blonde to be, he wasn’t here for long and she didn’t strike him as the type of woman who did short-term arrangements. He rinsed out the sink after the last pan; for that matter, he wasn’t that type of a person either.
Gen leaned against his arm and sighed. “It sure is good to have you here.”
He pulled her into a hug. “It’s good to be here. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out whatever is under Mom’s bonnet and give it a good swat.”
Gen laughed, “I call dibs on the first whack.”
After Gen went to bed at way too early of an hour, Jeremiah pulled out his phone and hit the number for his father. The phone rang four times, and he was just about to hang up when his father answered. He could hear a large gathering as he spoke, “Jeremiah, I’ve been trying to be patient. I saw about the riot at the prison. I knew you’d let me know if there was any reason to worry, but dang it, give this old man’s heart a break, will you?”
He sighed. Fuck, yeah, he should have called his dad before this. “Sorry, Dad. It was brutal.”
“Were you… involved?” The background noise dimmed, and Jeremiah heard a door shut.
“Indirectly. There was an inmate that escaped and murdered some of the staff. I saw it happen.”
“Damn it. You know I wish you’d move closer to home. With you in California and Gen in South Dakota, I feel like my family has abandoned me.” His father chuckled and he heard ice drop into a glass.
“Actually, I’m up in South Dakota with Gen, visiting for a bit. Are you aware that Celest is bombarding Gen with countless emails telling her that the affair was her fault and she needs to come back and make things right?”
He heard his father’s deep sigh. “Damn it. No, I wasn’t aware. Gen made me promise not to give Celest her number, but I had no idea she’d gone overboard with the emails.”
“Overboard is an understatement, Dad. I saw at least four or five hundred. Is Celest still seeing her therapist?”
“I’m sad to say that I don’t know, but I will find out. She has already pulled this family apart. I know that you and Gen would have stayed closer if it wasn’t for your mother’s… tenacity.”
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “Dad, I’m going to be completely honest with you. Celest has issues that need to be addressed now, not later. I’m very worried about her. I have colleagues in the area that I can recommend. People who can help, but you’re going to have to sit down with her and draw the line, one she can’t cross, one that will motivate her to get better. Hands-off is not what she needs. She’s literally terrorizing Gen. Something has to be done.” In retrospect, his father’s hands-off approach was never what she needed, but that was a realization after years of training and seeing patients.
His father was silent for a moment. “You’re right. All right. I’ll work on this and get a handle on the situation. Send me those names.”
“I’ll text the contacts to you as soon as we hang up.”
“How are you, son? You don’t take random vacations. You’re a workaholic like your old man.”
“The situation at the supermax messed with me. There was a need to distance myself from what was going on in California, so I jumped on my bike and came out here to South Dakota. Have you seen Gen’s little place?”
“No, unfortunately, I haven’t. I’ll have to make time to do that. Is she happy?” He heard his father take a drink of whatever he’d poured.
“I think she would be happy if you could get Mom under control. The cafe is something she’s very proud of, Dad. I think it would mean a lot to her if you’d come up even for just a day or two.”
“I’ll talk to Henry and get that put on my schedule.”
“Henry? I thought your secretary was Opal?” He couldn’t imagine his father without the sturdy Miss Opal at his side.
“Opal will be with me until we both shrivel up. Henry is my campaign manager.”
“Making the run for Governor this year?”
“I am. I have a good chance.”
“You’ll make one hell of a Governor.” His old man was amazing and not a radical. He could work with anyone, except, of course, Celest. But then again, who could?
“From your lips to God’s ears. I need to get back out to the party. I am