Jackrabbit Junction Jitters Read Online Free

around. Behind Ruby’s half-hearted smile,
worry etched her face. Guilt warmed Claire’s ears at her plan of leaving Ruby
alone to face off with the Wicked Witch of the West, but her feet still itched
to run—fast and far.
    “Is Deborah really as bad as Harley and you make her out to
be?”
    “Of course not,” Claire lied with a straight face.
    From what Claire had witnessed since her arrival yesterday
afternoon, wedding preparations and Jess’s threat to find another job had Ruby’s
head spinning. She didn’t need to know that Claire’s mother was more dangerous
than a belligerent mother bear when it came to protecting Gramps’s money.
    “Good.” Ruby’s smile looked fragile. She placed her palm on
Claire’s arm and squeezed gently. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to have you
here with me while your mom is in town.”
    Claire’s heart plummeted. “Yeah, about that.” She tried to
think of a way to let Ruby down easily.
    “I wanted you to be my maid of honor, but Jess would turn me
in to child protective services if I didn’t choose her.”
    No fair! Claire wanted to cry, feeling like she was being
tied up and left on the railroad tracks. “Oh. Well, I, uh …”
    “I couldn’t ask for a sweeter granddaughter.” Ruby’s green
eyes welled.
    Claire abandoned all plans of escape at the sight of Ruby’s
tears. She’d never seen Ruby cry, not even when Jess accidentally slammed the
pickup door on her finger. The woman had a backbone made of titanium.
    “Ruby, you’re exactly who our family needs,” Claire said,
thinking of her mother’s lack of a human heart.
    She was going to see her mother. Shit. Claire needed a
cigarette. “Weren’t you saying something about Gramps looking for me?”
    “Uh-huh.” Ruby opened the cash drawer and grabbed several
twenties. “He wants you to ride with him to Yuccaville to get front tires for
the old Ford.” She handed Claire the cash with a grin, all signs of tears gone.
“He’s so funny.”
    Gramps and funny were not two words Claire usually included
in the same sentence. Maybe sarcastic. Definitely argumentative. “What makes
you say that?”
    “Last night, he bet me that you’d scurry back to Tucson
before mornin’ light to keep from seeing your mom.”
    “That Gramps.” Claire stuffed the bills in her back pocket,
realizing she’d just been royally conned into staying. “He’s a real cutup.”
    * * *
    “Come on, Mom,” Kate Morgan said as she waited alone in her
black Volvo outside of Biddy’s Gas and Carryout.
    The air conditioner protected her from the waves of heat
rising from the asphalt, but the noontime sun blazed through the windows, threatening
to melt her steering wheel.
    Across the parking lot a building with Wheeler’s Diner
painted on the sign overhead stood empty, fading in the sun. A raven picked at
the remains of something furry that had been flattened and then dragged through
the gravel.

    On the other side of the road sat what must be a hardware
store and feed store all rolled into one. Bulging burlap bags, wood-handled pickaxes,
and green wheelbarrows lined the sidewalk under the Creekside Supply Company
overhang. The store next to it must have gone out of business. The big plate
glass windows were empty except for the real estate sign taped to one of them.
    Jackrabbit Junction lived up to its name. Kate expected to
see a jackrabbit hop by any moment.
    Movement at Biddy’s double doors drew her gaze back to the
carryout. A cowboy walked by her front bumper, a grocery sack in one hand, a
bag of potting soil in the other. His suntanned arms were chiseled, but not
bulging. His cowboy hat sat low on his forehead, his face carved by the sun and
wind. Reddish blond hair ended at the collar of his navy T-shirt. As he passed
her window, his dark blue eyes caught her staring. His lips creased in a smile
and he gave her a quick nod.
    Kate looked away, her cheeks warm despite the cool air
blowing from her vent. In her side mirror,