“Whatever.”
“Chase, Megan, stop acting like you’re both in grade school, and”—she pointed her finger at him—“be nice to your sister. She obviously wants to share who she saw.”
“I don’t want to anymore,” Megan said turning away from him and staring out the window above the stainless steel sink.
Rags’s mother gave himthat look.He sighed then cleared his throat. “I was just teasing you. Tell me who you saw.”
Megan didn’t answer. Rags shook his head, and mouthed, “I tried” to his mom then started to turn away when his sister said, “All right, I’ll tell you and Mom. I ran into Julie.”
Rags’ mood turned from playful to ice in less than a heartbeat.Julie. The slutty bitch.The one who took his heartand stomped on it, the only one who wore his property patch then spit on it, the one who betrayed him.
“Julie?” His mother’s question broke into his thoughts. “I thought she moved years ago after…” his mother’s voice trailed off.
“She did, but she said she came back to help out with her mom. Her mother’s not in a good way.”
Rags saw his mom glance at him, a hint of sadness and…pityin her eyes.Fuck that!
“So that’s the person you had us playing a guessing game about? Who the fuck cares if she’s back or what the hell she does.”
Megan’s face fell. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Nothing to be sorry about, it’s all past history.” He turned toward his mom. “What’s for dinner?”
“Barbecue ribs.”
“My favorite.” He smiled.
“I know.” His mother reached out and grasped his arm. “I made the marinade. Your dad should be here soon to fire up the grill.”
“So Clara’s not gonna be here for dinner,” he said, pulling softly away from his mother’s grip.
“No, she has to work. It’s the VIP reception. I don’t like her working late at night, especially with the murder that happened a couple of weeks ago. Did you read about it?”
“I heard about it. I don’t like Clara working late either. I’m glad she’s living at home.”
“For now, but she wants to get her own place. Your father and I aren’t thrilled about that at all.”
“Is she moving out? She didn’t mention it to me.”
His mother shook her head. “She’s just talking about it, but I don’t know why because I know she wants to save money.She’s also talked about going back to graduate school. Until that psycho is caught and put away, I won’t rest easy.
“What time does she get off tonight?” Rags said.
“Around midnight.”
“I’ll head over there to make sure she’s okay.”
His mother’s shoulders slumped in relief. “That would be nice. Thank you.”
“Of course. Now lemme see if I can get that grill going.”
“Don’t go near it. It’s your dad’s new baby, and he’s very protective of it.” His mother laughed. “I’m going to put the utensils he needs by the grill then arrange the flowers on the table.”
When his mother left, Megan cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. It’s just that I was so surprised to see her, and I thought it was all done with you, you know in your mind and all.”
“It is. Don’t worry about it. Like I said, ‘It’s past history.’ Okay?”
Nodding, Megan replied, “Okay.”