“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.”
Frank stepped in. “You’ve inherited the good looks of both of them, B.J.,” he said diplomatically. “Isn’t that right, Jodie?”
“Of course it is,” she said with an obviously forced smile. “Now tell me everything you’re doing these days. How’s school so far this year?”
Boone listened as B.J. filled her in on every kid in his class, on all his assignments and the part he’d been given for an upcoming school play. “It’s for Halloween and I’m going to be a ghost,” he said.
“Do you have your costume?” Jodie asked.
“Not yet. I have to get it made.”
“Why don’t I do that?” Jodie offered. “I used to make all of your mom’s Halloween costumes.”
B.J.’s eyes lit up. “Cool. Will you be here to see the play?”
“I doubt that,” Jodie said. “Halloween’s a long way off. Your grandfather and I will go back to Florida before then.”
“But you could come back,” B.J. said enthusiastically. “I asked Emily to come and she said she might.”
The light in Jodie’s eyes died at that, and Boone cursed himself for not suggesting to B.J. that he try to keep Emily’s name out of the conversation. Then, again, he didn’t think it was right to censor his son just to keep the peace.
“Is that so?” Jodie said tightly. “I think I’ll go lie down for a little while before dinner. I’m awfully tired all of a sudden.”
She stood up and left the room, leaving B.J. staring after her in confusion.
“Did I say something wrong?”
“Of course not,” Frank told him. “But I’d better go check on her. I’ll take her a cup of tea, if that’s okay.”
“Help yourself,” Boone told him. “You know where everything is.”
When he was alone with his son, B.J. regarded him with a troubled expression. “I made her mad, didn’t I?”
“Absolutely not,” Boone said, wondering just how much he should reveal about the situation. The less said, the better, he thought. B.J. could hardly be expected to understand the dynamics among the grown-ups. “You know how much your grandmother loves you, right?”
“Sure.”
“And she loved your mom, too.”
“Well, yeah,” B.J. said.
“I think it’s hard for her to hear you mention Emily as if she’s real important to you. It may make her think you’re forgetting about your mom.”
“But I could never forget mom,” B.J. said, looking puzzled. “I miss her every day.”
“Then you should mention that to your grandmother sometime. It might make her feel better.”
B.J. fell silent, clearly trying to take in what Boone had told him. “Okay,” he said eventually. “Should I go tell her now?”
“No, let her rest now. You’ll have plenty of time to tell her while she’s here visiting.”
“It’s cool that they came, isn’t it?” B.J. said, though his eyes were shadowed with worry over the apparent misstep he’d made.
“It’s cool,” Boone said. “They love you very much. I might know what a pest you are, but they think you’re the best kid ever.”
“Hey,” B.J. protested, grinning, “I am the best kid ever.”
Boone chuckled at his son’s confidence. He figured he must be doing something right if his boy had that much faith in himself. Didn’t that prove that B.J. was surrounded by people who encouraged and loved him? If it hadn’t been tempting fate, he’d have dared Jodie right then to try to suggest otherwise.
* * *
Cora Jane was in a booth, her feet up, going over the day’s receipts, when Boone came into Castle’s.
“Uh-oh, I know that look,” she said as he poured himself a glass of iced tea before joining her. “What’s happened?”
“Nothing really,” he admitted. “I’m just afraid I’m not going to get Jodie back out of town before I lose it with her attitude toward me. She never misses an opportunity to take a jab about all the wrongs I committed against Jenny. She’s gotten in a couple of jabs at Emily, too, though, to give her credit, she’s been careful about those in front of B.J. I think she’s figured out that I wasn’t lying when I told her there’s a growing bond between B.J. and Emily. She doesn’t like it, but she’s smart
