I shook my head. "I didn't have my own place, still don't. Besides, he's a minor. My dad has full custody, so, well, you know how that goes."
Lawton said nothing, and I glanced in his direction. I took in his clenched jaw, his narrowed eyes. The silence stretched out.
"It's not like we were abused or anything," I assured him. "Lots of kids have it worse, right?" I tried to smile. "And at least Grandma lives next door. So Josh spends a lot of time at her place."
Lawton's voice sounded carefully controlled. "How much time is that?"
"Well, pretty much all of it actually, except for when he's sleeping, or when Grandma's out of town."
"On that Easter," he said, "was your Grandma there, too?"
"No. She's my mom's mom, which puts her way down on Loretta's guest list."
"But they're neighbors?"
"Sort of. Grandma rents Loretta's guest cottage."
"So renting the cottage is okay, but coming to dinner isn't?"
"It's complicated," I said. "The cottage is nice, but it's not a real rental. It's got no driveway of its own, and besides, their neighborhood isn't zoned for that sort of thing."
"So it's all done on the sly. That's what you're saying?"
"Yeah. Grandma can't drive anyway, so there's no car. And since she's a relative, the neighbors think she's just a guest."
"But she's paying?"
"Yeah. All cash, so there's no zoning trouble."
"You ever think of renting the cottage for yourself?" he asked.
"I tried. But Loretta wouldn't let me. She still won't let me stay overnight there, even as Grandma's guest."
"Why not?"
"Because," I said in a mocking tone, "I need to learn real responsibility." I looked out the window. "Just as well. I work most nights anyway. But Grandma, she works from home, so–"
"Are we talking about that job that isn't real?"
"Oh," I said. "Yeah. I guess I did mention that huh?" I nodded. "Yup. That's the one."
I glanced up, surprised to realize we were almost there. I reached out, putting my hand on his arm. "Lawton, no matter what she does, don't set her off, alright? She'll probably be pissy about what you're wearing. But that's okay, because it'll keep the focus off Josh."
I looked over at him. For all my vows to make Lawton pay, it suddenly occurred to me that this was an awful lot to ask of anyone, even him. "I'm sorry," I said. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Nope," he said. "This'll be fun."
"I'm serious," I said. "She's a total psycho."
"Yeah?" He gave me a crooked grin. "Haven't you heard? I am too."
Chapter 58
We squealed into the driveway with one minute to spare. Glancing at the house, I caught movement in the front window.
Josh.
"C'mon," I said, shoving open my car door. Salad in hand, I jumped out and watched as Lawton circled the car and retrieved the two desserts from the back.
