Exit Wounds - J. A. Jance [86]
“Yes, we did, Marliss,” Joanna agreed. “Congratulations to both of you.”
Wandering through the social hall with paper cups of punch in their hands, Joanna and Butch were the recipients of their own greetings and well-wishes. Regardless of how they had learned of Joanna’s pregnancy, everyone there made some comment about the news. Finished with her punch, Joanna was standing to one side of the room and waiting for Butch to finish a conversation with Jeff Daniels when Richard Voland sidled up next to her.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
Joanna looked at him warily. Everyone knew that, in the aftermath of his divorce, Voland had fallen victim to drinking too much, but no one other than Butch knew that the real reason behind Richard Voland’s resignation from the sheriff’s department had been his unrequited crush on Joanna Brady. She had seen him occasionally since then in social settings. Basking in this new romance with Marliss, Voland appeared to have overcome his personal demons and his feelings about Joanna, too, but she was nonetheless leery of spending too much time in his presence.
“All right,” she said. “And you?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he replied. “Business is picking up a little, and you know Marliss. She keeps me hopping.”
“Yes,” Joanna agreed. “I’m sure she does.”
“There is one thing we don’t agree about, though,” Voland added.
“What’s that?”
“You.”
“Richard…” Joanna began as a blush started forming at the base of her neck. “Really, I—”
“About the election,” Voland added quickly. “Marliss is anything but unbiased when it comes to Ken Junior, and I think she’s wrong. Pregnant or not, you really are the best man for the job.”
Across the room, Marliss noticed Joanna and Richard Voland standing together. Tossing her mane of curls, she caught her husband’s eye and summoned him with a come-hither finger. Joanna’s blush, which had started for one reason, finished for another.
“Thank you, Richard,” she said. “I really appreciate that.”
Butch appeared at her side half a minute later. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes,” Joanna said gratefully. “More than ready.”
“And what was that all about—the thing with Richard Voland?”
“I’m not sure,” she replied, “but I think he just gave me one of the biggest compliments of my life.”
Once Joanna and Butch had retrieved Jenny from the puzzle-and-game corner where she’d been involved in a killer game of Chinese checkers, they headed for Jim Bob and Eva Lou Brady’s duplex on Oliver Circle. As Jim Bob welcomed them inside, the whole house was filled with the delectable aroma of Eva Lou’s old-fashioned meat loaf.
Butch and Joanna’s former father-in-law went out to Jim Bob’s workshop to discuss one of the older man’s woodworking projects, while Joanna and Jenny ventured into Eva Lou’s undisputed domain, the kitchen. “Anything I can do to help?”
Her face red with exertion, Eva Lou was energetically mashing potatoes. “Not a thing. Joanna, you sit down and relax. Jenny, do you mind setting the table?”
Without argument, both mother and daughter did as they were told. While Jenny pulled out plates and silverware and carried them into the dining room, Joanna sat at the kitchen table and gratefully kicked off her high-heeled shoes. She sighed with relief as she wiggled her liberated toes.
“What does your mother have to say about all this?” Eva Lou asked.
“She’s not exactly thrilled,” Joanna allowed.
Eva Lou laughed. “No, I don’t suppose she is, but what about you?”
“I’m thrilled, and so is Butch.”
“That’s all that matters then, isn’t it?” Eva Lou asked. “I learned a long time ago that if you spend your whole life worrying about what other people think, you’re not going to get anywhere.”
Just like Eleanor, Joanna thought. Worrying about other people’s opinions and not doing anything on her own.
“How come I can’t have you for a mother?” she asked.
Eva Lou looked at her and smiled. “Well, you do,” she