Jackrabbit Junction Jitters Read Online Free PDF Page B

of
interior design, I can see why you’d think thongles were appropriate attire.”
    Covering her eyes, Kate said, “They’re called thongs, Mom.”
    Claire wanted to walk over and pinch Kate for bringing the
she-devil to her dusty paradise. They were all damned now. Not even an exorcism
would save them.
    “Thongles, thongs, whatever.” Deborah pointed at the shelf
of German beer steins over the bar. “Just look at the dust on those mugs. And I
bet this ceiling hasn’t been washed in a decade.”
    “Mom—” Kate tried to interrupt.
    “This carpet probably hasn’t had a good raking since Carter
was President.”
    “Mother, stop.” Claire crossed her arms. Not everyone
idolized Martha Stewart and her housekeeping skills. Some people actually had
lives to live.
    “Are those cigar butts in the ashtray? What kind of woman
allows—”
    “Deborah!” Gramps broke up Deborah’s monologue. The top of
his bald head glowed branding-iron red.
    “What?”
    “Shut up or get out.”
    “I’m not leaving without you and Claire.”
    “Me?” Claire took a step back.
    “Yes, you. It’s time you realize that while MacDonald is a
nice enough boy, he’s just too lenient with you. You need someone forceful.
Someone who will push you to finish school, to make something of your life and
be more like Kathryn.”
    Claire’s cheeks burned as if Deborah had reached out and
slapped her—twice. She stuffed her hands in her pockets to keep from strangling
her mother. She should have broken the office window Gramps had sealed shut.
    “Mom.” Kate stood up. “Don’t start with this again.”
    “You know I’m right. You said the same thing last week.”
    “I did not.”
    “Yes, you did. You said that MacDonald seems like a
toe-the-line type of man, and Claire’s toes only touch the line if they are
super-glued to it.”
    Kate’s forehead and nose reddened. She’d never quite got
blushing down right. “True, but that’s not even close to what you just said.”
    Claire smirked at both of them and leapt into the ring. “Oh,
and you guys are such experts on relationships, what with the ink still drying
on your divorce papers,” she said to her mother before turning on her sister, “and
you dating every other convict in the South Dakota prison circuit.”
    Gramps patted Claire on the shoulder. “Claire has a point,
although you probably shouldn’t talk to your mother that way.”
    “Claire, honey, you know I love you.” Deborah used her super-sweet
voice—the one that made Claire’s eardrums throb. “I just want what’s best for
you. You should try wearing nicer blouses, maybe some silk, and pleated pants
to hide your tummy. You’d be so pretty with the right accessories.”
    Claire looked at Gramps and then Kate with raised eyebrows,
wondering if they’d object to her tackling Deborah and cramming her chandelier
earrings and other “accessories” down her throat.
    “That’s it.” Gramps grabbed Deborah by the shoulders and
pushed her toward the back door. “Katie, put your mother’s bags back in the
car. She’s going home.”
    “Come on, Gramps,” Kate whined. “That’s not fair. She drove
me nuts all of the way down here. Make Claire drive her home.”
    Deborah pulled free of Gramps’s grip. “Nobody is driving me
anywhere. I told you, Dad, I’m not leaving until Claire and you come to your
senses. This foolishness has to stop.”
    “If by ‘foolishness’ you mean me marrying Ruby, then you’re
wasting your time here. Nothing and nobody is going to stop me from marrying
that woman.”
    Deborah’s nostrils flared. “I didn’t want to have to say
this, but—”
    “Mom, don’t.” Kate grabbed Deborah’s arm.
    Shaking off Kate’s hand, Deborah continued. “What are you
thinking, marrying some woman who is younger than—”
    “Claire?” Jess poked her head through the curtain. Her eyes
shined with curiosity as she gaped at the group of them all clustered in the
center of the room.