Calamity Jena (Invertary Book 4) (25 page)

Jena eyed the bottle of wine and mentally calculated how much Abby had drunk—enough to loosen her lips.

“Are we talking about having in the biblical sense, or having as in ‘he’d be useful around the house’?”

“Both.” Abby reached for the wine and topped up her glass. “I’ve been thinking lately that I might be ready to start dating again.” She gave Jena a cautious glance to catch her reaction.

“That’s great, honey.” Jena patted her hand. “Remember, you don’t need to rush it. Take your time. Don’t push yourself.”

“Ha! Says the woman who’s had more dates in the past four months than I’ve had in a lifetime.”

“You should listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. I’m an expert on dating without becoming attached.” She took the hair tie off her wrist and wrapped her hair up in a messy knot on the top of her head. “I don’t want a relationship. Not after the disastrous one I had with Frank. Nope, one-date wonder is a great way to be.”

Abby laughed so hard, Jena was worried about her falling off the chair.

“Jena, you dolt. You’re
in
a relationship right now.” Abby put her hand on Jena’s arm. “Matt is living with you. He’s sleeping with you. You do your grocery shopping together. He’s renovating your house. He’s made it clear to anyone who asks that you’re an item. You need to shake that dippy little head of yours and wake up. You have a boyfriend.”

“No, I don’t.” Jena folded her arms over her Snoopy sweatshirt and frowned. “As soon as Frank leaves, Matt will go back to his own house. We aren’t living together. We’re just—convenient.”

“I bet ten pounds you’re married to him before you even realise it’s happening.”

“That’s the bet going at the pub,” Pete piped up.

Jena glared at him. “You said you couldn’t hear anything from over there.”

“I lied.” He grinned. “I put twenty pounds on the wedding happening within the next two months. Dougal bet Matt would have you married without even proposing.”

“This town has got to stop betting on me.”

“At least they’re not betting on when Matt will get injured,” Abby said with a smile. “I haven’t heard anyone call you Calamity in ages—well, at least two days, anyway.”

Jena threw up her hands. “Oh well, then, I’ll consider myself blessed. Has anyone even asked if I
want
to marry Matt?”

“Sweetie,” Abby said, “everyone knows you’re gun-shy after what happened with Frank. The general consensus is you won’t admit to being in love, or to wanting a permanent relationship—that’s why he has to slip in under your radar.”

“I’m not in a relationship and I’m definitely not in love!”

“See?” Abby said to Pete.

“Aye, they were right,” Pete said.

“That’s it. Time to change the topic, before I kill my best friend. Did Magenta check the mine for you?”

“Yes. She didn’t find any sign of anyone having been in there. She did find some old explosives, which she removed. So it wasn’t a wasted venture. She’s calling in a crew to go through all of the tunnels with a fine-tooth comb, just in case there are more explosives tucked away in there. Apart from that, she thinks I may have heard some rats fighting, but she could have been saying that because Harry was with her. He still goes grey at the mention of a rat.”

“What about the missing stuff? Anything moved mysteriously recently?”

Abby shook her head. “I think it was my imagination. I haven’t slept at all well since David died.”

“No,” Jena said, “I don’t imagine you have.”

“It’s getting better,” Abby said softly, as though speaking to herself.

Jena reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand.

“Someone’s coming up the drive,” Pete called from his post by the window. “I don’t recognise the car. Are you expecting someone, Abby?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll answer the door,” Pete said. “If it’s Frank or his goons, I’ll get rid of them.”

Jena sat back in her chair with a sigh. “I don’t know why they think I need to be protected from Frank. What’s he going to do? Beg me to death? Whine me into submission? There isn’t a lot the guy can do over here. I have my own life and he has no power or influence over it. This is insane.”

“No, it’s Matt being Matt. He’s almost Neanderthal in his need to protect.”

“He’s nuts. This is nuts.”

They turned towards the door as Pete appeared. “It’s your mother, Jena. I let her in.”

