The Best Man (Jasper Falls 2)

“From Penn?”

“No, from high school. Does alcohol expire?”

They finished cleaning up the table. There wasn’t much to put away, being that most of his belongings were boxed up by the front door.

“Am I making a mistake?” he asked, staring at the pile of boxes marked KEEP to take home.

“No. You’ve always wanted this. And just think, you get to see Ryan every day. It’ll be like old times.”

He did miss his brother. “I can’t believe he’s getting married.”

“To Maggie O’Malley no less. I never thought I’d see the day that an O’Malley married a Clooney.”

“She’s not, technically, an O’Malley.” His brother’s fiancée was an O’Malley by marriage. She was also the youngest widow in town—but she was about to marry into the biggest—and craziest—family in Jasper Falls.

“Everyone’s getting married,” Jo commented, plopping on the broken in couch, where Pat spent most of his nights after returning home from the hospital, too exhausted to find his bed.

He collapsed next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. “Not us.”

She snorted. “I doubt I ever will.”

He laced his fingers with hers, admiring the diamond ring on her right hand. It was the only feminine thing Jo owned. They found it stumbling home from the bar one night.

“You never know. Your soul mate could be out there somewhere.”

“Oh, please.” She lifted her hip and fished her phone out of her back pocket. “Speaking of which… Listen to this.”

She opened her voicemail, flashing the screen with a list of calls from her mother and hit play.

“Josephine, it’s impolite not to return someone’s call, especially your mother’s. I found a dress online that would look lovely with your eyes and hide your tattoos. I’m sending you the link. I think you should buy it for the wedding.”

“A dress?”

“Wait,” she said, scrolling down the voicemail page. “There’s more.”

“Josephine, I ran into Rosemary Clooney at McGinty’s, and she said Ryan hasn’t received your RSVP for the wedding yet. This reflects poorly on the family. I hope you’ve sent it by now.”

She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. “You told Ryan I wasn’t coming, right?”

“I mentioned it, but we still think you’re going.”

“Pat, I’m not going.”

He lifted his chin at the phone, gesturing for her to play more.

She hit play on the next message. “Josephine, I spoke to Elise Wiseman today after mass, and she says that Tobin is looking for a date to the wedding. I gave her your number to pass along. Hopefully you answer the phone when he calls.”

Pat scrunched his nose. “Tobin Wiseman?”

“I know. Even if I was into guys, I’d find him gross.”

She played a few more messages, each one a testament to why she escaped her controlling, critical mother and ran away from her conservative family years ago. At least in Philly, she could be herself.

If he didn’t know Dee and Rodger Cook, he’d advise her to come out to her family. It wasn’t like the Cooks were all bad. Jo’s older brother Garret was cool, and her younger brother Smith was fine, just at that post pubescent preadult indifferent stage. And Julie… Well, Julie was perfect, aside from her wretched taste in men.

But Jo’s parents were a special kind of challenging. They lived in a bubble, got their news from unreliable sources, believed in actively repenting for their sins, and placed way too much emphasis on what others thought, especially when it came to their children.

He never understood why Jo earned such a difficult rap. She was no different than the others, but when it came to her mother, there seemed no pleasing the woman, especially where Jo was concerned. Maybe, on some level, Mrs. Cook already knew Jo’s secrets. Sometimes, her expectations and criticism seemed more like an ongoing punishment than any twisted form of love.

Coming from a warm family like his, the Cooks’ coldness chilled him to the bone, so he understood why Jo kept her sexuality to herself—at least where her family was concerned. Here, in the sanctuary of their little loft apartment, located in one of the most diverse cities in the world, Jo was out and proud.

He wished she felt confident enough to be herself at home. With the way things were, she’d never go back.

“I’ll call her tomorrow and break the news that I’m not going. That should occupy my morning with a lengthy lecture, followed by an afternoon of undeserved guilt, and a long evening of drinking alone.”

“Don’t drink alone.”

“But you’re abandoning me.” She pouted. “And Jeff and Shay will be busy with their new dog.”

Together, they always had a partner they could count on, and he hated the idea of leaving her alone. He sat up and faced her. “Come home with me, Jo. Just for the wedding. I promise it won’t be that bad. We can crash at my house most of the time.”