Looking for Trouble (Jackson: Girls' Night Out 1)

Alex grimaced. Yeah. She’d definitely do that. And considering her feral reaction to Sophie, that poor woman was likely to bear the brunt of it.

“Just help, all right?” Shane asked. “You left. I get why. You needed to. But you left me here to deal with her, and I’ve done it. I’ve dealt with her for sixteen years alone, and I’d like a little damn help now, Alex. She’s sick.”

The old resentments were back in full force at that. His brother pretending things weren’t as bad as they were, trying to explain away their mom’s behavior. As a kid, it had made Alex feel like the crazy one. “Is that why you got me back here? To take over carrying her shit?”

“No,” Shane snapped. “This isn’t a fucking trick. I’m asking you for help. You can run away and live your life like you’ve never had a family, but we still exist. You still have a brother. I’m right here and I’m asking you to help me, even if you think I don’t deserve it. Even if you hate my guts.”

They glared at each other for a long time. Both of them through their father’s eyes. Pale blue and distant and hard to read. Alex finally felt some of his anger leave. “I don’t hate you.”

Shane shrugged, but Alex could see the relief on his face. “Maybe you should. But I’m glad if you don’t.”

Alex rolled his own shoulders and tried to let go of the tension bunching his muscles into knots.

“It’s only a few more days. Just put in a little time. Ignore Mom if you can. And that’ll be the end of it.”

He nodded and paced back to the far corner of the deck. It was what he’d told himself he’d do. He could handle it. He wasn’t a kid anymore, even if being around her filled him with those same old emotions.

“Okay.” He nudged a pot full of dirt and one dead plant with his boot. A gray kitten darted out. Alex blinked in shock, but the cat disappeared beneath the deck. “Is Mom working or anything?”

“No. She started on disability this year.”

“Maybe that’s bad for her.”

“Maybe. She’s certainly gone downhill in the past few weeks.”

Alex nodded. “What was she doing before that?”

“Cashier, clerk, bowling alley attendant, cleaning crew. Same things she always did. Her bosses always liked her fine until she’d skip town to chase after Dad’s ghost. That died down a few years ago when she couldn’t afford a car anymore.”

“How’d she get this place?”

“It’s one of Jackson’s affordable housing rentals.”

Alex stared at the trees and let out a deep breath. Shane had been dealing with the reality of this for a long time, and Alex had never let it worry him for a second. “All right,” he finally said, “I’ll try to help.”

“Great. Can we sit down for a little while? Figure out the logistics?”

The trees were too thick to see any farther than the house next door. Even if they weren’t there, he probably wouldn’t be able to see Sophie’s place. Considering his mom’s vitriol, that was a good thing.

“Sure. Let’s get this over with.” He shrugged off his jacket and followed Shane inside. He could check on Sophie later. Or maybe he should just stay away. That’s what she’d been trying to tell him, after all. That’s why it was bad for both of them. But somehow he wanted to make her say it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

SHE’D WAITED AN hour, pacing and sweating and berating herself for what she’d done. She’d jumped at every small sound, expecting that it was Alex’s boot on her front step or his hand opening the storm door so he could knock.

Eventually she’d worn herself down into exhaustion and given up the vigil to make herself a cup of tea. He wasn’t coming back. He’d learned the truth and he’d decided Sophie wasn’t worth speaking to again.

Because she wasn’t.

With the history between their two families, he’d never have gone out with her if he’d known whose daughter she was. But Sophie had taken that choice from him. She was awful, and she hadn’t even been able to hide it this time. His mother had gotten it right for once.

“First time for everything,” Sophie murmured into her tea.

God. At first Rose Bishop hadn’t been part of the story for Sophie. The only story had been that Sophie’s mother was gone. Missing. Kidnapped. An accident victim. Nobody knew. She was just gone. The biggest void in the longest night that Sophie could ever have imagined.

That night had gone on endlessly. It had stretched out over weeks. Her mother had disappeared in the summertime. No school. No friends nearby. Just her father, wandering the house like a ghost when he wasn’t working himself to the bone. And her brother, too young to know anything except that he needed taking care of. And the neighbors, eventually.

If her mom had died, they would’ve been there in droves with warm arms open for a scared little girl. But instead, they’d come awkwardly, in whispering pairs, not sure if they should help or disapprove.