He leaned forward. “You should have told me about the debt that night at the hospital.”
“Mommy, is Uncle T mad at you?” Kyra asked.
Alanis shook her head and looked down at her daughter. “No, sweetie. Get in your seat for me.” She caught Punc’s gaze. “I couldn’t betray her about the debt. She would have been pissed as hell, I wouldn’t have blamed her for that, and honestly, what would you have been able to do?”
He hated when his little sister made sense.
“Fine. Are you cool with me and her being together?”
She pressed her lips together and stared at him for a beat. “Like I said at the hospital weeks ago, don’t jerk her around like you did those other girls, and it’s all good.”
He pointed a finger at her. “I’d never do that to her.”
She helped Kyra with her seat buckle. “I don’t know that, but I’m holding you to it. Love you, Ted.”
“Love you, too. Drive safe.”
He returned to the house and heard Savannah on the phone with someone. From the snippets he heard, he guessed it was Catalina.
“Are you sure? Her parents are going to be there, right? I don’t want you to have to deal with a situation like last time again.”
Pause.
“Okay, all right. I’m putting Rita’s car in the garage then. I’ll try to remember to move it before you come home in the morning.”
Another pause.
“Right. I love you, too, Cat.”
She ended the call and plugged her phone into a charger.
He stalked toward her. “Why can’t you park Rita’s car in the garage normally?”
The skin around her eyes crinkled when she grimaced. “There’s boxes of stuff in there. Pretty sure it’s Mom’s. I wouldhave tackled it, but the doctors told me not to do any heavy lifting for at least six weeks after I was in the hospital.” Her eyes darted past him for a second. “Guess that’s something I can handle soon.”
He nodded. “Yeah, parking in the garage would be safer.”
“Which was why I insisted Cat park there. It’s more important for her to be safe.”
“It’s important forbothof you to be safe,” he said, cupping her cheeks in his hands.
“You know what I mean.”
“Did you tell her about the call from Frank and your father being involved in some way?”
With her nod, she pulled free of his hold. “Yeah. Can’t say it was a surprise, we both suspected it. I’m just pissed he won’t return either of our calls at a normal hour.”
He gave her a half-hearted grin. “If he’s avoiding you two, that’s the best way to do it. Are you ready for lunch?”
“Yeah, those Goldfish wore off while playing jungle gym.”
“Is there a grill around here?”
“Um… I don’t think so, though I suppose there could be one hidden behind the boxes in the garage.”
He frowned. “How about a grill pan or something like that? It isn’t ideal, but I thought I’d grill you a steak for lunch.”
She put her hand on his bicep. “As much as I appreciate that, I don’t eat that much at lunch, honey. My breakfast was pretty filling.”
