Twice Kissed - Lisa Jackson [143]
“Oh, sweetie.” Connie sighed dramatically, and Becca folded her arms over her chest, then plopped onto the bed.
“Well, you are thirteen; I suppose I should tell you. I know that you’ve been really unhappy in Idaho. Uncle Jim and I are very worried about you.”
Becca didn’t like the sound of this.
“The schools up there have to be atrocious.”
“They’re all right.”
“But all your friends and family are here and…well, you know Uncle Jim and I would love to have you come and live with us permanently. I’m willing to give up my office and move into Jim’s so that you could have a place to stay.” She smiled brightly. “We could be one big happy family.”
“What about Mom?”
“Oh.” Aunt Connie cleared her throat. “All this would have to be run by her, of course, and well…she could move back to L.A. anytime she wants. That would be even better. She…she could be closer to us and Grandma and Grandpa, and there are doctors here who would help her.”
“Doctors?” Becca’s heart was pounding. “Is she sick or somethin’?” Maybe her mom hadn’t told her the truth, maybe she was fighting some deadly illness. After all, she was old. Thirty-seven. And she was on her knees in the barn, looking pale as death on that day that they found out about Marquise. Becca swallowed a suddenly huge lump in her throat.
Connie walked across the room and placed a comforting hand on Becca’s small shoulder. “Your mom hasn’t really been okay since your dad died, sweetie. And that’s understandable. It…it was a shock to us all. So, anyway, we’d better get going.”
“So why are we gonna see a lawyer?” Becca didn’t get it.
“Just in case you decide to stay with us. There will be legal papers to sign. Guardian stuff.”
Becca studied the rug for a second. “I think I better talk this over with Mom.”
“Oh, we will. We all will.” Connie flushed bright red, and when Becca looked up at her, Connie glanced away and fiddled with the neckline of her cover-up.
“I want to see her first.”
“Well, you can’t, not now—”
“I think I should go to Denver.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s just not possible.” Again the phony smile, and in that instant Becca knew Aunt Connie was lying to her. Scamming her. The way Jason Pennicott, a boy in her class, tried when he wanted her to do his homework or trade something good like a Twinkie or a Ding Dong from her lunch for some lousy carrot sticks or a crappy peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. “You know, Maggie’s a little fragile.”
“Fragile?” Becca repeated, the niggling suspicion that Aunt Connie was implying more than she was saying boring deep in her brain. “Mom’s not fragile.”
Her aunt’s smile was placidly patient. She sighed—that same old sigh that meant “you’re just a girl, Becca, you couldn’t possibly understand.” But Becca did. More than Connie knew. Yeah, her aunt was trying to pull a fast one. And Becca knew just how to handle her.
“Okay,” she said meekly with a lift of one shoulder, as if she’d really bought her aunt’s line. “I’ll call her later.”
“Good idea.” Connie was instantly relieved and stupid enough to think that she’d won. Fat chance. “Now,” the older woman pointed a professionally manicured finger at her niece, “try and wear something presentable, okay?” Connie’s facade slipped, and the look she sent Becca was a mixture of pity and disgust. “We’ll call your mother later. I promise. But we don’t want to upset her. Now come on, sweetheart, we’ve really got to get a move on.” Connie tapped one finger on the face of her watch. “Hurry up.”
Becca waited until her aunt left, then quickly called the airline that she’d used to get to L.A. Within minutes she’d ordered her ticket for a night flight to Denver. Before Connie became suspicious, Becca threw on a decent-enough outfit, opened Jenny’s top drawer and, feeling guilty, slipped out some of the bills from Jenny’s emergency fund. She didn’t have enough money for the airline ticket and cab fare, so, after calculating what she needed, she took $150 from the drawer and cringed as she stuffed the bills into her purse. She’d pay Jenny back, but she couldn’t tell