Sand Castle Bay (Ocean Breeze) - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,86
real fight, and I’m determined not to give her any ammunition.”
“You mean you don’t plan to tell her all about me and how we spent my last day in town?” she teased, hoping to lighten the mood.
Boone chuckled, as she’d intended. “That is definitely not going to come up,” he assured her. “And I do have a weapon in my arsenal, if Jodie gets too far out of line.”
“What weapon is that?”
“Cora Jane. She is very eager to take her on, not just to defend you, but she seems to be pretty provoked over the way Jodie’s been treating me.”
“I imagine she is,” Emily said. “Nobody picks on Cora Jane’s family and gets away with it. I saw her stand toe-to-toe with some bully who towered over her to get him to stop bothering Gabi one time when Gabi was waiting tables. Grandmother threw him out of Castle’s without a qualm. I imagine she’d consider Jodie Farmer nothing but a nuisance.”
“I certainly keep trying to think of her that way,” Boone said, “but that woman can get under my skin quicker than poison ivy.”
“Then I recommend you keep a giant bottle of calamine lotion handy,” Emily teased.
“I was thinking bourbon,” Boone replied.
To Emily, it didn’t sound as if he was kidding.
* * *
Boone was in his office at the restaurant when Pete came in to announce that Jodie and Frank were out front.
“You all having some kind of a problem?” Pete asked. “When Jodie asked for you, she looked as if she’d just sucked a lemon.”
Boone laughed. “The mere mention of my name does tend to turn her stomach sour,” he told Pete. “I’d better get out there. Did you seat them?”
“They told me in no uncertain terms that they’d already eaten. I got the impression that they were a little leery of our food. They’re standing by the front door, probably scaring off the other customers.”
Boone walked quickly to the foyer and found his in-laws were indeed right by the door, looking as if they might flee at any second.
“Jodie, Frank,” he said, being determinedly cheerful. He dropped a quick kiss on Jodie’s cheek before she could jerk away, then shook Frank’s hand. “How was the trip?”
“Long,” Frank said. “Jodie insisted we do the whole drive in a day. She was anxious to get up here.”
Boone frowned. “You left this morning? What time? You must be exhausted.”
“Too early, in my opinion,” Frank said. “I thought the whole reason for people to retire was so they could lead a leisurely life, but Jodie gets a bit in her mouth and we’re off to the races.”
“I’m anxious to see my grandson,” she said. “I want to see for myself that he’s not maimed for life.”
Boone glanced at his watch. “He’ll be home from school in an hour. Why don’t we go to the house and get you settled? You might even be able to put your feet up for a few minutes before he gets there.”
“You could just give us a key,” Jodie said stiffly. “We don’t want to take you away from your work.”
“It’s not a problem,” Boone said, knowing that what she really wanted was a chance to snoop around the house. “The guest room’s all set, but I want to be there in case there’s anything you need to feel comfortable.”
“We’ll meet you there, then,” Frank said, his tone jovial.
When Jodie set off for their car without a backward glance, Frank stayed back.
“I’m sorry about this, son. Jodie gets her mind set, and there’s not a thing I can do or say to change it. It’s best just to let her get all this out of her system. Once she spends a little time with B.J., I imagine she’ll settle down.”
Boone nodded. “I appreciate you saying that, Frank. I know Jenny’s death has been real hard on her.”
“It’s been pure hell for all of us,” Frank said. “But Jodie most of all, I think.”
“B.J. and I miss her, too,” Boone said. “More than you can imagine.”
“I know.” Frank gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder. “See you at the house.”
An hour later B.J. raced into the house and jumped onto the sofa between his grandparents, giving them both big hugs. Jodie’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Do you know how much you remind me of your mommy?” she said, her voice a whisper. “You have her eyes, her hair.”
B.J. frowned. “But everybody says I look just like Daddy did when he was my age.”