thanks. I’m not gonna stay,” Levi said.
Thank God for small favors, Faith thought. “So are you two...together again?” she asked, glancing up at Jessica.
“Oh, hell, no,” Jess snorted. “We broke up in high school.”
“Well, you were always on and off—” Faith began.
“Yeah, well, people change,” Jessica said, a smile not quite masking the sharpness in her voice.
“It was always just physical, anyway,” Levi said, giving Jess a wink, a slight smile pulling his mouth up in one corner. “Right, Jess?”
Hello. Captain Testosterone still had it, Faith had to admit. That look was equivalent to half an hour of dedicated foreplay—green eyes all sleepy and knowing, that faint smile promising all sorts of thorough attention. Not that she was...it wasn’t like she...what was the question again?
“Faith? You want dessert?” Jessica demanded.
“Oh! Um, no, that’s fine,” she said brightly, hoping no one noticed her burning cheeks.
“Gotta go,” Levi said, standing up. He punched Jeremy’s shoulder, leaned in to kiss Jessica on the cheek, then glanced at Faith. Good Lord, he wouldn’t kiss her, would he? Should she offer her cheek, just in case? But Jessica was standing in the way, and if he wanted to kiss her, he’d have to—
Yeah, never mind. He was leaving. “Bye, Levi!” she called merrily. “Always so great running into you!”
She didn’t miss Jessica’s eye roll as she padded away. Well, who cared? Levi and Jessica were two people she’d never managed to win over.
“Where were we?” Jeremy asked, and she turned her attention back to him.
* * *
WHEN SHE GOT HOME THAT NIGHT, Goggy and Pops were still awake, alas.
“Your grandfather won’t go to bed,” Goggy announced, crossing her arms over her ample bosom. She looked like an angry pink pigeon, wrapped tightly in the fleece robe Faith had given her for Christmas.
“Your grandmother won’t, either,” Pops said from the den. “How was your date, sweetheart?” He came into the kitchen and bent to kiss her cheek.
“Yes, how was it?” Goggy asked, squeezing her hand, not to be outdone in the affection department.
“It wasn’t a date,” Faith said, spying the plate of brownies Goggy had made earlier. She took one, not because she was hungry, but because Goggy had made them for Levi. “But it was good to see Jeremy again.”
“Those are for Chief Cooper,” Goggy said, a hint of reproof in her voice.
“I know, but they looked so beautiful, I couldn’t resist,” Faith said.
“Let me get you some milk, sweetie.” Mollified, Goggy leaped to the cupboard for a glass. Pops tried to sneak a brownie, too, but Goggy slapped his hand. “Those are for Levi! Not for you!” she said. “Faith, sweetheart, do you want another one?”
“So, Pops, it’s nine-thirty,” Faith said. “Why are you up?” Her grandfather, being a farmer, did tend to go to bed around eight each night. “You feeling okay?”
“You know what it is?” Goggy said. “It’s that woman, that German, on Project Runway. He’s making a fool of himself, watching a show for a German woman who’s a third his age!”
“So? I’m allowed to look. I’m not dead yet.”
“Too bad, isn’t it? When are you going to do me a favor and—”
“So, listen, you two,” Faith said loudly. They quieted. “It’s obvious that you don’t need me around here, checking on you. I’m going to find a place of my own until...well.” Until I go back, she was about to say.
But she’d never planned to stay in California forever. No one was getting any younger. Abby’d be off at college in two years; Goggy and Pops were old, if still filled with piss and vinegar.
“Who said we didn’t need you? Of course we need you!” Goggy said firmly. “You should stay with us.”
“She’s a grown woman, Elizabeth,” Pops said. “She can do what she wants. And aren’t you the one who sent her all the way to California?”
“So what? She needed to get away! Her heart was broken, you doddering old man. I didn’t mean she should stay away forever. Did I tell her to do that? No! This is her home.”
“Well, maybe she wants to spread her wings a little without you nosing into her business,” Pops said.
“Okay, okay,” Faith said. “No more fighting.”
“We weren’t fighting,” Goggy said. “We were discussing.”
“Right. Let’s watch Project Runway, okay? But I am moving out.”
“I don’t know. A single girl on her own? Someone could break in and slit your throat as you’re sleeping,” her grandmother said.
“Thanks for the thought, Goggy.”
“You should get married. Oh! You know who’s single? Levi!” Goggy made a clucking sound of triumph. “That wife of his left him! I bet he’s lonely. You could marry him! Is he Lutheran?”
“I don’t know, but he’s not my type,” Faith said easily. “Come on. I hear Heidi Klum.”
She herded her grandparents into the den and sat between them on the couch.
Marry Levi. Right.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I DON’T SEE WHY YOU GIRLS needed me to drive you,” Faith’s father said as they pulled into the parking lot.
“Because we need you to protect us from disgusting men, Mr. H.,” Colleen said. “Though if you’d marry me, I wouldn’t be reduced to Singles Shooting Night.”
“Please, Dad. We’ll both feel better if you’re here. And Coll, no more proposing to my father, okay?”
The plan was to get Dad out in the world of senior citizen singletons and show him that there were women who weren’t quite as, er, carnivorous as Lorena. Two days ago, Honor had caught the woman in Dad’s bedroom, going through Mom’s collection of antique perfume bottles. When Honor confronted her, Lorena said she’d gotten lost on her way back from the bathroom, which didn’t explain why she was making a list. This had resulted in a phone call from Honor, saying that if Faith wasn’t up for the job, she’d do it herself.
But Faith was trying. She wanted nothing more than for Dad to find a nice woman, though it was still shocking that after nineteen and a half years, someone like Lorena had wormed past his shield. Tonight, she’d opted for the more personal route, completely unable to imagine her beloved dad with StillHotGranny or NotDeadYet, the most recent listings on eCommitment/SeniorLove.
And
