moved to China and has been freeloading off me or his mother ever since. But last week, he shows up with a brand, spanking new Silverado. I can’t even get him to help me buy the grub he shoves into that big mouth of his, but he has money to get himself a fancy pickup truck.” The many wrinkles around her mouth pulled down as she scowled. “Hell, what does he need a truck for? All he does is sit on my couch eating my food and watching my television set.”
Tracy furrowed her brow. “Did he get another job?”
Henrietta threw up her arms. “Hell, no! Although he’s been riding along with Jake in that truck driving gig he’s got going, but he ain’t makin’ any money at it. Or so he says.”
Tracy rinsed Henrietta’s hair and patted the excess water out of it. “Did Sandy buy the truck for him?”
Tracy didn’t care what her ex-mother-in-law did, but she sensed Henrietta needed to vent her frustration.
The old woman stood, and Tracy helped her shuffle across the floor and settle into the seat at the workstation. Henrietta waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “You know Sandy doesn’t have any money to buy a truck like that.” She wrinkled her nose in disdain. “She may have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but that was taken away when that son-of-a-bitch John Blackwell disowned her for marrying my Allan.”
Tracy retrieved a comb and picked out the knots in Henrietta’s thin hair. Swallowing, she watched the woman’s reflection in the mirror above the counter. “You’re not giving him money, are you?”
Henrietta’s green eyes narrowed again. “No. And before you go asking ’bout my savings. No one but my oldest boy, Charles, has access to ’em. I made sure my clock hadn’t been cleaned, the moment Brent showed up with that truck.” The old woman chuckled. “Hell, I know better than letting either one of those grandsons of mine know how much damn money I have getting moldy over there in the Cattlemen’s Bank and Trust.”
Tracy smiled. Henrietta didn’t get rich on her crop dusting service by not being a shrewd businesswoman. “Are you coming to Bobby’s game Wednesday?”
“Wish I could. But that’s my poker night with the Cartwright sisters. Those two old biddies swindled me out of five bucks last week and I want it back. Plus interest.”
Tracy laughed and reached for the styling gel. Zack’s great-aunts were in their eighties and two of the sweetest old ladies she’d ever met, and she couldn’t imagine the spinster twins swindling anyone. “So, they take after the famed Cole Cartwright, do they?”
Henrietta tsked . “Hardly. Oh, they like to think they take after their great-granddaddy. But neither of them can beat me when I’m in my game.”
Tracy applied styling gel to Henrietta’s hair. The old woman watched the action through the reflection in the mirror for a few moments. “So, when are you gonna get yourself some help around this place? You don’t need to be doin’ hair now that you inherited all that money from your granddaddy.”
With a shrug, Tracy reached for the tray of rollers under a cabinet. “I like what I do. Sure, I may not need the money, but I can’t imagine not working.”
“No one said you had to give up working, but if you hired another girl to work here, you’d have more time to do other things. Like go back to school. Get the education that no-good grandson of mine denied you of.”
Tracy sectioned Henrietta’s thin hair and then rolled the wisps onto the rollers. She’d love to have more time to spend with Bobby, but not being here every day for the women who depended on her?
Go back to school? She hadn’t even considered the possibility before Winnie Cartwright mentioned it last week, then her Aunt Janet said the same thing at the wedding. Maybe now she should think about getting her degree. But in what? Going to medical school seemed as much a pipe dream as it always had.
Tracy smiled, but it was slippery and soon
Tracy furrowed her brow. “Did he get another job?”
Henrietta threw up her arms. “Hell, no! Although he’s been riding along with Jake in that truck driving gig he’s got going, but he ain’t makin’ any money at it. Or so he says.”
Tracy rinsed Henrietta’s hair and patted the excess water out of it. “Did Sandy buy the truck for him?”
Tracy didn’t care what her ex-mother-in-law did, but she sensed Henrietta needed to vent her frustration.
The old woman stood, and Tracy helped her shuffle across the floor and settle into the seat at the workstation. Henrietta waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “You know Sandy doesn’t have any money to buy a truck like that.” She wrinkled her nose in disdain. “She may have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but that was taken away when that son-of-a-bitch John Blackwell disowned her for marrying my Allan.”
Tracy retrieved a comb and picked out the knots in Henrietta’s thin hair. Swallowing, she watched the woman’s reflection in the mirror above the counter. “You’re not giving him money, are you?”
Henrietta’s green eyes narrowed again. “No. And before you go asking ’bout my savings. No one but my oldest boy, Charles, has access to ’em. I made sure my clock hadn’t been cleaned, the moment Brent showed up with that truck.” The old woman chuckled. “Hell, I know better than letting either one of those grandsons of mine know how much damn money I have getting moldy over there in the Cattlemen’s Bank and Trust.”
Tracy smiled. Henrietta didn’t get rich on her crop dusting service by not being a shrewd businesswoman. “Are you coming to Bobby’s game Wednesday?”
“Wish I could. But that’s my poker night with the Cartwright sisters. Those two old biddies swindled me out of five bucks last week and I want it back. Plus interest.”
Tracy laughed and reached for the styling gel. Zack’s great-aunts were in their eighties and two of the sweetest old ladies she’d ever met, and she couldn’t imagine the spinster twins swindling anyone. “So, they take after the famed Cole Cartwright, do they?”
Henrietta tsked . “Hardly. Oh, they like to think they take after their great-granddaddy. But neither of them can beat me when I’m in my game.”
Tracy applied styling gel to Henrietta’s hair. The old woman watched the action through the reflection in the mirror for a few moments. “So, when are you gonna get yourself some help around this place? You don’t need to be doin’ hair now that you inherited all that money from your granddaddy.”
With a shrug, Tracy reached for the tray of rollers under a cabinet. “I like what I do. Sure, I may not need the money, but I can’t imagine not working.”
“No one said you had to give up working, but if you hired another girl to work here, you’d have more time to do other things. Like go back to school. Get the education that no-good grandson of mine denied you of.”
Tracy sectioned Henrietta’s thin hair and then rolled the wisps onto the rollers. She’d love to have more time to spend with Bobby, but not being here every day for the women who depended on her?
Go back to school? She hadn’t even considered the possibility before Winnie Cartwright mentioned it last week, then her Aunt Janet said the same thing at the wedding. Maybe now she should think about getting her degree. But in what? Going to medical school seemed as much a pipe dream as it always had.
Tracy smiled, but it was slippery and soon
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