had changed hands and locations several times. It was currently
located outside a small West Texas town called Harmony. I’d never heard of it.
“I drove through there once; there’s not much to the place,”
Niki said. “A couple of traffic lights, a gas station, lots of oil rigs. It’s
a speed trap, and they’d just as soon throw you in jail as give you a ticket,
so watch your speed.”
“I won’t be going anywhere near the place,” I informed him.
“This is strictly Felicia’s deal. So her brother’s still there?”
“He’s still there.”
“Felicia will be ecstatic. I’ll give her the news over the
phone so I don’t have to deal with her in person.”
Niki laughed. “Why don’t you give her a break. She can’t be
all that bad.”
“You haven’t met her,” I asserted, but I felt a twinge of guilt
after the vomit episode. “Bill me directly on this. I kind of owe her one.”
* * * *
When I got back to the office, I called Felicia’s cell phone
but got voicemail, so I left her a message that I’d talked to Niki and I had
word on her brother, and I left the same message on the answering machine at
her house. Felicia seemed like the type of person that would check her
messages at least hourly, so I fully expected to hear from her almost
immediately. When she hadn’t returned the call by the time I left the office,
I started to wonder if maybe she was out of town. No such luck. She pulled
into my driveway right behind me, and she was out of her truck, pounding on my
window before I could even turn off the engine. Maddie and the kids came out
to greet us, providing a welcome distraction for me from Felicia.
Maddie and Felicia hugged. “Look at your hair!” Maddie
exclaimed. “Oh, I love it!”
“It’s not too red?” Felicia asked, fluffing the top of her
head.
“Yes, it is,” I said.
“She wasn’t asking you,” Maddie stated, then she turned back to
Felicia. “It’s not too red at all. You look glamorous.”
Either she really believed it or my wife was an excellent
liar. I wasn’t sure which was worse. I hugged my wife and three kids in turn
and I had no choice but to acknowledge Felicia. She was practically panting she
was so excited. She had a bad habit of touching me, not in a sexual way; she
was just one of those touchy feely people, and she had wrapped her arm around
my bicep and was squeezing it.
“Did Sam tell you that he got word on my brother?” Felicia
asked Maddie.
Maddie’s eyes got big. “No! What did you find out?”
I’d really hoped to have gotten this over with on the phone.
That way the two could have already yakked about it and my involvement could
have been kept to a bare minimum.
“Let’s talk inside,” I suggested.
“Fee, stay for dinner,” Maddie said.
I thought about being put out, but Maddie was just way too cute
to be mad at. We went inside and I filled them in on what Niki had told me.
Felicia listened with her mouth gaping open and when I finished, she was so
excited that her brother was still alive that I thought she might cry. Maddie
would have for sure. But I have to give Felicia credit – she never did shed a
tear and I’d yet to see her cry in the year that I’d known her. She actually
did have one redeeming quality.
Later that night, I was bathing Max and Oliver in the tub while
Maddie bathed Morgan in the sink.
“Felicia asked if I’d go with her tomorrow to Serenity,” Maddie
said.
I was afraid that was coming. “What’d you tell her?”
“I told her I didn’t see how I could. Unless my mom can take
care of the kiddos.”
I knew how important family was to Maddie, so I knew that she
really wanted to go. And as much as I disliked the idea of her going anywhere
with her cousin, much less to some corrupt small town in the middle of West Texas, my wife had long ago proved that she was capable of taking care of herself
located outside a small West Texas town called Harmony. I’d never heard of it.
“I drove through there once; there’s not much to the place,”
Niki said. “A couple of traffic lights, a gas station, lots of oil rigs. It’s
a speed trap, and they’d just as soon throw you in jail as give you a ticket,
so watch your speed.”
“I won’t be going anywhere near the place,” I informed him.
“This is strictly Felicia’s deal. So her brother’s still there?”
“He’s still there.”
“Felicia will be ecstatic. I’ll give her the news over the
phone so I don’t have to deal with her in person.”
Niki laughed. “Why don’t you give her a break. She can’t be
all that bad.”
“You haven’t met her,” I asserted, but I felt a twinge of guilt
after the vomit episode. “Bill me directly on this. I kind of owe her one.”
* * * *
When I got back to the office, I called Felicia’s cell phone
but got voicemail, so I left her a message that I’d talked to Niki and I had
word on her brother, and I left the same message on the answering machine at
her house. Felicia seemed like the type of person that would check her
messages at least hourly, so I fully expected to hear from her almost
immediately. When she hadn’t returned the call by the time I left the office,
I started to wonder if maybe she was out of town. No such luck. She pulled
into my driveway right behind me, and she was out of her truck, pounding on my
window before I could even turn off the engine. Maddie and the kids came out
to greet us, providing a welcome distraction for me from Felicia.
Maddie and Felicia hugged. “Look at your hair!” Maddie
exclaimed. “Oh, I love it!”
“It’s not too red?” Felicia asked, fluffing the top of her
head.
“Yes, it is,” I said.
“She wasn’t asking you,” Maddie stated, then she turned back to
Felicia. “It’s not too red at all. You look glamorous.”
Either she really believed it or my wife was an excellent
liar. I wasn’t sure which was worse. I hugged my wife and three kids in turn
and I had no choice but to acknowledge Felicia. She was practically panting she
was so excited. She had a bad habit of touching me, not in a sexual way; she
was just one of those touchy feely people, and she had wrapped her arm around
my bicep and was squeezing it.
“Did Sam tell you that he got word on my brother?” Felicia
asked Maddie.
Maddie’s eyes got big. “No! What did you find out?”
I’d really hoped to have gotten this over with on the phone.
That way the two could have already yakked about it and my involvement could
have been kept to a bare minimum.
“Let’s talk inside,” I suggested.
“Fee, stay for dinner,” Maddie said.
I thought about being put out, but Maddie was just way too cute
to be mad at. We went inside and I filled them in on what Niki had told me.
Felicia listened with her mouth gaping open and when I finished, she was so
excited that her brother was still alive that I thought she might cry. Maddie
would have for sure. But I have to give Felicia credit – she never did shed a
tear and I’d yet to see her cry in the year that I’d known her. She actually
did have one redeeming quality.
Later that night, I was bathing Max and Oliver in the tub while
Maddie bathed Morgan in the sink.
“Felicia asked if I’d go with her tomorrow to Serenity,” Maddie
said.
I was afraid that was coming. “What’d you tell her?”
“I told her I didn’t see how I could. Unless my mom can take
care of the kiddos.”
I knew how important family was to Maddie, so I knew that she
really wanted to go. And as much as I disliked the idea of her going anywhere
with her cousin, much less to some corrupt small town in the middle of West Texas, my wife had long ago proved that she was capable of taking care of herself
Similar Books
