more than willing to drive the few extra miles to Idalou.”
“Do I have to give you an answer right now?”
Anna acted like she was in deep thought. “I don’t think you do. You don’t even have to consider it. It’s simply an option I’d like you to have. You didn’t ask to be dragged through my mess.”
“I’ll think about it. More than anything, I just want this stupid cast off. I bet the hair on my leg is as long as the hair on my head, and it feels gross.”
Anna chuckled. “We can take you and get them waxed when your cast is off.”
“Really? I thought you said that was too much upkeep when I asked you the last time.”
“It is, but you’re worth it. It hurts like crazy the first few times, though the upside is that the more you have them waxed, the less hair you’ll have.”
“Okay, I’ll think about that, too. Mom, do you really believe Renée wanted to . . . like, kill me?”
Anna had wondered about that herself. “I don’t know, baby. Like I said, she’s had a rough life. I’d like to think not, but I can’t say that and be sure.”
“What about her mom? She died when Renée was a baby, right?”
Once again, Anna realized just how little she knew about Ryan’s past. Mandy was right when she told her they should’ve been up-front about their spouses. Her only defense was that she’d met Ryan on a singles cruise. She hadn’t thought it the most pleasant topic, but they should’ve had this conversation when they’d started seeing each other once they’d returned to Lubbock.
“I believe her mother passed away when she was just a baby; I think she might’ve been one or two years old. Ryan said she’s never had a female figure in her life.”
“What about grandparents? Aunts, uncles, or anything?”
“Ryan told me his family died when he was in college.” Anna realized in all the conversations they’d had, that was the only time he’d ever mentioned family. It never came up again, and it should have. She’d told him she’d lost her father when she was a little girl though she hadn’t elaborated on the details. He knew she’d lost her mother, but that was all. Now that she was really thinking about the dates they’d had, all Ryan had talked about was money, or he had tried to show her that he had money. The fancy dinners, the hotels. How much he had. Or hoped to have? He drove a new Honda. His clothes fit well. He always looked like he’d stepped off the pages of a men’s fashion magazine. He was put together. All fake, she thought. Every bit of it an act created to . . . what? Attract gullible women?
She suspected she wasn’t far off the mark, but she would obtain answers to these questions in time as the arson investigation proceeded. And if a case was brought against Renée, assuming the prosecutors decided there was a case, it made it almost certain that she would learn more about his past.
“So he’s kind of like you. I mean, without a family.”
“Baby, you are my family. Mandy is family, and Mona and Jeb. They’re as good a set of grandparents as you could wish for.”
“I know. I just thought that’s what you and Ryan had, you know, in common, why you hooked up.”
“Sadly, we don’t have much of anything in common other than the fact we’re both single.”
“Daniel is cute, don’t you think? He looks like Thor. Tiffany about croaked when she saw him leaving. Said he was a hottie.”
“Don’t get any ideas, kiddo. Daniel is a nice-looking man, and he’s kind and smart. He’s our attorney, and nothing more, so don’t you get any ideas in that pretty little head of yours.”
“I was just telling you my opinion, that’s all,” Christina whirled around in her wheelchair. “Think Mandy has lunch ready? I am starving.”
“Sit tight, and I’ll check.”
Anna felt better for airing her dirty linen, if you wanted to call it that. She wanted to clear the air, especially after that news report. Sure, there would be more news in the upcoming days ahead, but she’d deal with it. She had a loving family and knew they were all standing with her and would always be there for her. Blood didn’t always make family.
“Christina is starving, and I said I’d check on lunch. Something smells good.”
“Look at this,” Mandy said, opening the top oven to reveal a