Theodore (Xavier's Hatchlings #2) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,5
his name. “You didn’t offer me the same kind of courtesy, Mr. Manning. Why is that?”
“You’re here thinking that you can scam your mom out of her things. She’s here because her grandma asked her to be.” Mr. George Manning leaned against the post again. “The will can be read now that your daughter is here. Until then, you aren’t getting in this house. Even after the will is read, I’m doubting very much that you’ll have much in the way of a welcome mat being put out.”
Pem asked if she could go inside. After telling his daughter that she could, George told her that her grandma was out to dinner with his brother. Pem went into the house without a word to him. Damn it, why was it that everyone treated him like this? He was a Black, too.
“You should be going, Patrick. I’m sure that if your phone is still working, they’ll notify you when the reading will be done. I’m sure even after death, Harold has plenty to say to you and your brother Austin.” Patrick asked how he knew so much about his family. “I’m interested in not just who they are, but what their thoughts are, unlike you. You only want to know what sort of things you can get from people. Mrs. Jackson has called the police on you. She’s only just found out that you took her car again. I’m assuming you’ll be in jail before the end of the day.”
Patrick got back in the car and decided he’d be back later tonight. With the old lady in the house with his kid, he was a shoo-in to be able to knock the two of them around enough to get something to tide him over until the will.
He didn’t even know what the hell his parents had that they figured needed to be mentioned in a will, of all things. Damn it, the last time he was in the house before his dad died, there hadn’t been much more than the four walls and some crap that nobody in their right mind would want.
Taking the car back to Ms. Jackson, he found the police there waiting for him.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Jackson, I surely am. I needed to go and see my mom, and then my daughter showed up. I should have asked, I know.” She huffed at him. “No harm done. As soon as my dad’s will is read, I’ll even put gas in your car for you.”
He was thrown against the car and read his rights. The entire time he was trying his best to talk to Ms. Jackson, the old bitch, about not pressing charges against him for just borrowing her car for a bit. As soon as he was put in the back seat of the cruiser, Patrick tried the same thing on the cops.
“It wasn’t gone that long. I meant to tell her, but I wanted to see my little girl.” The cop turned around and asked if Pem was back in town. “Yes, that’s who I’m talking about. She sure did grow up to be a pretty thing. You should be asking her out.”
“I’m married. How that kid is a part of you, I’ll never understand.” He said he had good genes to pass on to her. “You would think you had something to do with her being an upstanding person. How much do you know about Pem, Patrick? I’m betting you don’t even have a clue as to not only how old she is, but when her birthday is. Do you?”
“I don’t care about such things as age. Besides, if she’s older than twenty, then I don’t want to know.” The cop turned around, saying something about bastard fathers. “I bet you don’t know it either, now do you?”
“She’s twenty-seven. Her birthday is in December, the same day as mine. She and I went to grade school together. That was about the time she skipped a bunch of grades.” The cop turned back to him. “She’s also been to war. I’m betting you didn’t know that either.”
“Why are you drilling me about my kid? Don’t you have anything better to do than to tell me shit that I don’t give two shits about?” Patrick looked out the window as he continued. “She’s here on account’a her thinking she is going to be getting something from my parents. Well, I know whatever they had to give her, it’s not worth her coming here to get it.”