The Hookup (Moonlight and Motor Oil #1)(46)

“It’s the Memorial Weekend Food Festival in Matlock tomorrow,” I shared.

She sent a smile my way.

A smile that was not her usual devil-may-care Adeline Forrester smile.

“Awesome,” she decreed.

“I take it you want to go,” I noted, bending to put Brooks on the floor.

Dempsey instantly moved to him with Swirl not far behind.

Brooks shrieked when he got doggie kisses and then started giggling.

“Sun, copious amounts of food, my baby and my sister? Heck yeah I wanna go.”

“Great, doll,” I murmured. Louder, I told her, “I’m gonna run and get changed. I’ll be right back.”

“Right on.”

“Did you get your stuff in?” I asked.

“We’re all sorted,” she replied, whisking eggs in a bowl.

“’Kay. I’ll get on margaritas when I get back.”

“That’s a deal.”

I left the room and was putting my purse that had been over my shoulder through all that on the hall table when it rang.

I pulled out my phone and saw it said Johnny Calling.

I let it ring more than once that time because I didn’t want to be in earshot of Addie when I answered.

She was going to tell me about Perry, I’d make sure of it.

I was not going to tell her about Johnny. If she knew about Johnny, she’d drug my margarita, take me to the mill herself and put me in his bed.

“Hey,” I answered when I was halfway up the steps.

“You driving?” he asked.

“No, I’m home and my sister’s here. Surprise visit.”

“She bring Brooks?”

He asked about Brooks like he’d not only met him but helped raise him.

“Yes.”

“Cool for you, baby,” he murmured.

“Yes,” I agreed, and it was. I loved my sister. I hated her living so far away.

What I didn’t love was knowing something was up. Something she wouldn’t tell me.

“I won’t take a lot of your time then,” he said as I entered my room. “Talked to Ben. They’re taking off next Saturday. I’m gonna go get Mist and bring him to you that day if it’s good with you.”

“It’s good with me,” I replied distractedly, flipping off my shoes.

“You sure?” Johnny asked.

“Of course,” I answered.

“I’ll bring feed and muck out his stall after he goes back home, which’ll be the next Saturday.”

I juggled my phone in the crook of my neck as I went for the belt on my slacks. “It’s fine, Johnny. Serengeti and Amaretto were stabled with a bunch of horses before we came out here. They like company.”

“Fantastic, babe. Now I’ll let you get back to your sister.”

With my belt undone, I gave up on my slacks, sat on my bed and blurted, “Her husband isn’t here.”

“Say that again?” Johnny demanded.

“Perry. Her husband, who I want to like, I’ve tried to like, but I can’t like because he’s a loser, isn’t here. She’s here. Brooks is here. And Perry is not here. She’s not telling me why. She’s keeping something from me.”

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Yes,” I agreed.

“How’s this guy a loser?” he queried.

“He can’t hold a job because he’s convinced himself he’s the next Chris Robinson and has to be available for gigs that never materialize since he’s no longer even in a band. But he’s okay watching TV, drinking beer and going out with his buds while she holds one down and does overtime. They had Brooks, and for Perry it was about someone giving him something to play with. Not the responsibility of raising a child and all that comes with that like diaper changes, feedings in the middle of the night, looking after him because he can’t fend for himself, and oh, I don’t know . . . contributing to the household to keep a roof over his head.”

“Shit,” Johnny repeated in a mutter.

“Yes,” I repeated my agreement.

“Where are you?” he asked a strange question.

“At home,” I answered.

“No, sp?tzchen,” he said quietly with gentle humor. “Where are you that it seems like you can talk without her hearing?”

“I’m in my bedroom. She’s in the kitchen.”

“So you can talk without her hearing?”

“Yes, Johnny.”

“She needs to dump this guy.”

I blinked at my bare feet at his frank and inflexible decree after I’d shared the little I’d shared about Perry.

“He’s her husband and the father of her child,” I reminded him.

“Don’t give a shit. She’s there, that’s good. Something’s going wrong at home, she’s the best place she can be. With her sister. With family. With someone who’ll take care of her, look out for her and have her back. There’s a scale of assholes to dipshits. Murderers and rapists are at the top of that scale. But men who don’t look after their wives and kids aren’t closer to the dipshit end. They’re up top. She needs to scrape him off, and since you got her, you need to guide her to that.”