Chapter 8 #2
“I did. And I got in a lot of trouble. A lot. They almost tossed me, but because my uncle was a state senator, they let me stay in. I never did anything like that again.” He leaned in toward his wife.
“Dora, everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made ’em.
You have too, although we won’t go into that right now,” he said as he watched her eyes flash in anger.
“My point is, Shyanna hasn’t done anything to us, and she seems to care about our son.
” Dora started to open her mouth, but Roland said, “Remember Colleen? And we thought she was so perfect! I’d say you should try some of this casserole.
Trust me, when you’re eating it, you won’t be able to judge or insult anybody because it’s so delicious.
” He motioned for Shyanna to bring some on a plate for Dora, so she scooped it up and gingerly slid the plate toward Jensen’s mother.
“Go on. Taste it,” Roland chided.
Shyanna watched Dora pick up her fork, take a tiny bit on it, and slip it into her mouth. She chewed for a second or two, then looked down at the tabletop. “I have to admit, it’s very tasty.”
“See? Now eat it and say thank you, wifey,” Roland said as he polished his off. “You know, missy,” he said toward Shyanna, “I think I’ll have a little more!”
“Coming right up!” she said, and wondered if she sounded a little too cheerful.
In that moment, she didn’t care. Dora might hate her, but she had the Strader men on her side.
And that was weird, because men almost never sided with her, but this bunch did.
That was a revelation to her―and a huge relief.
Dora and Roland sat eating in silence until he finished and excused himself to go out and find Leo.
Jensen’s mother wouldn’t even look up at Shyanna, so she didn’t know what to do.
Should she try to talk to the woman? When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she said, “Mrs. Strader, I know you don’t like me, but do you know how I wound up in jail? ”
Still not looking at Shyanna, Dora answered, “Yeah. Jensen told me.”
“Then you should know that I’m not out marauding around the country, beating up people and spending time in jail. It happened one time, and it was for a very good reason.”
“There’s no good reason to go to jail,” Dora hissed through clenched teeth.
“No, there’s not. It was a bad reason because what was happening to me was bad. And it was the only way I could make it stop. I don’t expect you to understand. Just know that I don’t see that ever happening again unless someone decides to really, really abuse me.”
“My son would never do that!” Dora said, her head tipping up and eyes locking with Shyanna’s.
“I don’t think he would, no. But people surprise me.
They appear to like me and then they stab me in the back.
Happens all the time,” Shyanna replied, working hard to make sure her gaze never wavered.
“If you had any idea how many people have just used me and tossed me aside, you’d …
No. I don’t want your pity. For all I know, you could be one of those people yourself.
” Shyanna took the plates Roland and Leo had left behind, placed them gently in the sink, and started running water in with them.
“We have a dishwasher, you know,” Dora said, her voice not quite as acidic as before.
“I’ll just wash them. I’m not used to a dishwasher. I live in a horse trailer, remember?” Shyanna said matter-of-factly. “I don’t mind working. Never have and never will.”
There was silence in the kitchen until Dora said, “Jensen said you went to school for a couple of years. What kind of degree were you trying to get?”
Shyanna chuckled under her breath. “No degree. I was just getting certification as a nursing aide. I figured that would bring in something close to a living wage if I coupled it with overtime or a part-time job somewhere else, along with any rodeo winnings I could get while not traveling very far. You do what you’ve gotta do to get by. ”
“Your parents didn’t help you at all?” Dora asked, and Shyanna couldn’t understand why she’d ask, knowing that Jensen had told her about the Owenses. Was she just trying to embarrass her younger house guest?
“No. My parents couldn’t even help themselves.”
“How long’s it been since you saw them?”
“Haven’t seen them since I was eighteen and could get away from them.
They probably drank themselves to death a long time ago.
” Shyanna just kept washing the dishes, her face red and her hands shaking.
It was humiliating, having to stand there and tell Dora all that when she knew Jensen had already laid it all out.
“But don’t you ever wonder about them?” Dora asked.
Shyanna sighed. This woman grew up in a nice house with nice parents. She couldn’t possibly understand. “Not enough to go find them. If they knew how to reach me, they’d be calling and asking for money all the time. So no. I won’t be looking them up.”
“You don’t have anybody?”
“No. I had Aunt Jessi, but I don’t have a clue where she is.
She’s probably married by now, and I wouldn’t know what her name is.
