Chapter Six
“Are you Jinx’s girlfriend?” Ilene asked.
Justice had just taken a bite from her taco and almost choked on a piece of tomato. Swallowing the bite with a sip of margarita, she looked across the table and found Jinx deliberately ignoring the question. Ilene was happily munching away on her hard-shell taco, toppings falling out the opposite end. “No, we’re just friends,” Justice said with a smile.
Something about the girl reminded Justice so much of herself at that age. It was a challenging age and most teens had difficulty understanding where they fit in. Honor and Liberty had been two shining stars in everything they did. Freedom was quiet and she always had her head stuck in a book. Hope also loved to read and had a ton of friends who she socialized with. Justice had struggled for a while, and that’s when she found art. Painting had given her an outlet that she so desperately needed.
“She’s my boss,” Jinx chimed in.
Justice could tell that he felt awkward sitting at the table in the kitchen at the main house, but Justice enjoyed the company. Very seldom did she have someone to sit down and eat with.
“ You’re his boss?” Ilene looked a bit shocked. “I would have never guessed that.”
“Ilene!” Ness whispered, her face as red as the taco sauce in the bowl before her.
“What?” Ilene appeared utterly oblivious to what she’d done wrong. “I’m only thinking that my brother doesn’t seem like the type who can take orders from girls. And also, what boss goes skinny dipping with her worker?” She scooped up meat from her plate with her fingers and dropped it into her mouth.
“We weren’t skinny dipping,” Justice answered, although she guessed a bra and panties didn’t matter in the situation.
“Ilene, this isn’t appropriate.” Jinx scowled. “And I can handle getting direction just fine.”
Justice wiped her fingers off on a paper towel, taking a moment to prepare her words. “I don’t tell Jinx, or any of the crew, what to do,” Justice said. “Especially your brother. He’s one of our most productive and respected hands. He does a great job guiding the others. Here at Sagebrush Rose we don’t like to micromanage.” Justice felt his gaze on her, but she couldn’t dare look. Seeing this different side to him, the big brother watching over his little sister, made him even more intriguing to her. Although he had firm rules he cared deeply for Ilene, as shown in how he took an interest in the things she found interesting.
“What do you think, Justice? Should I have to take a dumb daily living class?” Ilene asked.
“Well, I don’t know the entire situation, but I don’t think it’s ever productive to force a child to take something they’re not interested in.”
“See…bruh,” Ilene elbowed Jinx.
“However,” Justice gained Ilene’s attention. “We all need to be self-reliant, which means learning daily skills.” Justice hoped the answer was diplomatic enough.
“I agree,” Ness piped in. “I don’t think learning how to make a damn good pan of brownies is a bad thing.”
“Ilene, I’d like to show you something. Are you finished eating?” Justice asked.
The teen crumpled her napkin and tossed it onto her plate. She shoved her chair back so fast that the legs scraped the floor. “I’m done.”
“Hey, what do you do with your plate?” Jinx said.
With a rolling of her eyes, which seemed like a habit, she grabbed her plate and looked at Justice. “Where would you like me to put this?”
“How about you set it on the counter.”
Ilene placed the plate near the sink and Justice motioned for her to follow her down the hallway. The house was quiet, almost eerily so, as the two made their way to the last room. She opened the door and stepped aside so Ilene could come inside.
The teen’s eyes widened as she spun in a circle looking at the finished paintings. “Did you do these?”
Justice nodded. “I did. I started when I was about your age. I found that I needed a constructive outlet, and I took an art class. I was hooked.”
Ilene slowly walked around the room, stopping at each painting and examining it with innocent wonder. Then she stayed a little longer at one painting of a woman sitting near the water. “I like this one most.”
“That’s one of my favorites too. It’s my mother. She’s been my muse in many of my paintings.”
Ilene swiveled on her tennis shoes and faced Justice. “Do you think I could do something like this?”
“Paint? Of course. There’s not a right or wrong way of painting. What do you enjoy doing?” Justice lovingly touched the painting of her mother.
After a moment of silence, Ilene blurted, “I like writing stories. The ones with sci-fi characters that save the world.” Her eyes lit.
“That sounds exciting. So, then write what makes you happy.”
The frown returned and she flexed the toe of her shoe over the floor like she was kicking an invisible rock. “We’re not allowed to write what we want at my stupid school.”
“There are some rules you must abide by at school, but when you’re writing for yourself there are no subjects off limits. We should have a fine balance between doing the things that are our responsibilities and doing the fun things that make us love ourselves.”
