Vegas Two Step by Liz Talley

Author:Liz Talley [Talley, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ARTalley Books
Published: 2024-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

JACK HATED green-bean casserole, so why his mother made it for dinner was beyond him.

It could be he was just grumpy as an old bear dragged from hibernation, because usually her oversight wouldn’t have bothered him.

It was just that he seldom went home. And when he did, she always fixed his favorites.

But green-bean casserole with that nasty gray muck on it? Nowhere near his favorite.

“Don’t you like the dinner, Jack?” his mother asked, taking a sip of her overpriced chardonnay. “You haven’t eaten very much.”

“It’s fine, Mom,” he said, scooting the green-bean casserole around, camouflaging his lack of interest in the dish just as he had when he’d been a boy.

“Oh, that’s right. You’re the one who doesn’t like green beans. Sorry, Jackie, I forgot. I am getting old.”

Now he felt like a first-class jerk.

“It’s all right, Mom. It’s good.” Jack flashed his trademark make-’em-melt smile. Except he forgot it didn’t work on the woman who’d once wiped his bottom.

His father, forever in his own world, set down his fork. “Who doesn’t like green beans? Jack?”

Jack shook his head. “Not my favorite, but it’s not a big deal.”

His mom lifted a shoulder in a feeble shrug. “Well, I do try. You know, I try to please everyone. Of course, no one cares about me. About what pleases me anymore.”

Lila Darby looked at his father. Pointedly. Jack knew she hadn’t accepted the fact the ranch would be in Texas. She would miss her garden club, tennis with friends, and the Historic Society, where she chaired some project or other. She hated the thought her brother would continue running the dairy—the dairy her father had established in the small town of Downey Mills over fifty years ago. Lila was certain Downey Mills couldn’t run without her at the helm.

Jack rubbed his face. Here we go. His mother, the drama queen, was the perpetual tragic figure in every family quarrel from green beans to his sister’s teen pregnancy. She loved being the victim, and right now with his father chomping at the bit over the fruition of his dream and with Jack rudely shoving off the date she’d “arranged” for him, Lila Darby played Desdemona to the hilt.

“Now, Lila,” his father started, “no one is criticizing supper. This is a fine dinner, honey.”

Jack wiped his mouth and pushed his chair back. “I’ve gotta run. I told Charlie I’d stop over and look at a couple of mares he’s been holding for us. Thanks for dinner, Mom.”

He didn’t ask to be dismissed. Hell, he was a full-grown man, no matter how his mother wanted to treat him.

“But what about dessert? I made a cheesecake. It’s got caramel-banana sauce. You love cheesecake, darling.” Lila kept speaking as he disappeared through the dining room door.

Jack heard her complaining about his lack of manners all the way out to his car. Lila didn’t mince words. She called through the open screen window at him, tempering her fussing with an offer to wrap him up a piece for later.

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