By the time I graduated, we’d moved so many times that she’d lost track of us, and we didn’t have phones, so there was no way for me to call her.
I think about her sometimes, and I wonder what my life would’ve been like if they’d left me alone and let me live with her.
Damn sight better than it was, I’m sure.
” Then she realized what she’d said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t cuss in your house.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that. So what was your aunt’s name? And where did she live?”
Why is she asking me all this? Shyanna wondered. “Jessica Tompkins. She was my mother’s sister. We lived in Crestwood Lake, Florida, and she lived on the other side of Lake Wales in a little place called Industry Cove. Don’t know why that was its name.”
“Did she grow up there?”
Dear god! Stop asking so many questions! Shyanna wanted to scream. “They grew up just south of Orlando in a little place called Crater Bay. That’s all I really know.”
“Interesting. Lifelong residents of Florida,” Dora murmured.
“Yep. The sunshine state. Nothing sunny about it in the house where I grew up.”
Silence fell in the kitchen again until she heard a soft voice say, “Shyanna?”
She turned to find Dora sitting there, looking directly at her. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Surely you can understand why I’m afraid for my son. I mean, he’s my son,” Dora said, her voice pleading.
“Mrs. Strader, I have no intention of leading your son down the path of criminal endeavors,” Shyanna said, trying to keep her voice soft. “Even if I was that kind of person, I wouldn’t want to hurt Jensen that way. I … I care a lot about him.”
“But you don’t love him,” Dora pointed out.
“I didn’t say that. But everybody I’ve ever said those words to abandoned me, or hurt me, or did some other awful thing to me. All except Aunt Jessi and Jensen.”
“What about Jensen?” a sleepy voice said from just the other side of the doorway. When he stepped into the room, his eyes went wide. “What’s going on in here?”
“Your friend cooked breakfast,” Dora said, pointing across the room to the stove and then to the coffee pot. “We all came down to hot, fresh food this morning.”
Jensen grinned. “Was it good?”
The downturned corners of Dora’s smile were loaded with contrition. “It was. Is. There’s plenty. If it’s not still hot, I’m sure it’ll warm nicely in the microwave.”
Shyanna reached for the pan. “Still very warm. I think it’s fine. Want some coffee, babe?” she said, then wished she hadn’t tacked that last word on in front of his mother.
“Yes, ma’am, I really do. And some of whatever that is. Lawd, it smells good,” he drawled.
After she’d served him up a plate full of food and a mug full of coffee, Shyanna went back to cleaning up the mess she’d made, which really hadn’t been much of a mess at all.
As she worked, she thought about how she’d have to find a way to get to a store that afternoon so she could get all the things she’d used in the casserole and replace them for Mrs. Strader.
And she most certainly wouldn’t try cooking in that kitchen again.
“Mmmm-mmm-mmmmmm. Lord, darlin’, this is delicious,” Jensen murmured.
“Come over here and let me thank you properly.” Shyanna stepped across from the stove to the table and stood beside the man who’d come to mean more to her than anyone had in a long, long time.
She didn’t know what he was going to do, but he just took her hand and kissed the back of it.
“Thank you for breakfast, baby. You didn’t have to do it, but I’m glad you did. ”
“I won’t do it again while I’m here, so enjoy it,” she said, not thinking about the way she sounded.
That soft voice called out again, “Shyanna?”
When she spun to look at Dora, the older woman gave her a warm smile. “Honey, you can cook in here anytime you want.”
Shyanna shivered a little. “That’s okay. And I’m going to the store later to buy all the things I used this morning.”
“That’s not necessary, really, and I’m sorry for the way I reacted,” Dora said, and Shyanna almost fainted.
The woman was apologizing to her! Maybe she’d made a good impression.
She’d at least stood up for herself. That was the important part.
And for once, someone respected her for it.
At least it appeared that way. Her eyes darted toward Jensen to see him grinning down into his plate of food, and she almost laughed.
Uh-huh. He knows what happened here! she told herself.
“That’s okay, Mrs. Strader. I know it’s your kitchen, and I was wrong to just come in and take things without asking first.” Peace offering, she told herself.
“No, no, I was wrong to make such a big fuss. It’s fine, honey. I’ll get all that stuff later,” Dora said. Holy shit! Shyanna was shrieking with laughter on the inside. Did she just call me honey?
“I don’t mind replacing it since I―”