Jodi wiped at her eyes. “Thank you. It’s just been me and Mom for so long. Dad’s…well, you know how Dad took off after Jason died.”
I winced and reached across to squeeze a hand while Ceci grabbed the other. “I’m so sorry.” I’d heard about his leaving from Gigi. The story was he’d wanted a divorce for years but never done anything about it. After Jason, he’d simply packed up and moved to Florida. They still weren’t divorced.
“And forget about Miss Perfect Jess.” A trace of venom lined her words.
I looked at Ceci, who widened her eyes. I sat back in my chair. “I thought we were good with Jess?”
“Well, we aren’t,” Jodi said. “She’s the worst little sister anyone’s ever had. She’s a total mess but makes it seem she’s got her shit together.”
“Oh, goodie, a little sister worse than me,” I joked.
Jodi waved my comment away. “You’re nothing like Jess. She’s a self-centered jerk who can’t see beyond her nose to notice the rest of the world around her. Especially if that world includes her big sister.”
Whether she meant it or not, Jodi’s comment hit home. Over the past few weeks, I’d come to accept that my years of running had clouded my ability to notice Gigi’s clear need for help with this house. Thing was, I hadn’t taken into account how my leaving might have affected more people than just Gigi. I was looking at two of them right now.
“The point is, when Mom leaves, I won’t have any family left here.”
“Aw, babe, you’ve still got us,” Ceci said.
My chest squeezed. I wanted to agree with Ceci and tell Jodi that I’d be here, but I didn’t know if that was true. I didn’t know if it wasn’t true, but we weren’t talking about me right now.
“She’s already sold the house,” Jodi continued.
I gasped. “What?”
She laughed sadly. “She didn’t tell me anything. Wanted to wait until everything was finalized, she said, because she didn’t want to upset me. Well, surprise!” she grit out. “I’m upset!” She took another big drink. “It gets better.”
Wordlessly, I topped off her drink, then refilled mine and Ceci’s. This room was getting darker and darker.
“I’d actually gone to her to talk about a loan. Apparently I was an idiot when I bought the shop because I didn’t realize my payments were jumping. Like, by a lot. I can almost pull it off, but…”
“Um, your mom sold the house,” Ceci said.
Jodi cut her eyes at Ceci. “I know.”
“So, she has the money to help you with the payments,” Ceci said, a look of exasperation on her face.
“Ha,” Jodi said.
“What do you mean, ‘ha’?” I asked, scooting forward. “Ceci’s right. This is fixable.”
“Not when your mom was so terrible with finances that the reason she sold the house was to get out from under it,” she said, her voice cold. “There’s no money. None. Zip. Zilch.” She laughed bitterly. “At least I know who I get my financial wizardry from.”
I looked at Ceci and grimaced. She shook her head.
“No,” I said. “I refuse to think this isn’t fixable. We can do something.”
Jodi held up her hand. “Dev, I love you. I do. You’re like a big sister to me. But right now, I’m not looking for your help to find a solution. I just want to drink and complain about it.”
“Okay, but—”
“Uh-uh,” she stopped me. “No buts.”
“Fine,” I said. “And—”
“Devon!” she said, exasperated. “I’ll figure it out. Something always comes through. It has to, right?”
She sounded so hopeful and sad that all I could do was nod and smile. “Right.” I raised my glass to hers and we drank.
“On that note,” Ceci said, “I vote we clean up our tacos and take our drinks to the porch.”
“Seconded,” Jodi said. “This room really is depressing.”
I stood. “So moved. Let’s get out of here.”
17
DEVON 4 MONTHS, 28 DAYS TO GO
OUTSIDE, THE SKY was darkening and the wind was cool in the early September evening. We settled onto the porch, me on the rocker and Ceci and Jodi on the swing. Samson considered his options, then jumped into my lap.
“Don’t say it,” I warned the other two as Samson made himself at home. I scratched his ears as he gave my other hand a lick.
“Don’t say that he’s definitely your dog?” Jodi said.
“And that there’s a sale on dog food at the Piggly Wiggly?” Ceci chimed in.
I rolled my eyes. “Exactly. None of that.” I looked down at Samson. “He is a good boy.”