Before Jena could even process those words, her mother pushed past Pete and into the kitchen. She cocked her head towards Abby.

“So this is another one of your friends you won’t introduce me to.”

Jena took a deep breath and reminded herself she was brave and didn’t care about consequences. She faced her mother. “Mom, you can’t just barge in here. This isn’t my house.”

“It’s fine.” Abby ruined the reprimand with her ingrained polite behaviour. “Nice to meet you, Mrs Morgan. Please have a seat and I’ll get you a cup of tea.”

“It’s
Ms
Mona Sage, and I’d rather have some of that wine.” Jena’s mother hooked her black suede bag on the back of a kitchen chair. “I never married Jena’s father. It was a one-night stand.” She sat down and crossed her leather-covered legs. This time her trousers were white, and she’d matched them with an off-the-shoulder black and white striped sweater. The kind of sweater Jena could only dream of being able to afford. “Actually,” her mother said, “it was a one-afternoon stand. I gave it up on his office couch for the promise of a recording career. Instead of fame and fortune, I got Jena.”

“Mom!” Jena felt humiliation burn her cheeks.

“What?” her mother said. “It’s no secret.”

“It’s the way you tell the story, as though you regret having me.”

Her mother’s silence spoke volumes. Jena fought not to let it sting. She was over letting her mother get to her. She’d made a dramatic bonfire to prove it.

“What are you wearing, Jena? Children wear Snoopy sweaters. That shape adds at least ten pounds to your frame. Pounds you can’t afford to add.”

“If you’re here to be rude, Mom, you can turn around and go back to town. I like this sweater. It’s cute. I may not look like an emaciated waif, but I’m nowhere near fat.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Abby placed a glass in front of Mona and topped it up with wine.

Jena’s mother scowled. “What’s gotten into you? You’re never usually this confrontational.”

“I’m not trying to be confrontational,” Jena said. “I’m trying to be honest.”

Her mother laughed coldly. “Good luck with that.”

“Why are you here, Mom? Is there a reason you tracked me down to Abby’s home?”

“Yeah, there’s a reason. I flew across an ocean to see my daughter, and she’s never around. I’m beginning to think you’re avoiding me.”

Jena shook her head as she smiled. “You didn’t fly across the ocean to see me. You came to see Josh.”

Her mother spread her arms wide. “Am I wrong to want to take advantage of every opportunity that comes my way?”

Jena massaged her temples. The tension of dealing with her mother was morphing into a full-blown headache. Without a word, Abby got up, fetched a bottle of aspirin from the cupboard and placed it on the table in front of Jena. With a smile of thanks, she swallowed two. Jena leaned forward, placing her hands on the table.

“We’ve been over this. I’m not introducing you to Josh and Mitch, Mom. This is their home. They don’t like strangers accosting them. They want to live here like normal people. Anyway, I thought Frank was helping you. Isn’t that what last night’s chat was all about?”

“Listen to yourself. So selfish.” Her mother sneered. “What kind of daughter did I raise?”

Jena took a deep breath. “You didn’t raise me at all, Mom. I did it myself while you were touring, or playing gigs, or hanging out with your latest boyfriend.”

Mona narrowed her eyes as Jena’s heart raced. She couldn’t ever remember a time when she’d talked to her mom like this. Usually at the first sign of confrontation she agreed or ran, desperate not to jeopardise what little love she was given. Standing her ground was hard. Hard and painful.

“You’re right. I don’t need you to introduce me to Josh. Frank will do it. Dougal has been helping as well. He texts me when there’s been a Josh sighting so I can get there in time. See, this is what we’ve come to. My own flesh and blood won’t help me, so I have to rely on strangers.”

Jena glanced at Abby and saw she was fighting a grin. It took all of Jena’s self-control not to laugh. Dougal was brilliant. She bet he was having a blast sending her mother on a wild goose chase throughout Invertary.

“I’m glad you’ve got it sorted without me,” she said.

