Down Home and Deadly

abusive—” His voice choked. “Now this. Hasn’t she been through enough?”
    “Her husband abused her?” Okay, I officially felt terrible. I’d have guessed it to be the other way around , if anything. I couldn’t imagine Lisa putting up with being mistreated. But I guess that just showed that anything was possible.
    “Yes. And she’s finally putting it behind her.” He took a shuddering breath. “Jenna, would you come over to the gym and talk to her tomorrow? That is, if they let her come home.” I could hear the tears in his voice. “I need you to help me clear her name.”
    “I’ll be there first thing in the morning, Bob. I don’t go to the diner until noon .”
    “Thanks, Jenna. I’ll make sure she’s there. It means a lot to me to know you’re supporting her. I know you’ve had your differences, but she needs all of her friends around her right now.” He lowered his voice , and after years of working with him, I could easily visualize the sheepish expression on his face. “And, by the way, you know you’re welcome to use the club pool anytime.”
    If I’d been the type to kick a man while he was down, I’d have made a sarcastic comment about selling more T -shirts that way, but I settled for , “Thanks. I’ll do that.”
    To be honest, swimming in the lake was getting a little uncomfortable. The weather could turn nippy without warning. Yes, I’m a wimp. But I wasn’t about to admit to Bob how much I was missing the perks of my old job.
    “I’m glad we cleared that up.” He stopped speaking to me , and I could hear a muted conversation in the background. Then, “Jenna, Wilma said Lisa just called and they’re bringing her home now. I have to go.”
    “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.” I hit the end key and dropped the phone in my pocket.
    I looked over at Alex. “You heard?”
    He nodded.
    “You know it’ll kill Bob if Lisa is guilty. She’s the light of his and Wilma’s li ves .”
    “Not to mention the boss of their lives. They shouldn’t have spoiled her quite so much. At least that’s my opinion.” Alex looked up at the moonlit sky. “We won’t spoil our kids like that, will we?”
    “Not if we have five or six like you want to. Who would have time to spoil them?” I grinned at him. “Who would have time to even take care of them?” He had been teasing me about wanting a big family. A really big family.
    He leaned over and kissed me softly then pulled back and caressed my cheek with his thumb. “You know what?”
    I shook my head mutely as I stared into his sparkling eyes.
    “As long as you’re in my family, whatever size it is will be just perfect.”
    Mr. Persi barked loudly and pushed between us.
    Alex laughed. “At least I have his seal of approval. I’m not so sure about Neuro.”
    My cat had always been a tad neurotic—hence her name. But after Mr. Persi trotted into our lives and stayed, she quit pulling her fur out. And since Alex had been hanging around, she seemed more relaxed than ever. “Neuro loves you.”
    “And . . . ?” he teased.
    “And so do I.”
    “I never get tired of hearing it.”
    Wasn’t that perfect? Because I never got tired of saying it.
    *****
    After Alex left , I thought about what he said about our children. We had truly come a long way since earlier in the summer when he was too busy even to think about a future with me.
    When Carly called as I was getting ready for bed, I was still smiling. “Hello.”
    “Hi.”
    Her gloomy voice reminded me of the apparent fuss Mama and I had witnessed between her and Elliott earlier. “You doing okay?”
    “I’m fine. I’m making a tunnel - of - fudge cake.”
    “For what?”
    She hesitated. “Just because.”
    Uh-oh. Anytime Carly started baking random desserts, I knew we had a problem. “Yeah, right. So you and Elliott had a fight?”
    “No.” Her tone was vehement. “We just disagreed about something,” she said more quietly.
    “Oh,” I said dryly. “Thanks for clearing that up for me.”
    “Enough about us. What about you? Are you getting excited about the wedding? Or has the murder sidetracked your thoughts?”
    “The wedding is a means to an end. But I’m excited about Alex and me becoming a family.” I stroked Neuro’s thickening fur and told Carly what Alex had said earlier.
    “God’s really blessed us, hasn’t He, Jen?” Her words were choked with tears. I just hoped they were happy tears.
    “Yes, He has.”
    We talked for a few