“You know, Susan down at the Shop n Bag didn’t use words like good-looking and nice when she talked about Jonas. The way she described him made me think more along the lines of a strawberry cheesecake. She kept using the word delicious.”
Deanna saw red. “Susan Lyttle is too young to be checking out men like Jonas. Is she even twenty years old yet? And how does she know Jonas anyway?” Ew, was that the little green monster of jealousy in her voice? Not the least bit pretty.
Her mom laughed. “She’s twenty-five, which is a very legal age, and since it’s no big deal, why do you care?”
Too late, Deanna realized she had revealed more than what she had intended. This was why she never told her mother lies. She ended up trapped like a blasted lobster. Time to come clean. “Maybe I care a little. Maybe I’ve always cared a little,” Deanna admitted with no small amount of fear in her voice.
“I thought as much,” her mom replied with a gentle smile. “You’ve always been a little too sarcastic to him. I wondered if maybe you had a crush on him.”
“Sarcasm isn’t flirting, Mom,” Deanna said, confused.
“For you it most certainly is. There are little things you do and say whenever you like a guy. Sarcasm is one of them. You also stammer a little.”
Her cheeks heated in mortification. “I do not!”
Her mother nodded. “Yes, you do. But don’t worry, sweetie, I don’t think Jonas caught on.”
Lord, she hoped not. “Can we change the subject now?”
“One more question first. Have you told Dean and Wade about your weekend with Jonas?” Deanna shook her head. “Well, I can tell you right now your brothers aren’t going to like it.”
“I’m a big girl now, Mom. They don’t run my personal life.”
“I agree, but they might see it differently.”
“It’s not my problem. What Jonas and I do is not their business.”
Her mom tsked. “Don’t be snide, Deanna. Your brothers can’t help it if they love you and want the best for you. It’s in their DNA. Besides, you’d be the same with the two of them.”
Deanna laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess I can’t fault them for caring, can I?”
Her mother sat up a little straighter, her eyes a little too watery for Deanna’s peace of mind. “Since I’ve been working at that shelter, I’m beginning to realize that what we have is a whole lot more than what a lot of people have. We shouldn’t take it for granted.”
“You’re right. I’m pretty lucky to have such a loving family,” she replied, meaning every word. “Speaking of family, Jonas never talks about his. Why do you think that is?”
“He talked to me about them once.”
Now that, Deanna hadn’t expected. She leaned closer. “He did?”
Her mother let out a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It was at Wade’s birthday party one year. Jonas mentioned never having had a party for his birthday.”
Deanna frowned. “He’s an only child and his parents never celebrated his birthday?”
She shook her head. “No. At first, I didn’t think I’d heard him correctly. After he told me a little more about his mom and dad, I realized just how different his upbringing had been from the way your father and I raised you three.”
“What do you mean?”
“His parents are very rigid people. Wealthy too. They don’t have family get-togethers, no parties with streamers hanging from the ceiling. He said when he turned ten, his mother took him to his first piano lesson. That was his present, even though he’d asked for a basketball hoop and had zero interest in learning to play the piano.”
Deanna immediately hated Jonas’s mother. “I take it he never got the hoop?”
“No, his parents explained that it would look trashy attached to the house.”
“Wow.” Her heart ached for the little boy Jonas had been.
“No wonder he always looks a little baffled at our family functions.”
Her mother nodded. “Like a fish out of water. And it’s also why Wade’s opinion is so important to him. He’s like a brother to Jonas.”