deal in the Briggs’ house. People started arriving for it in the early evening and stayed well past sundown.
If I wanted to have any time with her, any quality time, it needed to happen this afternoon.
“I heard Madison gave you a ride home from the proposal the other day,” my mom commented as I poured my cup.
Turning around, I leaned against the counter and tilted my head. There would’ve been a time that she would’ve grilled me about the ride the day of. Pointing it out might irritate her and get her off the last topic I wanted to discuss.
“Wow. That was two days ago. You’re slippin’.”
Instead of taking my bait, she continued. “Are you planning on seeing her before you leave tomorrow?”
“No.” This really was one of the things I hated about growing up in a small town. People made a big deal over things like someone giving you a ride home.
“Hmm.” The ambiguous sound had my guard up.
Dolly Briggs saying “hmm” was equivalent to a woman saying “I’m fine” when you asked her how she was.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“No.” My mom rarely, if ever, asked me about my personal life. I wasn’t sure if it was because I really didn’t have one, or if she was just distracted by my brothers and sister who were in town with her. Maybe she confined her meddling to a ten-mile radius.
“Hmm.”
Shit. There it was again. This topic was far from over.
“You and Josie seem to get along.”
Aha, so that’s what this was about.
“We do.” I sipped my coffee.
“Be careful there.”
The warning hit me the wrong way. I thought my mother liked Josie. She’d called her sweetie pie. Hell, she’d had me give her a tour of the property and the town. What could’ve possibly made her do a one-eighty?
If it was any other woman, I’d have dropped the subject and been relieved that she’d let me off with a warning, but there was something different about Josie. I felt defensive, protective of her. I’d never felt like that about any other woman, that I wasn’t related to, of course.
“Be careful how?” As defensive as I felt, I made sure my tone remained respectful. I might not agree with what my mom was saying but I was raised better than to let that show.
“I heard you creeping to her room last night.”
Damn. How had she heard that? I was like a ninja. I felt like a teenager getting caught sneaking out.
“You need to keep your distance.”
I honestly could not believe what I was hearing. My mom wanted me to stay away from Josie? What could possibly have made her change her mind about her?
“I’m serious, Jackson. No funny business. She’s a nice girl.”
“And what am I?” I teased.
She didn’t smile. Instead she set her knitting needles down. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
Holy shit. It wasn’t me she was trying to protect, it was Josie. My mom actually thought I wasn’t good enough for her. I hadn’t seen that coming. Needing a second to gather myself, I set my coffee mug down and crossed my arms. “Yes.”
“You are a man that has never had a relationship last more than three months. You are a man that prioritizes his career. You are a man that has a P.O. Box because he travels so much he doesn’t have a permanent residence. You are a man that is not available. She deserves better than that. She’s been through enough. And I will not allow one of my sons to be something that brings any pain to her life. Not as long I’m drawing breath.”
The not-as-long-as-I’m-drawing-breath card was the big guns. It was Dolly Briggs’ version of ‘over my dead body,’ which she didn’t like to say because she thought it was morbid and didn’t want to speak that over herself.
Confusion over what she was talking about overrode my defensiveness about her not being on Team Jackson. “What are you talking about? What has she gone through?”
A tiny crease appeared between my mom’s brows as she studied me. It felt like she remained silent for an hour, but in truth, it was probably closer to sixty seconds before a realization dawned on her. “You don’t know, do you?”
Panic was rising in me as my mind started running wild with guesses of what my mom was referring to. Was Josie sick? Had something horrible happened to her? Had she been a victim of some sort of attack?