Sweet Southern Nights (Home In Magnolia Bend Book 3) by Liz Talley Page B

of an hour Charlie had gone from the walking wounded to an irritable kid...who had questions about sex.
    And she was
so
not going there.
    “You know what?” Eva asked. “Why don’t you...ah...go wash your hands and check out your room while I heat up dinner and fix the TV?”
    Charlie shrugged, grabbed his backpack and started for the hallway. Eva clicked the TV back on only to see the two actors kicked back in bed, twisted in the sheets, looking sweaty and satisfied. She found the parental controls on the menu and quickly set them so Charlie didn’t have to see people getting their heads blown off or some random actress
getting
off with—Eva squinted her eyes to identify the actor—Richard Gere.
    “Yep, until Charlie leaves, no one is getting any,” she told the actress snuggling into Richard Gere and looking up at him with a dopey smile. “Especially me.”

CHAPTER EIGHT
    J AKE FLIPPED DOWN the mirror in the truck and ran a hand through his hair, checking his teeth for any pieces of lettuce left over from his lunch with his sister. Abigail ate like a damn rabbit and had only prepared a large chef salad for them to share. He’d had to eat three servings, but still it was nice to see his sister and visit with Birdie, who had just started eighth grade at St. George’s. He could hardly believe how fast his niece had grown into a full-fledged teenager.
    He popped a breath mint and then shook his head. Hell, why was he acting as if this was a date?
    Eva was Eva.
    Besides, he was just coming by to hang out with her and Charlie. After several days cooped up with her brother, he suspected his good friend needed a break. Their one conversation a few days ago had indicated she had her hands full. So far she’d taken Charlie to the doctor for his immunizations, which required a trip for ice cream afterward, to the dentist for a cleaning, which meant a small filling...and tears, and had visited St. George’s Episcopal, which was declared a dumb school. Eva had also said Charlie wet the bed every night, which necessitated lots of laundry and resulted in a lack of sleep.
    So Jake was there to help out, provide distraction, change lightbulbs... Whatever she needed.
    ’Cause that was what good friends did for one another.
    They were not, however, supposed to trim their toenails, pop breath mints or take care to wear a shirt that complemented their eyes. That was what a date did. And this was not a date.
    Jake set the roll of mints back in the ashtray and climbed out. The days were growing shorter and cooler as October rolled in, which was a relief for the summer-weary residents. Jake was tired of working up a sweat by just getting out of his vehicle.
    Jogging up the steps, he pressed the doorbell.
    Charlie answered. “Oh, it’s you.”
    Jake smiled. “Who were you expecting?”
    “The doctor guy.” Charlie stepped back and let Jake inside. The normally neat living room looked as if a storm had hit, tossing blankets, toys and empty soda cans around the room.
    “The doctor guy?” Jake said, picking up a blanket and lifting a diet soda can off the coffee table. “Are you drinking this?”
    Charlie looked guiltily at the can. “Well, I found them in the back of the fridge. They aren’t as good as orange soda, but I’m sick of water and milk.”
    “Where’s Eva?”
    “She’s in her room getting ready. She takes really long showers.”
    “What are all these blankets doing out?” Jake asked, folding the one in his hand.
    “I’m building a tent. My birthday’s next weekend, and Eva said we’d have a campout in her backyard. I’m practicing. See? I used these chairs and put the blankets on top of them. It doesn’t make a good tent, though.” The little boy shook his head at the chair with the blanket hanging from its back.
    Jake set the folded blanket on the couch just as Eva emerged from her bedroom, wearing a dress and pulling a shoe on her right foot. She stood, her eyes growing wide at the disaster of her