Page 89 of Truth or Tequila (Grand Slam 1)

“You know how your sister is—the champion of the oppressed and the downtrodden. I think it’s made her like me more.”

“Yeah, probably,” I say, laughing. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, honey—more than anything in the world. You could never do anything to disappoint me. Get yourself to Michigan. We’ll hunker down for a while until it blows over. It always does.”

“Okay. Is the house key in the same place?”

“Still under the ceramic frog by the hydrangeas,” she says, laughing. “We’ll be down next week—probably Tuesday. Are you bringing that woman you like? What’s her name? Sophie?”

My heart skips a beat again. “Uh, no, I think that’s probably done.”

“What? You told me you really liked her.”

“I do,” I sigh, “but I kind of messed it up.”

“I doubt that.” She’s indignant again. It makes me smile. I definitely got my fierce protective nature from her.

“Mom, I do make mistakes sometimes.”

“I’m not sure how that can be when you’re perfect. And if this Sophie can’t see that, that’s her problem.”

I laugh. “We can talk about it next week. Okay? I need to pack and take care of some stuff here before I leave. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, honey. We can’t wait to see you.”

When I hang up, I call Joe.

“Hey. Are you still going to Michigan tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Ray Franklin called me. He’s printing a story about Gentry on Saturday. It’s going to include Mom’s jail time. Did you have anything to do with that story getting out? I’m not mad if you did. It was going to come out at some point.”

“I didn’t talk to Ray directly about it, but I provided the information to someone else—”

“Sophie?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, will you keep an eye on her while I’m gone? I promised I wouldn’t contact her. I’m not going to break that promise. I’m worried that Gary’s going to come after her, though. I’ll call her friend Roman, too. He’ll protect her, but check on her to make sure she’s okay.”

“I’ve got you.” He pauses for a second. “If you don’t want me to head your detail anymore, I’ll understand.”

“There are only so many people who can put up with me, Joe, and you’re one of them. Don’t think you’re getting off the hook that easy. You’re stuck with me.”

* * *

---