Page 29 of Passing Notes
“Hey, I might just do it if Marianne keeps up her shit. The only thing keeping my foot out of her butt is my sprained ankle and the fact that she’s backed off a bit. But if she starts with me when I can balance again, it’s on—and I don’t care about Pindich’s zero tolerance crap.” She put her hands on her hips and nodded once in my direction. “Beating someone’s ass in self-defense is legit, dang it.”
“Stand in line for the boot in the butt thing. You’re looking at your official bodyguard. I have no shame and am not above terrorizing a few teenage girls for the sake of your inner peace. You will have a good senior year no matter what I have to do to make it happen. This is the official start of my villain era.”
She bit her lip, hesitating before asking, “Do you ever wish we could have been normal? Without the hillbilly reputation? You know, with a dad and a mom who actually loved each other. And a home where no one had to run away, or get married at eighteen years old to escape it, or become a hard-as-nails, rich lawyer to protect all of us...” The edge of cynicism that usually filled her voice faded away as her eyes drifted to the floor.
“I think about that whenever I’m in a therapy appointment or spying on the neighborhood from my porch like a totally normal person.” I grinned her way.
Her eyes raised to mine, flashing as her humor came back. “Thanks for paying for Dr. Simon, by the way.”
I shrugged. “It’s why I had to make the big bucks. I knew we’d all need buttloads of therapy. And yes, I do wish that we’d been brought up better, so much. But we can’t go back in time, can we? Look, we Hill sisters are finally back together, all of us back in Green Valley like we’re supposed to be. We have Dr. Simon to talk things through with, Momma is getting better every day, and I think we’re going to end up being just fine. I mean, our family dinners have at least ninety percent less screaming and fighting now, and hardly anyone bursts into tears or storms off anymore, right?”
“You make good points.”
I pulled her close and kissed her temple. “I’ve got you. I will do anything for you.”
“By the way, I know you had Mari—I mean, Miss Mitchell—keep an eye on me. She’s not very stealthy, you know.”
“I needed eyes on the inside until I could be there myself to watch out for you, and I’m not sorry. Mari is family, she knows how it is. Maybe she’s not stealthy, but she is discreet.”
Her answering smile was grateful. “Thank you.”
“Always, Gracie.”
Bing. A cymbal crash rang out along with the timer on the microwave and we both jumped.
“What the hell?” I shoved the curtains aside. Dawn was rising in a haze of pink-tinted sunlight as what looked like a small portion of the high school band marched their way up the street.
“It sounds like the band.” She grabbed her burrito from the microwave then joined me at the window. “What the hell?”
“What are they doing out this early in the morning? School hasn’t even started yet.”
“It’s the seniors. They have zero hour practice, remember? That’s why Ruby couldn’t be the one to drive me to school.”
“You mean, this isn’t in my honor? To welcome me on my first day?” I joked.
“Yeah, right. Let’s go see what’s going on. They usually practice on the football field or in the parking lot.” She hobbled toward the front door. Her ankle was getting better; the crutches were no longer necessary, just the boot.
We headed to the porch and watched Mari lead the band straight into Leonard and Janice’s yard across the street. I flinched when a row of horn players marched right through his gorgeous bed of dahlias.
Janice had been the band director before she retired. Maybe this was something for her?
“Leonard is going to freak the eff out when he sees them.” I nudged Gracie’s arm. “This is going to be great. Watch.”
“Hey!” Leonard came barreling outside dressed in one of Janice’s silk robes and a pair of boxers with his floppy curls blowing in the morning breeze.
“Damn, he really pulls that off,” I observed. Yes, we were one-sided yard rivals, but I could admit he looked oddly hot in Janice’s pretty paisley caftan. I made a mental note to ask her where she’d bought it. Leonard wasn’t the only one who could rock that look.
“Your neighborhood is weird as hell,” Gracie mumbled through a bite of her breakfast.
I peeked at her over my shoulder. “Why do you think I’m outside all day? It’s better than TV.”
“Sing, Sing, Sing” blasted through the air as Sasha and Ethan wandered into my yard to watch the impromptu concert with us. “Hi, y’all.” Gracie greeted them while I raised my mug with a grin.
“Oh, come on!” Leonard yelled, cursing under his breath as kids filled his pristine, freshly mowed lawn, trampling the neat lines he had oh-so-carefully created in the grass yesterday with his lawn mower.
I let out a laugh as Ruby stepped directly into his echinacea.
Now who has the better yard?