Page 34 of Laurels and Liquor

Jason lets out a long, heavy exhale. “Um… not great, if I’m being honest. Are you alone?”

I furrow my brow with confusion. “Gabby’s here, and Caleb, but he’s not really in earshot right now. Why? What’s the matter?”

Jason pauses, and I bite my lower lip. My excitement has melted into worry, not sure what to make of this tone from my little brother.

“I’ve talked to your alpha, and told her about it, and I don’t know how much she’s told you, but Mom’s…”

“Angry?” I supply when he trails off.

He scoffs a laugh. “Angry doesn’t even begin to cover it, Lydi. She’s off the deep end. I don’t know what on God’s green Earth her plan was, but my God, did it not work. Pastor Joe’s been here at the house almost every day since the wedding, bringing down all manner of righteous indignation on Dad for allowing him and his son to be embarrassed like this. Miss. Andrea has been weeping like a widow, wearing her funeral best as she sits in the ICU, and when she’s not there, she’s been at church, talking to all the other wives. You’d think Mom had the Black Plague with the way she’s been dropped from every committee, council, and volunteer group. She’s even been asked to step down from teaching Sunday school.”

My jaw drops, and I am too stunned to speak as the weight of this news hits me. My mother has been a part of the Chauvert Assembly of God leadership as far back as I could remember. She spent more of her time planning church potlucks and ice cream socials than she ever did planning any family gathering, and half the time, the decorations she used for the family events were borrowed from their storage anyway. And to have that position of power stripped from her…

“Has she found out about my trust?” I ask as the thought occurs to me.

“Eh… yep,” he replies, drawing out the words for emphasis. “Got the call from the bank, letting me know she tried to make an inquiry the Monday after the wedding. Of course, she turned around and tried to blame me for taking the money, and got up a real head of steam before I walked away, but—”

“I’m sorry, Jace. I didn’t think she’d… I didn’t want her to take this out on you,” I interrupt, voice fading to a whisper as guilt creeps in.

“She’s lashing out at everyone, not just me. I’m a traitor and a liar with no sense of loyalty or respect for my pack. Sammy’s weak minded for letting his wife manipulate him—”

“Wait, what?” I blurt, blinking rapidly.

“Oh, yeah. I told you that Ally and Sammy moved back into the house?” Jason starts.

I hum an affirmative response, on the edge of my seat. I’m not particularly interested in gossip, but drama like this is like witnessing a train wreck.

“Poor Ally is Mom’s latest punching bag, all for the crime of mentioning that what Darren did at the wedding was wrong and he got what was coming to him. Sammy’s been questioning things for a while, and we’ve talked a lot since you left. He’s not quite ready to fully ditch Mom and Dad, but he’s calling them on their bullshit way more now, not letting them get away with outright lying when he’s around. But Ally’s the mastermind for trying to steal her baby or something,” Jason explains.

I cringe back. “That’s… just wow. He’s a grown ass man with a functioning brain.”

“That’s what I said, but what do I know. Ally’s a trooper, though. If she can handle kindergarteners, she can handle Mom.”

We share a laugh, but the elephant in the room stares at me.

“And… Adam?” I prompt when Jason doesn’t continue.

“I think he’s trying to kiss so much ass that we’ll all conveniently forget he was dishonorably discharged not that long ago. Mom has, of course, forgiven him, but Dad sure as hell won’t. After the shit he said at the wedding, he can suck an entire bag of dicks and choke as far as I’m concerned,” Jason says, ending on a snarl.

I can’t help but smile. Of all the things that happened that night, Adam’s victim blaming was hardly the worst of it, but something in his tone catches my attention.

“Did he say something after I left?” I ask hesitantly.

“Oh, yeah. I’d never repeat his exact words in polite company or otherwise, but he’s lucky he’s not in a bed next to Darren with his jaw wired shut, too,” Jason spits.

I sigh, considering forcing the issue, but I can only imagine what horrors my brother could have come out with. Instead, I change the subject.

“You’re still using the burner Caleb gave you,” I start, picking at a chip in the paint on my toenail.

Jason grunts, a gruff, annoyed sound. “Mom’s still trying to deny spying on me. I even asked a buddy of mine who’s good with tech and he proved that she had my SIM card cloned, but she’s still trying to act like it wasn’t her. So I walked out and threw my phone into the bayou.”

I can’t help but chuckle. “She thinks you don’t have a phone now?”

“Yep. Sammy and I communicate through Ally’s phone, and I call Rhett every now and then, just to keep the poor bastard from going crazy, but otherwise, no one can get ahold of me. I should have done this years ago.”

We share a laugh at his joke, then go quiet, the question bubbling up on his side of the line. We’ve texted some, but this is the longest conversation we’ve had in a while. It feels good to get everything out in the open. But I know he’s got questions, and I owe him answers.

“Lydia, you said…”

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