Hang Tough (2 page)

“Where are you going?”

“There's a job in New Mexico.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You've really been holding out on me, sonny.”

He didn't tell her it wasn't a done deal. Nor did he mention that even if he drove all the way down there and didn't get the job, he wasn't coming back to Muddy Gap.

“Where'd you go to get those champagne glasses, Pearl? Timbuktu?” Garnet yelled.

“Quit yelling!” Pearl stormed into the kitchen. “I got the glasses. Bernice texted me back about your hair mask.”

“Lordy, lordy, the things I do to keep up my youthful appearance.” She sighed and whipped off the do-rag. “I ain't sure whether it's even worth it.”

Beneath the do-rag, Garnet wore a plastic cap, covering what appeared to be mashed strawberries smeared all over her head.

Don't ask.

“Tobin, get the champagne. And be quick about it because Garnet's gotta rinse the goop outta her hair. The juice is acidic. Let's hope the strawberries haven't eaten into her brain or given her a bald spot.”

“That's a cheery thought, Pearl. Especially when we're celebrating good news for a change.”

Pearl's birdlike eyes sharpened. “What good news?”

“Tobin agreed to stay here as my bodyguard to keep the moving van people from packing me away.”

“Just for three weeks,” Tobin reminded her.

“That makes strategic sense. Having this place a transitional space. You'll cut personal ties with livin' at the Split Rock so it'll just be about
your working hours.” Pearl waited until Garnet turned away before saying in a conspiratorial tone, “If you need to come up with a battle plan, remember, I'm familiar with both sparkler bombs and trip wires.”

He raised a brow because, frankly, what else could he say to that?

“My head itches,” Garnet complained. “Let's drink.”

Tobin peeled the foil back and popped the cork, managing to pour the champagne without spilling.

Garnet raised her glass for a toast. “To friends who come through no matter what.”

They touched glasses and he knocked back a big gulp.

Holy crap. Tobin gave his glass a double take. That didn't taste like any champagne he'd ever had.

Garnet bumped him with her bony hip. “Told ya that was the good stuff. I'm only using a little bit in each batch of preserves, because I'm drinking the rest.”

“What is this?”

“Cristal.”

“Cristal?” he repeated. “The stuff that costs hundreds of bucks a bottle? The kind that rappers are always going on and on about?”

She shrugged. “Now you know there's a reason why they're writing songs about it.”

Pearl said, “True
dat.”

“O
f course, you'll have to drive to Wyoming.”

Jade Evans stared at her father, convinced this was an auditory hallucination. She'd indulged in a superlong shower this morning . . . Maybe she had water trapped in her ear. Tilting her head to the side, she attempted to drain it, only to hear her dad say, “For Pete's sake, Jade, are you even listening to me?”

“Sorry. I must've misunderstood. I thought I heard you say you wanted me to drive to Wyoming.”

“That
is
what I said.” He sighed. “I want you to stay with your grandmother Garnet to gauge her state of mind and her ability to live on her own.”

“You're serious.”

“As the
New York Times
Sunday crossword puzzle.”

“What about my life here? You just expect me to drop everything? Why can't Mom do it?”

Jade watched as her father calmly wiped his mouth with his napkin and laid the white cloth on the table. “Jade. Honey. Your mother is already dealing with your grandmother Celeste, so she can't possibly travel across the country and figure out these decisions for my mother.”

“That's exactly right, Dad. She's
your
mother. You should handle this.”

“You are her only grandchild.”

“So?”

“So, she adores you. She dotes on you. She listens to you.”

“Which means she won't suspect me of being there to spy on her and tattle to
you
.”

“Precisely.”

“Then it's really not fair. GG is the sweetest, most loving and generous person I've ever known. Showing up in Wyoming because—”

“I'm worried about the two-bit hustler in Wranglers who moved in to ‘protect' her and likely intends to swindle her out of everything. That is a fair reason to spy on her, don't you agree?”

That tidbit floored her and she fought to keep her temper in check. “Hang on. When did all of this happen? And why is this the first I've heard of it?” Granted, she did work a lot and wasn't around much, but this seemed to be another case of her parents'
Don't tell Jade
,
she can't handle things like this
attitude.

