Road Rage by Jessi Gage Read Free Book Online Page B

kitchen. “You didn’t let her talk you into spending too much, did you?”
    He pulled at his hair, something he only seemed to do around his ex. “Jesus, we went to Target, not some frou-frou shop where a lamp shade costs five hundred dollars.”
    Deidre held up her hands. “Fine, fine. Sorry. It’s your money.” She looked around the living room as though really seeing it for the first time. It stretched the whole front of the house and had built-in bookcases along one wall. He had a few books scattered here and there, including a collection of Hardy Boys books he’d read as a kid, but for the most part, the shelves were bare. A black leather couch and recliner set with glass end tables faced the forty-two-inch plasma TV hanging above a fireplace he’d never used. He’d hung blinds for privacy on the huge front window, but he hadn’t bothered with curtains. The only color in the room was the green of field turf or the brilliant HD pop of numbered uniforms when he had a game on TV.
    “Hmm. I guess the place could use some personality,” Deidre said. “It still looks like it did when you moved in. If you were selling, I’d have a list of recommendations a mile long.”
    If he were selling, she’d be the last realtor he’d choose. Okay, that wasn’t true. She was good at her job. But the idea of spending a single minute longer with her than absolutely necessary was only slightly more attractive than the idea of shooting himself in the foot with a nail gun.
    From the kitchen, Haley called out, “Hey, what if Mom stays and we have a curtain hanging party?”
    He and Deidre spoke at the same time. “Your mom doesn’t want to stay.” “I could do that. Sounds like fun.”
    Haley appeared in the doorway, a smile as big as the California sun on her face.
    Everyone looked at each other.
    Deidre smirked. “You really want to hang curtains by yourself?”
    Kind of. He was running on fumes after a full-steam, non-stop day with Haley, and he desperately wanted a good night’s sleep after two nights of weird nightmares. “No, it’s just getting late. I thought you’d want to get Haley home.”
    “It’s only eight. And it’s still summer vacation for another week and a half. She doesn’t have to go to bed ’til ten. What do you say, babe, want to help your dad out for an hour or so?”
    “Yay!” Haley disappeared into the kitchen. “I want to do the living room first,” she shouted over the crinkling of shopping bags. “That’s the first thing people see when they come in.”
    “That’s my girl. High-impact areas need high-impact ideas.” Deidre sauntered into the kitchen, dropping her jacket over the back of a chair. “Whoa, what a disaster! Let’s get organized, bug. Living room stuff on the table. Bedroom stuff on the floor–oh, never mind. The floor is filthy. Counter–oh, for the love of–” She unleashed a sigh of unbridled annoyance, and he heard her run the sink and wring out a sponge.
    He stood in his living room pulling at his hair. His lungs felt like they wanted to explode. Only Deidre could send him from breathing easy to ready to blow in the blink of an eye. He swallowed the urge to yell and headed into the fray.
    “I was in the middle of cleaning up after dinner when you showed up,” he said.
    “You had dinner late, huh?” She ripped the tag off a forest green bath mat with her teeth.
    “It wasn’t that late. We had a busy day, didn’t we, kiddo?”
    Haley saved him from having to interact with Her Royal Highness of Parenthood by telling her mom all about their weekend. The pair moved out of the kitchen and began swathing his living room in bright yellows and oranges. “An autumn palate” Deidre called it, praising Haley’s taste. He left them to it and finished cleaning up from dinner.
    After a while, Deidre came into the kitchen. “Some coffee would be nice.”
    Busy emptying the dishwasher, he nodded at the coffee maker. “Help yourself. Ground beans in the