She’d taken Jason to a superhero convention where costumed men and women posed for pictures. He’d never been more excited than when his favorite starred-and-striped hero flew him like an airplane around the exhibit hall.
As Harold poured the drinks and dumped a bag of potato chips into a bowl, Marissa and Linda prepared the sandwiches. They moved into the adjoining dining room as a buzz echoed from somewhere in the house.
“That’s my cell. I’ll be right back.” Jarrett hurried from the room.
The front door opened and thudded shut.
Her blood raced a little hotter. Would he return?
Linda patted Marissa’s arm, likely sensing or sharing her thoughts.
As her son and in-laws ate, she tore the crust from her sandwich. How would she explain Jarrett’s sudden departure to Jason? Though she’d introduced Jason to some of the men she’d dated after losing Joel, he hadn’t grown attached to any of them. Why did he like Jarrett so much? She didn’t have a future with him, but God help her in convincing her son. The pent-up air in her lungs rushed out as the door creaked open again.
“Sorry about that.” He sat beside Jason, grabbed a sandwich from the platter, and bit into the top edge.
Marissa popped a salty chip in her mouth to silence her questions.
“Who did you talk to?” Jason asked before munching on his ham sandwich.
“Don’t be nosy.” Leave it to her son to drill the man for information.
“But I’m curious. Did you talk to a friend, Uncle Jarrett?”
Jarrett opened his sandwich, crumbled a few chips in his hand, and scattered the pieces in between several slices of turkey. “Sort of. I agreed to meet some coworkers for a skiing trip in Montana since we have a few weeks off from work. They expected me this morning.”
Jason cocked his head and scattered crumbled chips on his second sandwich. “Mama says you shouldn’t make people worry about you if you promise to be somewhere. It’s mean.”
“Oh no, young man. You don’t chastise an adult.”
The boy blew out a dramatic sigh.
The adult in question bit his lip. The grin quirking up the edges of his mouth won. “My friend wasn’t that worried. He knew I’d call eventually.” He licked his salty fingers and glanced at each person at the table. “I called my boss while I was outside. I told him I decided to stay here for a while instead of going to the ski lodge right away.”
Linda beamed. “You’re staying for a few weeks?”
“No, probably a few days.”
Her smile faltered. “Well, that’s good. I can work with that.”
“Construction is slow during the winter months, huh?” Harold clasped his wife’s hand. “Why does your boss need to know where you are during your time off?”
Jarrett gulped half of his grape juice. “The staff is on call in case of an emergency or if some billionaire throws down a huge check for a building that must be up before spring. He also needed an address for security and insurance purposes while off a job-site.”
Harold’s tone deepened. “What address did you give?”
“I-I said I’d get back to him. I don’t remember the address of the little motel I stayed in last night.”
Whew! Good save. Marissa forced down a bite of tangy relish, mayo, cheddar, and ham.
“Stay here. We have a guestroom.”
“Jason!” Marissa and Linda reprimanded simultaneously.
Marissa pinched the bridge between her eyes as pressure throbbed. “He can’t stay here, sweetie. He has better things to do than hang out with us.”
“Like what? I’m fun to be around, so are you when you aren’t working or worrying about that stupid restaurant.”
She rolled her eyes. As an assistant chef in a posh Italian restaurant, the demanding job kept her busy and away from her son more often than she liked. She’d taken the week off to be with her family over Christmas and to mourn the anniversary of her husband’s death. Sleeping with said husband’s brother hadn’t been on the agenda.