Things like her mother's breast cancer scare.

Things like her father's business partner making questionable financial decisions and nearly sending the firm into bankruptcy.

Jade hadn't known about either of those major life traumas until months after they happened. As an only child, she had a close relationship with both her mom and dad—even when they weren't living under the same roof. It hurt that they hadn't trusted her enough to tell her the truth or to let her be there for them like they'd always been there for her.

“I first heard about it two days ago,” her father said. “One of her more level-headed friends is justifiably concerned about this situation and contacted me privately.”

Jade imagined GG coughing “snitch” into her hand and bit back a smile. “That doesn't explain why GG needs protection.”

“She
thinks
she needs protection,” he corrected. “That's why this slick operator moved in. According to my source, this guy doesn't plan to be in Wyoming much longer. That leads me back to the concern that he's got a timeline all set for ripping her off.”

“It sounds like she needs protection from him.”

“She does. And yet, she's telling him and everyone else she needs protection from
me
.”

Confused, she said, “Wait. Back up. Why would GG say that?” Oh no. Was he afraid GG had developed dementia?

His frustrated gaze met hers. “Last year after the Taser incident, I warned her if she kept getting into trouble I'd have to enforce some changes in her life.”

“Dad. You didn't. You know how she reacts to that kind of stuff.”

“I was mad, all right? It was a toss-away comment. But evidently your grandmother is convinced that this was the last straw and I'll have her packed up and whisked away to an assisted living facility, never to be seen or heard from again.”

“That's not true, is it? You wouldn't just do that without her consent, right?”

“No—only if she needed medical help and didn't have the capacity to make decisions for herself. Or if I believed she might be a danger to herself or others. So with this latest situation . . .” He rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. “I didn't want to share this with you, sweetheart. But GG was arrested last month. She spent the night in jail on a drunk and disorderly charge.”

Jade's mouth fell open. Rather than rail on him for yet
another
thing he'd kept from her, she imagined her sweet GG wearing prison orange and playing cribbage for cigarettes. “She's eighty-two years old and they threw her in the drunk tank like a common barfly?”

“Apparently.”

“Please tell me you're suing them!”

“No. This next incident should've landed her in jail, but it didn't.”

“There's
more
?”

“Yes. She decided to break up an argument between friends and discharged a firearm inside a local resort. Thankfully no one was hurt and the resort owners didn't press charges. Evidently your grandmother owns several guns and she's parading them around town like Calamity Jane in the Wild West.”

Jade put her hand over her dad's, trying to wrap her head around this new information. GG had always characterized herself as eccentric, which made her so much fun to be around, but she'd never exhibited erratic behavior.

“Then to top it all off . . . she's on a spending spree. She bought one hundred bottles of Cristal to the tune of twenty thousand dollars—for cooking, she claims. Her friend also let it slip that she purchased a thirty-thousand-dollar horse and she dropped a hundred grand on a bull—I'm still waiting for documentation on those purchases. Who spends that kind of money on livestock?” He answered his own question. “A generous, gullible woman who is under the spell of a fast-talking cowboy, that's who.”

A slow burn started in her chest. Jade didn't know who this low-rent lothario thought he was, but she would not allow him to swindle her bighearted grandmother.

“Now do you see why I need you there in person?” her dad pressed. “The only way to gauge if—or how— her mental state has changed is to live in the same house with her.”

“And protect her from her ‘protector,'” Jade murmured. “Mom is on board with me going to Wyoming?”

“She thinks it will be beneficial for you to spend some time reevaluating things in your life . . . especially after your break—”

“I had the flu, Dad. A really bad case of the flu. That's all it was.”

He said nothing. He just looked worried, frustrated and a little sad.

Jade knew her parents were concerned about her. Six months ago her
roommate had kicked Jade out so her boyfriend could move in, forcing Jade to move back home. It was humbling to be twenty-four years old and living with her parents. In the two years since she'd graduated from college, she hadn't found a job in her field. So she'd had two choices: suck it up and work outside her field to support herself or return to school for a master's degree. That option hadn't made sense to her. Pay for even more education in an area of study where you currently couldn't find employment? No, thank you. She'd rather work, even if her jobs kept her exhausted to the point she had no time to think.