“I think my brother likes you.”
Justice blinked at the left-field statement. “Why do you think that?”
“Because he never has any fun and you got him to swim. He’s all about work. And he kept looking at you. Yeah, I’m certain he likes you.”
“I like your brother too.” Justice realized the statement was true. She enjoyed spending time with him.
*****
“Skinny dipping, huh?” Ness teased Jinx after Justice and Ilene left the room.
“Relax. We were just hanging out,” Jinx said.
“Yeah, there were a few things hanging out.” She wagged her brows.
He needed to steer the direction of the conversation before it veered even more off track. “Driving all the way out here to find me? Really?”
Ness pressed her finger on a crumb on the table and swiped it off onto her plate. “Ilene misses you, Jinx. She’s also strong-minded. She would have hitchhiked here if I didn’t bring her.”
“Probably so. I look at her and I see myself. I was bored in school. I wanted to be out and doing the things I loved.”
“She’ll be okay though. She will be, she just needs to feel comfortable pursuing the things that make her happy.” Ness’s shoulders dipped. “I’ve decided I will be moving, Jinx. It’s time. Ilene is mostly self-reliant now. If I don’t go now, I might never go.” Moisture filled her eyes.
“You should go. You’ve done a lot for Ilene, and me, and now it’s time for you to do something just for you.”
She nodded. “But what will you do? Are you still considering selling the farm?”
He scrubbed the tightness from his jaw. “I think I will need to. I’ll have to find a place near here.”
"Is she going to switch schools?" Ness asked, her concern evident.
"I truly believe a new environment might help her. We need to make some changes."
“Maybe you’re right. Good luck in telling her the news.”
His gut twisted. She wouldn’t like being told she’d be moving from the only home she’d ever known.
“We’re back,” Ilene announced when she and Justice returned. “What’s wrong with you two? Please don’t tell me you’re discussing me and more punishment,” Ilene moaned.
“No, we weren’t.” Jinx chuckled.
“Thank you for having us, Justice, but we should be heading back to Catskills. I need my beauty sleep.” Ness yawned.
“I’d feel much better if someone would reconsider and give me the keys to unlock my prison cell,” Ilene said, directing her unenthusiastic tapered gaze toward Jinx.
“Better get home and start writing,” he said evenly.
Sighing, Ilene turned to Justice. “Thank you for the tacos. You should consider dating my brother because he could use a good—”
“Ilene!” Ness blurted.
She smirked. “He could use someone with logic to help him understand women better. What did you think I was going to say?” She was utterly oblivious.
“When you have time, come back. You can ride the horses, and we can sightsee,” Justice offered.
Ilene’s eyes glistened. “Really?”
“Yes, if Jinx and your aunt say it’s okay.”
Ilene looked at each of them. “Can I?”
“I don’t see why not,” Jinx said.
All four walked to the front porch, and Ness and Justice stayed back, giving Jinx and Ilene a chance to talk one more time.
“I’m sorry about her,” Ness said in a whisper. “She’s wonderful, but she certainly is a handful. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to move, but I’ll have to force myself.”
“You’re planning to move?” Justice asked.
“I would love to!” she replied, her eyes sparkling with hope. “I’ve recently met someone special. After Jinx and Ilene’s mother passed away, I wanted to support the kids. I devoted myself to Ilene because Jinx was focused on his career. Although I’ve cherished my time with Ilene and loved being there for her, I am aware of the passage of time. She truly deserves a motherly figure who can help her through the hard teen years. While our bond is strong, I often feel out of touch with the important things to her.”
“I know taking a new path will be hard, but maybe it’s time. Ilene seems like a kid who needs to make decisions and choices independently.” Justice said from her own experiences growing up with a father who could be overbearing at times. “I’m sure Jinx would want you to be happy.”
“He tells me he does, but again he’d never tell me to stay.” She offered Justice a kind smile. “Thank you for tonight. I haven’t seen a smile like that on Ilene’s face in…well, too long. She loves horses.”
“She’s welcome any time.”
A few minutes later, as Justice stood with Jinx on the porch, watching the car’s taillights disappear into the night, he said, “She’s a lot.”
“She’s a teenager.” Justice shrugged. “Daddy had five of us.”
“No wonder he had a heart attack.” He chuckled. “I should be going. Where is the whiskey bottle?”
“Still at the lake. I thought it was awkward enough that we were caught half-dressed without adding alcohol to the moment.”
He nodded, looking like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “I should be going.”
“Thank you for the…interesting evening.” Before she debated her next move, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek.