Читать книгу Just To Be with You - Sheryl Lister - Страница 13
ОглавлениеJanae opened the door Saturday morning to her big brother’s smiling face.
“Hey, baby girl,” Devin said, picking her up and swinging her around like he’d done when she was small.
“Hi,” she said with a laugh. “Put me down, you nut, and come in.”
He gently set her on her feet. “How are you?”
“I’m good. What about you?”
Devin followed her to the kitchen. “No complaints. It smells good in here.”
“I knew you’d be hungry, so I fixed you breakfast.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet. That’s why you’re my favorite sister,” he said with a wink.
“I’m your only sister. I just need to make the omelets. Everything else is ready.”
Devin went to the sink to wash his hands. “I can dice the peppers and mushrooms.”
“Already done. You can set the table and pour the juice.”
“Okay,” he said, reaching into the cabinets for plates.
Janae finished the omelets, brought everything to the table, then sat.
Devin took a seat next to her, reached for her hand and blessed their food. He cut into the omelet and groaned with the first bite. “Man, I’ve missed your omelets. Mine never come out like this.”
“Oh, I see. That’s why you really stopped by. And here I thought you wanted to spend some quality time with your only sister.”
“Hey, I didn’t ask you to cook. We could have gone out.”
“Yeah, uh-huh,” she said, rolling her eyes.
He reached for the jar of jam in the center of the table. “Please tell me this is some of Mom’s peach jam.” He spread some on his biscuit and took a huge bite. “Mmm, I love this stuff.”
Janae folded her arms and lifted an eyebrow. “Sorry to disappoint you, sport, but Mom did not make that.”
He paused midbite and frowned. “Then who made it?”
“I did.”
“You know how to make her jams?”
She winked, giving him a self-satisfied smile.
Devin picked up her hand. “Janae, if you give me a jar of this, I’ll wash your car, your windows, clean the kitchen...”
She snatched her hand back and fell out laughing. “I’ll settle for you washing the car. You can have one jar each of peach and strawberry.” She shook her head at his look of pure delight as he finished his meal.
“Thanks, baby girl. That hit the spot.” He leaned back and patted his belly. “By the way, have you heard from Lawrence lately?”
Janae spun around from the sink where she stood rinsing the dishes. “No. Why? Have you seen him?”
“No, but I noticed that huge floral arrangement in the living room.”
“Please, even when we were dating and he was supposedly in love with me, he never bought me flowers.” Lawrence Mason, a fellow teacher and the last man she’d dated, claimed to love her. They had discussed marriage until she was selected for a teaching position they’d both applied for. He had even gone so far as to suggest that she turn the position down so he could get it, citing his need for a larger salary if they were to be married. She’d refused and broken off the relationship a year ago. He’d harassed her until she threatened to go to the police and report him to the school board. Out of the blue, he’d called three months ago, blaming her for his contract not being renewed, and wouldn’t believe that she had no idea what he was talking about.
“So where did you get the flowers from? I didn’t see a card.”
Thank goodness I put the card away. “Just someone I met.” She shrugged, grabbed her keys off the wall hook and tossed them to Devin. “Don’t you think you should get started on the car?”
He stood and chuckled. “So you’re not going to tell me? I’ll have Erik get your phone records and see if any names pop up.”
