I froze. I'd never heard my aunt curse before.
I gave Joel another questioning look. Didthatqualify as losing it?
He made a low, scoffing sound. "That's nothing. You watch. In a minute, she'll be throwing things."
"How do you know?" I asked.
His gaze slid to Jake. "You gotta ask?"
I saw what he meant. The way it looked, Jake had a real knack for goading people. Even now, he was standing there, looking utterly unconcerned as my aunt raged and sputtered on the other side of the doorway.
I recalled what Jake had said earlier, about waiting for company. I edged closer to Joel and said, "Wait a minute. Did Jakeknowshe was gonna show up?" I paused. "And didyouknow?"
Joel shrugged. "We figured the odds were good."
"Oh, my God," I said. "Didyousteal their car?"
He looked ready to laugh. "No."
I closed my eyes and breathed a long sigh of relief.
And then he said, "Bishop did."
My eyes flew open. I stared up at Joel. He looked utterly serious. In a hushed voice, I said, "Let me get this straight. You're telling me, your brother stole their car?"
"Nah," Joel said. "He moved it. That's all."
Well, that was a relief.
I guess.
"To where?" I asked.
"Down the road." Joel smiled. "See? Not a big deal."
That's whathethought.
From the doorway, my aunt yelled, "Yeah? Well you can take those waffles and shove them up your ass!"
Jake said, "Sorry. Not my kink."
"What?" she sputtered.
Jake held up his hands, palms out. "Hey, I'm not judging."
"There's nothing to judge!"
"I'm just saying, what you and the leprechaun do is your own business."
"For the last time, he'snota leprechaun!"
Trying not to snicker, I leaned closer to Joel and asked, "Howfardown the road?"
"Not that far."
I gave a confused shake of my head. "But why?"
Joel looked to the door, and his voice hardened. "Because they had it coming."
