“Please, don’t hand me that hog wash. I’ve heard it all before. I’ve been leaving you and my Magnolia alone because I thought you would eventually work your crap out. You thinking about moving tells me that’s not going to happen, and I’m tired of waiting for you to stop burying your head in the sand. So, I’m here.”
“Ida Sue,” I start, rubbing my hand against the back of my neck. “Whatever happens is between me and your daughter, and—”
“Involves my grandson and that involves me. I have one question, Bryant Matthews, I’m just wondering if you’re going to find your balls enough to answer me honestly.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I didn’t have one when it came to getting you as a son-in-law.”
“Ouch, that hurts, Ida Sue.” She stares at me, not relenting the slightest inch. “Fine,” I sigh, deciding giving in is easier than trying to fight her. Ida Sue has always been a force to be reckoned with and I’m just tired. “What’s the question?”
“Are you going to sit there trying to find your manhood while some guy in Dallas gets your woman, or are you going to man up?”
Some guy in Dallas? What is she talking about?
Fuck.
5
Bryant
“Maggie’s seeing some guy in Dallas?” I growl. Fuck, I know I don’t have a right, but jealousy is clawing inside of me. Maggie and I mutually agreed that as long as the two of us were sleeping together there would be no one else. It sounds stupid, but I was happy with it. I even hoped it might be enough to make her move home.
“Praise Jesus, you do have a little jealousy inside of you.”
“You’re wrong,” I respond, refusing to believe it. “Maggie would tell me if she was interested in someone else.”
“Oh please. I love my daughter, but she’s a runner.”
“I’m sorry?”
“She’s a runner, honey. When the walls start closing in, she runs. I know because that girl is so much like me I live in fear of what she’s going to do next.”
“Maggie’s a smart woman, Ida Sue,” I defend. “She’s just a little broken. Besides, I think all parents worry about their kids.”
“You’ve just started with Terry. You wait and see, Bryant. Raising children is like slowly being pecked to death by a chicken.”
I would laugh, but I’m still worried about the fact that Ida Sue thinks Maggie is seeing someone.
“What makes you think Maggie is seeing someone else?”
“She’s been getting calls from Dallas the last couple of weeks on her cellphone—”
“Ida Sue, that doesn’t mean she’s seeing someone,” I mutter.
“And for each of those calls, she’s left the room and whispered. Plus, she’s now made three trips to Dallas, including this latest one which was last minute.”
“That still doesn’t prove anything,” I insist, stubbornly. It sure as hell doesn’t sound good, though. Could Maggie be dating someone else?
“You seem concerned, Bryant. If it matters so much, then why were you set to go to Washington?”
I frown. Leave it to Ida Sue to see through my shit. I could deny everything, but there’s just no point.
“Hell, Ida Sue, I wasn’t going to leave Mason. I was just hoping maybe if Maggie thought I was leaving…”
“She’d what? Drop down to her knees and kiss your feet? Beg you to stay?”
“Maybe. What’s so wrong with that? She’s had me jumping through hoops for six years. It’s her turn,” I grumble, feeling like an idiot hearing it put like that.
“Bryant Matthews, I’m not sure you could find your ass with both hands in your back pockets. You let Maggie have her way for six years, and you think things will just magically go your way? Do you know my daughter?”
“Fine,” I growl. I felt stupid before, but if Ida Sue keeps pointing shit out, I might never recover. “What am I supposed to do to make Maggie give us a real chance?”
“I’m glad you asked,” she says with a grin that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
“Well?”
“How do you feel about chains and handcuffs?” she asks. She sounds so innocent and is smiling so big that panic hits me almost at once.
Shit.
6
Maggie
“You will never guess what I learned today, Maggie.”
I look up to see Green strutting in, Rusty in his motorized chair following him. He’s been coming by Mom’s house for breakfast every morning—mostly because Kage went with my sisters, Mary and Petal, for a girl’s weekend. I know it’s because he’s lonely. Hell, I practically eat every meal here, so I can’t say much.
I thought about going to Bryant’s when I got back this morning. The temptation was strong when he texted me to tell me he dropped Terry off at school and would pick him up this evening before I came over for dinner. I talked myself out of it. My head is a mess, and I was afraid I’d blab everything to him, and he doesn’t need that from me.