Not Mitch.”

Julia did not know how to handle this malice, this violent hatred for Jesse. She wanted to run far away from this venomous woman, yet, at the same time, she worried that Agnes would collapse right there in front of her.

“Let’s go inside, Agnes. You should lie down.”

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