Home with My Sisters by Mary Carter Page B

well.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œPrepare yourself. From what I remember she was a nasty old woman. She didn’t care about us at all. Definitely didn’t act like a grandmother.”
    â€œAre you sure it was her?”
    â€œUnless Dad introduced some other random, nasty woman living in a trailer as our grandmother. Yes, I’m sure.”
    â€œI was just asking.” Hope needed to change the subject, get the focus off of her. “I met Joy’s boyfriend.”
    â€œAnd?”
    â€œHe was a lot nicer to me than she was.”
    â€œShe likes to hold a grudge.”
    â€œOh my God. You do know why she’s mad at me.”
    â€œI do. But I’m not going to tell you.”
    No one else on earth could make Hope feel so childish than her sisters. Within seconds. It was insane. “You have to tell me!” She hated carrying on like this with Austin in the car. He was whistling softly, looking out at the scenery, pretending he couldn’t hear a word. The dog on the other hand had cocked his head and was staring at the phone like he wanted to eat it. Which he probably did. Hope was pretty sure the beast was part goat. He had eaten a huge chunk of the comforter out of the We Three Kings motel.
    â€œWho’s going to break the news to Carla?” Faith laid it on thick when she pronounced the name and Hope could imagine her rolling her eyes.
    â€œMaybe she’ll come too,” Hope said.
    â€œDream on.”
    â€œDoes she know why Joy is mad at me?”
    â€œYou have to stop caring.”
    â€œWhy? How?”
    â€œBecause it’s going to turn you into a doormat. Call Carla.” There was a click and Faith was gone. She glanced at Austin. Finally, he met her eyes.
    â€œEverything all right?”
    â€œI need to make another call.”
    â€œNo problem.”
    â€œCan we find a bar first?”
    â€œA bar?”
    â€œI have to call my mother. That’s going to require a stiff drink first.”
    â€œSay no more. We’re almost to Leavenworth. I’ll drop you off in town. There’s a ton of restaurants and bars. I’ll point to some of my faves. I can give you some time to explore on your own, pick you up before we go to Yvette’s?”
    Hope didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she let it out. “That sounds perfect.”

CHAPTER 10
    Austin dropped Hope off at a small tavern that specialized in beer and regret. It was dim and smelled like ale and shoe polish. Flanking the entrance were a couple of plaster figures dressed in Bavarian costumes and holding out a plate with a giant sausage.
    â€œThere are nicer places,” Austin said. “But it’s quiet here.”
    â€œIt’s perfect.”
    â€œI’ll give you some privacy. Text me when you’re ready.”
    â€œAre you sure?” she asked.
    â€œIt will give me a chance to do some Christmas shopping,” Austin said with a wink. He was such a nice man. If he liked her grandmother, she couldn’t be as bad as Faith said. Or maybe the years had mellowed her into a nicer person. Hope was looking forward to meeting her. But first she had to break the news to her mother. No matter how happy Carla seemed, she was still haunted by their father’s disappearance. And Yvette Garland was at the top of the list when it came to whom she blamed. “That woman is keeping him somehow,” she said once, her hair plastered to her forehead by sweat. This was before their mother went on meds. The longer her husband stayed away without contacting her, the more paranoid she became. At some point they just stopped discussing their father. It was too painful.
    There were only a few old men at the bar, so she was able to curl up at a back booth and call her mother. The tavern had free Wi-Fi, so first Hope thoroughly depressed herself by scrolling through Facebook. All her Facebook Friends seemed amped up on Christmas