“Oh, you know. Busy, busy. We start summer session of vacation Bible school next week. Lots of prepreparation. I swear these women who volunteer are just there as a way for God to test my patience.”
She made a noncommittal noise.
“Have you heard from Aiden?”
“No. I think he’s lacking basic services in Afghanistan, not just phone service.”
“You don’t need to get snippy with me. I was just curious. He doesn’t keep in contact any better than you do.”
Don’t take the bait.
“It’s hard to answer members of the congregation about how Aiden is doing when we, his parents, don’t even know. To top it off, he doesn’t acknowledge the care packages the congregation sends him, which also makes your father and me look like we raised him to act ungrateful.”
Yes, it was always about appearances with her parents. Not the scary fact that Aiden was in hostile territory getting his ass shot off every damn day. And knowing her mother, she’d played that “my only son is fighting for our country” card just to get sympathy from members of her father’s flock anyway. Amery shipped Aiden a package once a month and he always thanked her. She suspected he didn’t want the guilt and “Jesus Saves” pamphlets in with baby wipes and lip balm from the church members, and no response would be the fastest way to put an end to it. Not so, apparently.
“Enough about your brother. I’m surprised you’re home on a Friday night.”
Amery wanted to beat her head into the wall. Either she was a whore out at the bars sinning, or being at home on a Friday night made her pitiable. She grabbed a bottle from the fridge and twisted off the cap. “I went out earlier.”
“With a man?”
“With Chaz.” Amery gulped down a mouthful of beer.
Her mother snorted a sound of disgust. “Spending so much time with a man like him will keep decent men away from you.”
“What’s a decent man?” slipped out before she could stop it.
“Honestly, Amery, you don’t have to be so snotty. Decent men see Chaz’s lifestyle for the perversion it is.”
“I don’t see why you care. Chaz’s lifestyle isn’t affecting you at all.”
“It is if being friends with him is preventing you from finding a decent man, getting married, and having children. Most of your friends are already married. Quite a few have babies. As a matter of fact, I saw Jillian in church last Sunday. Her little girl, Parlay, is adorable.”
Parlay? Who the f**k picked such a dumb name for a kid? “I’m sure she is cute. Jillian and Tommy got divorced, right?”
“Yes, such a sad thing. He likes to drink.”
“I heard that Candy and Billy-John called it quits too. Didn’t he smack her around and she finally had enough?”
Her mother got quiet on the other end of the line.
“Seems your definition of decent men and mine vary, because neither Tommy nor Billy-John is a decent man in my mind. So I’ll stick to hanging out with Chaz.”
Her mother chuffed out the noise that reminded Amery of an annoyed bull. “I see you’re impossible to talk to as usual. Lord, help me; I don’t know why I bothered.”
She hated the quick sting those words still gave her. “Then why did you call?”
“Two reasons. First, I wondered if your business was in some sort of financial trouble. I received a phone call this week from a very rude woman who demanded details on your business practices and your personal life. “
What the hell?
“No need to curse, Amery.”
Shit. She’d said that out loud?
“Anyway, I set her straight and hung up on her after she refused to tell me why she needed the information.”
“I appreciate that. And I’m not having business problems, but even if I was I don’t understand why you’d get a phone call.”
“Which is why I mentioned it. Your father doesn’t need it to get out that his daughter is under some kind of investigation.”
And there it was . . . the concern wasn’t about her but about the pastor’s sterling reputation.
“The other reason I called was to remind you of your father’s anniversary party. Thirty-five years serving the Lord is a very big occasion in his life, and we expect you to be here to help celebrate it.”
Since she worked for herself she couldn’t claim her boss wouldn’t give her the time off. “If I come I’ll probably stay at the Super 8.”
“Aren’t you staying with us?” her mother asked sharply.
Hell no. “I assumed you’d save beds for out-of-town guests so they didn’t have to book a hotel room.”
“Oh. That’s probably a good idea.”
“I’ll let you know after I’ve made my reservation what day I’m flying in.”
“Flying in? That seems a little frivolous when you’ve got a nice car.”
Ten hours in the car one way? Uh. No.
“It would be nice if you’d get here a few days early to help with the cooking and cleaning.”
Maybe you should guilt Dad’s parishioners into doing it. She really needed to get off the phone before the snarky comebacks in her head started popping out of her mouth. “I’ll let you know about my, uh, schedule.”
Her mother’s disapproval hummed across the line. “I’ll be in touch. God bless.” She hung up.
“And bless your heart too.” She refused to let her mother ruin her good day and happy buzz. She popped a huge bowl of popcorn and settled in for a marathon night of bad TV until Ronin called.
CHAPTER NINE
BUT Amery didn’t hear from Ronin that night.
Or the next day.
Or the next night.
And she’d be damned if she’d call him first. It wasn’t a childish thing, but rather an adult thing. Accepting that she could have casual sex and not feel guilty. Granted it’d been amazing sex, best sex of her life. Now that she knew firsthand she wasn’t an iceberg in the sack, maybe she could jump back into the dating pool.
Over the past three years she’d been focused on building her business, and not wanting the distraction of a relationship was a valid reason for remaining single. But she could admit part of her reluctance had been fear. Tyler’s parting shot scared her. “You’re f**ked up, Amery. You’ll never be normal because you’re afraid your daddy will find out you like sex. The only time you get on your knees is to pray, and what man wants to live like that?”