said, stepping back. “From her. Armie and Lila are right. You’re treating her like her opinion doesn’t matter, and I didn’t raise you that way. Lila, I’m making biscuits and gravy in the morning, and I’ll have too much because I won’t be feeding my son until he treats his lady like I raised him to.”
“I will be there,” Lila vowed. “This baby likes gravy. Lots of gravy.”
His mother nodded and walked to the front door. She didn’t bother to close it quietly.
Armie sighed. “Think about it. You’ve got some time, but if you don’t talk to her, you’ll make the biggest mistake of your life.”
Zep heard the door to the house he’d grown up in lock, a fateful sound.
He would have to go around the back to get to his space.
It looked like he’d be doing everything the hard way from now on.
chapter fifteen
Roxie looked up at the big board that listed all the departing and arriving flights at Louis Armstrong Airport.
Had Zep already gotten Daisy and Sunny? Had he moved all their stuff over to his tiny apartment?
She’d packed his bag, taking out the clothes he’d brought over that had somehow wound up in her closet or in the empty drawer next to hers. She’d picked up his razor and toiletries that had sat beside hers for a week, packed them in his duffel, and placed them next to Daisy’s crate along with a note.
Thanks for everything.
Like he’d simply done her a favor. Like he hadn’t changed her life. She hadn’t signed it with love. Hadn’t mentioned love at all since he didn’t seem to want hers.
“Hey, sweetheart, your father and Joel found the lounge, and Brian and Shawna are grabbing something to eat.” Her mother was dressed for travel in her chic slacks and wrinkle-proof blouse, her most comfortable heels on her feet. “I thought you might want to join us for a drink. We’ve got an hour before we board and get back to civilization.”
“It’s perfectly civilized here.” She turned away from the board with its times and gate numbers.
Her mom’s nose wrinkled up. “Some of it is nice, but I don’t understand all the nature stuff. Our backyard is more than enough nature for me.”
The backyard of their brownstone was a postage stamp of green, though her grandfather had managed to grow tomatoes and strawberries every year. Her landlady had fig and Meyer lemon trees that blossomed and dropped fruit over into her part of the yard. Lately she’d been thinking about a small garden. She’d helped Darlene with her planter boxes this year, and it had been surprising how much she’d enjoyed watching them grow and then sitting down with her neighbor to eat a salad she’d basically raised.
She would miss Darlene. She’d rarely known her neighbors when she’d lived with Joel. Everyone worked odd hours or all hours. Neighbors had been people she nodded at briefly as they passed in the hall.
She would miss Sera and Harry and Armie and Lila. She would miss town halls and watching the kids she’d met grow up.
God, she was going to miss Zep. The idea of not seeing Zep was a hole in her heart, but she was surprised by how much she would miss that tiny town.
“Roxanne? Have you been listening?”
She shook her head because obviously her mother had continued talking and she hadn’t noticed. “I’m sorry. I’ve got my mind on other things. What did you say?”
“I said that when we get back, I’m going to make some dinner plans with a couple of your father’s more influential friends,” her mother explained. “I want you to be able to hit the ground running. How much time do you have to give the sheriff?”
“I don’t know. At least two weeks. Probably more like a month, but I don’t know that I’m going to take the job.” She’d sat up all night with Daisy asleep on her right side and Sunny nestled on her left. She’d taken Zep out of the equation. He hadn’t replied to her declaration of love, and he wasn’t one to lie or hold back.
So he wasn’t going to be a part of her rationale.
Did she want to leave Papillon?
The question wasn’t if she wanted this job. She did, and she knew somewhere in the back of her head she would always wonder what she could have done with it. But wouldn’t she wonder the same about Papillon? Wouldn’t she wonder what her life would have been like if she’d concentrated