Maybe that's why you fill every waking hour with productivity; then you don't have to figure out what comes next.

“How long would I have to be there?” she asked him.

“At least a month,” her dad said.

“A month? I can't take that much time off.”

“Jade. Sweetheart. While your mother and I are both proud of your work ethic—you've been slaving yourself with three part-time jobs.”

Her chin came up. She knew it looked stubborn and didn't care. “I told you when I moved back in that it wouldn't be permanent. I'm saving as much money as I can.”

“And we told you we'd be more than happy to help you out,” her father said gently.

They'd had this discussion several times. Jade appreciated her parents' generosity, but proving she could support herself was a point of pride. “Thank you. But as I've said before, you and Mom paid for my education and that's more than enough. I'm grateful I'm not struggling with student loans too.”

“We're not . . . discounting the work you do. But it'd be a good break for you, even for just a few weeks, not to work sixteen hours a day.”

She almost couldn't fathom that. Not getting up at three thirty in the morning to take the subway to Midtown so she could clock in by four a.m. Then leaving the restaurant by nine thirty and walking to the office
building where she answered phones from ten a.m. to six p.m. Monday through Wednesday. On Thursdays and Fridays she worked only until four p.m., allowing her to get to the quintet gig at the upscale restaurant that offered live classical music until the kitchen closed at eleven. Saturdays usually weren't as hectic unless the quartet she played in had booked a daytime wedding and an evening cocktail party. The only day she took off was Sunday—unless their quartet scored a gig, which seemed to happen more frequently lately. Starving artists didn't have the luxury of saying no.

“I know this is a lot to take in,” her dad said. “But do you have any questions?”

“What would I do all day in Wyoming?” she asked him.

“Besides keeping an eye on your grandmother and figuring out the cowboy protector's angle?” He shrugged. “I don't know. You could play it by ear.”

Jade laughed. “Hilarious. A musician's reference that I can't comprehend because you know I'm a planner and a list maker.”

“I'm sure once you get in that drafty old house piled with years' worth of stuff that GG will have plenty to keep you occupied,” her father said dryly.

“When would I have to leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

She closed her eyes. Giving notice at her receptionist's job wasn't a big deal since she worked for a temp agency. The restaurant had two other prep cooks, so that wouldn't burn an employment bridge. Both the quintet and quartets had backup players for emergency fill-ins. So once she made the calls, she could load up her car and just . . . go.

But could she do it? She'd never been impulsive, so this was asking a lot.

This isn't impulsive; this is a last-minute family emergency.

“I'll do it. Under one condition.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“That you won't make any decisions about GG's future until I give you my opinion.”

“Done.”

Jade stood and kissed the top of her dad's balding head. “I'll start packing.”

Since Jade hadn't ever done a cross-country road trip, at first she'd buzzed with excitement about experiencing a rite of passage. But as the miles wore on, she realized it wasn't fun to do alone. Plus, she wasn't a great driver, so she'd white-knuckled it the first day to the point that her hands and forearms actually hurt after a day of driving.

The next day she'd made a conscious effort to try to relax. Her subconscious reminded her this trip was as much about the journey as the destination . . . until her father's voice chimed in with this parting advice. “Don't dawdle. Don't take risks with the speed limit or your safety, but you need to reach Wyoming in a timely manner before GG does something we can't undo.”

So she hadn't stopped to see any of the sights that interested her. She spent fourteen hours a day behind the wheel, rested for ten hours and then got up to do it all over again. So it wasn't unlike her normal working days. Time passed in a blur of hitting shuffle on her iPod, stopping for food, gas and bathroom breaks. She'd snapped out of her daze when the GPS instructed her that her destination was two miles ahead.

She'd made it. And for the first time since she'd left home, she allowed herself to be excited. If nothing else, she'd get to spend time with her grandma in her world. And looking around at the topography? Wyoming was a world unto itself.