she still got tired easily.
“Cool.” Jackson drummed his fingers on the door. “I was thinking of going to the library, but maybe I’ll stay home.”
“Could you?” Val knew Jackson wasn’t going to the library to study. He was going to see the girl she wasn’t supposed to know about. “I’d appreciate it.”
It was the delicate dance of the mom and the teenage son. Jackson likely suspected that Val knew he was going to the library for reasons other than academic, but he didn’t say anything, and Val would let the mild deception stand as long as Jackson didn’t slack off around the house or let his grades drop. She knew from picking up his backpack his feelings about this girl were serious, but she had no way of knowing how the girl felt.
Who knew why he wasn’t telling Val about her? Maybe her parents didn’t allow her to date. Maybe she was shy. It could be any number of reasons. Val wasn’t willing to push.
He’s allowed to have a private life.
Kind of.
“Yeah.” Jackson tugged on Andy’s sweatshirt. “Hey, let’s go wash some clothes while the grilled cheese is finishing. Mom’ll call us when it’s done.”
“Laundry?” Andy groaned. “I don’t need to do laundry.”
Laundry was the first thing she’d put her foot down about after her powers hit. She could not handle going through her children’s dirty clothes anymore. Just… no. On many levels.
Jackson said, “Dude, I can hardly walk on your side of the room. You need to do laundry.”
“Fine.” Andy sighed. It was the end of the world. Clearly.
She might have felt overwhelmed earlier, but Val really didn’t know how she’d lucked out with her two boys. She wasn’t going to question it—it was probably because of her parents anyway.
Jackson was far from perfect, but he knew how to take responsibility when he needed to. And Andy… he was still her sweetheart even if he’d inherited her hatred of folding clean clothes.
Val had just finished the last grilled cheese sandwich when she heard the knock on the door.
“Andy! Jack!” she shouted down the hall. “Sandwiches are ready.”
She heard the clomp of footsteps on the hardwood as she opened the door. Sully was standing on the porch.
She closed the door and spun around.
Jackson was frowning. “Who was that?”
“Val!” He knocked on the door again. “Open the door please.”
“It’s the sheriff,” Val said. “We kind of had a disagreement earlier in the day, and he’s part of the reason I have a headache, so I don’t want to talk to him.
“Valerie.” Sully knocked again louder. “I’m not here to fight with you.”
Jackson and Andy both looked confused.
“The sheriff’s here?” Andy asked. “Why?”
“Yes.”
“Why is he calling you Valerie?” Jackson asked. “Only Grandma calls you that.”
“You’re not going to talk to him?” Andy asked. “What if he knows something about Dad?” Andy started toward the door, but Val held him back.
“He would have told me on the phone earlier if he knew something about your dad.” And if she didn’t open the door, he’d have to go away. Eventually.
Probably.
Jackson was also looking skeptical. “But that was hours ago, maybe—”
“Val!” Sully knocked again. “Will you just open the door?”
Jackson started toward it and Val held up a hand. “You better not.”
“I’m not here to talk to you,” Sully said. “I need to talk to your boys.”
Val’s eyes went wide. She spun and yanked open the door. “You don’t get to talk to my boys. You want to pry information about Josh out of them? You have a lot of nerve, Sullivan Wes—”
“I’ll talk to you.” Jackson spoke over her. “Come in.”
Val looked at Jackson. “Kid, you may be closing in on adulthood, but this is not your house.”
Andy was tugging on her arm. “Mom, I want to talk to the sheriff. It’s like on the TV shows, you know? Maybe we know something that can help.”
Val looked back at Sully, who was waiting with as neutral an expression as he could manage, but she could tell he was pissed.
“Mom, I want to talk to him.”
“Me too.”
Val gave in to their plaintive voices and widened the door to allow Sully to enter. “Boys, go grab your sandwiches and take them to the family room. Sully can talk to you there.”
“Yes,” Andy said under his breath. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
Val’s eyes never left Sully. “If you even breathe a word out of line—”
“I’m trying to help,” he said quietly. “The little one is right. They may know something they don’t even realize could help.”
“Andy,” Val said.