Can't Let You Go by Jenny B Jones Read Free Book Online

order,” Loretta barked before walking away.
    “I still think you should wait to get a job,” Maxine said. “Take some time and just rest. You’re whining about Frances rushing into things, and you’re doing the exact same thing.”
    “I’m broke.”
    “Not broke enough to take me up on the job I offered you.”
    “Daily foot rubs and pedis is not an acceptable job offer.” A familiar flash of blue caught my eye, the blur resembling my dad. “Was that James?”
    “Huh?” Maxine held out her coffee cup as Kourtney finally came to fill it. “No, he’s not here. Probably his doppelganger. We all have one.” She took the creamer from the waitress. “Mine goes by the name of Gisele Bündchen.”
    “I swear that was him. I’d know that church polo shirt anywhere.” I thanked Kourtney for my tea. “I’m going to go say hi.”
    “No!” Maxine said a little too strongly.
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m starving, and we need to order. Old ladies can’t go too long without food. Messes with our blood sugar. I don’t want to get the diabeedus.”
    “For dinner last night you had Reese’s Pieces.” I removed the napkin from my lap and returned it to the table. “I’ll be right back.”
    “Wait—he’s in a meeting.”
    Something wasn’t right. “For what?”
    “Some pastor thing. Boring stuff. Involves lots of praying, Bible reading, sharing the latest joke they’ve stolen from the internet, that sort of thing.” Maxine gave her order to the harried waitress, and judging by the five course breakfast she requested, I didn’t think she was too concerned with her glucose levels.
    The table James sat at was not filled with local pastors, but with various members of the community. There was Evan, one of the night cops who’d given me a ride home my junior year when my car had broken down at midnight on the one lane bridge. Randall Foster, owner of the hardware store, sat to his right. Across from James was Dana Lou Tanner, who had the best bakery this side of Dixie, and whose husband kept the liquor store across the county line in business. Six or seven more filled the large table, each leaning in, intent on the conversation. Dana spoke to the group, her hands animated, a ringed finger jabbing the air.
    “Looks pretty heated over there,” I said.
    “It’s inter-denominational.” Maxine darted her eyes to the gathering, then gave me a reassuring smile. “When you put the Baptists and Methodists together, it’s like Southside L.A. The Bloods and the Crips. The Sharks and the Jets. Avon ladies and Mary Kay.”
    “You’re hiding something, Mad Maxine.”
    “Moi?”
    “I’m going to go talk to James.”
    “No, Katie! Sit!” Maxine’s manicured fingers latched onto my wrist. Then her eyes looked past me, and her smile broadened. “Well, hello, Charlie.”
    I turned around, and like a predictable soap opera, there stood Charlie. Any woman with estrogen left in her body would appreciate the sight. The handsome man stood over six-feet tall, the contours of hard muscles visible beneath his dark denim shirt. His khaki shorts stopped at his knees, revealing tanned legs that had carried him through years of high school and college football. But the heart-clincher, the part that had a table of white-headed ladies audibly sighing beside us, was the way he held his little sister’s hand. The way she stared adoringly at her handsome big brother like he was her Prince Charming.
    Maybe I did need something stronger than tea.
    “Charlie!” Maxine glowed like a spotlight. “And Miss Sadie, don’t you look cute as a puppy nose. Do join us.”
    “What do you think, Sadie?” Charlie twirled his sister beneath his arm, sending the white haired hens a twittering. “Want to sit with Mrs. Dayberry and Katie?”
    “Okay.”
    Charlie’s eyes never left mine as he helped his sister into her seat, then lowered himself into the chair beside me. His warm arm settled against mine, clearly crossing my table boundary