“I didn’t come here to talk about Josh anyway,” her mom said. “I know you don’t care enough to help me with him. You’ve made it perfectly clear. I came to tell you to get your ass in gear and patch things up with Frank. That man has the patience of a saint, but he isn’t going to wait forever for you to make up your mind whether you want him or not.”

“He doesn’t have to wait one more minute. I don’t want him. I want Matt.”

“The cop?” Her mother scoffed. “Yeah, like he can help your career. Frank is willing to let you headline his club. You would be the star attraction.” Her eyes glittered with envy. “Imagine the publicity, the attention. You’d be famous not only in Atlantic City but throughout the country. He’s got the power to make you a star. Don’t turn your back on that.”

“He wants me to strip.”

Abby sucked in a breath and bugged her eyes at Jena. “The man wants you to become a stripper? At his club? The same club where he slept with his other strippers?”

“Yeah,” Jena drawled. “Frank is classy like that.”

Her mother ignored the comment. “You’ll be famous. You’ll have money. What else is there?” She clearly could not understand Jena’s refusal to go with Frank.

“Uh, how about self-respect, dignity, a life without men drooling over you and making lewd gestures they think will turn you on? I’m pretty sure all of that is better than fame and money.”

Her mother stood. Disgust clear on her face. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. “Don’t be a fool. You’re a dancer and Frank is offering you the perfect opportunity to do what you love. He’ll take care of you. You’ll want for nothing. If you pass this opportunity up, you’re an idiot.”

With one last look of disgust, her mother turned on her four-inch heels and stalked out of the house.

“She’s charming,” Abby said sweetly. “Positively delightful.”

Jena chuckled dryly. There was nothing funny about her mother. “I’m sorry about that,” she said.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s forgotten. You did brilliantly. You didn’t let her walk over you even once. I’m seriously impressed.”

“I was shaking in my shoes,” Jena confessed.

“You couldn’t tell, and that’s the main thing. Now, don’t go ruining this new and improved you by chasing after her and apologising for everything you said to her.”

“I won’t. I feel no urge to hunt her down. Trust me.”

“Good.” Abby nodded firmly. “Keep it that way. If you feel the urge to screw things up, call me and I’ll talk you down.”

As Jena reached for the cheesecake, her eyes flicked to the door her mother had disappeared through. In her mind she knew she’d done the right thing. The way her mother treated her wasn’t love. Still, it was all she’d ever known, from the only family she’d ever had. And it hurt to be unwanted, to be used, to feel alone.

As if reading her mind, Abby covered Jena’s hand with hers. She gave Jena a sympathetic smile.

“Let’s talk about the non-relationship you have with Matt,” Abby said.

Jena rolled her eyes, but she smiled. Abby’s tactic worked. Her attention was no longer on the pain her mother left in her wake, but on the sexy cop who thought he lived with her. As she grinned at her best friend, she changed her opinion. She wasn’t alone. Not anymore. She had Abby. And she had Matt.

For now.

25

“I’ve changed my mind,” Grunt told Joe on Monday morning. “I don’t like this plan.”

“It was your plan.”

“Yeah. I was wrong. This is a bad plan. We need to abort the plan.”

Joe sighed as he turned in his seat to face Grunt. They were sitting in the front of an inconspicuous white van Joe had rented that morning in Fort William. The van was parked in the alley behind the high street shops. All that stood between them and the back door to the hardware store was an old yellow Dumpster. If it wasn’t for the fact Grunt had spotted a white van making deliveries in the same alley three days in a row, they would have stood out like a sore thumb.

“We’re committed. We told Frank. He’s expecting us. If we don’t turn up now, if we don’t carry out the plan, Frank will dump us and go it alone. That would be bad for Jena.” It was clear Joe was losing patience. With Grunt. With Frank. With everything. “If you didn’t like this plan, you should have kept it to yourself. You’re the one who saw Jena take out the trash. You’re the one who spotted the white van that would get us into this alley. And you’re the one who said we should ‘borrow’ her long enough for Frank to chat with her.”