Mint Juleps and Justice Read Online Free

growl. A big tossed salad in a decorative bowl brightened the kitchen table, and a huge pan of the cheesiest lasagna he’d ever seen sat on a cast-iron trivet on the counter. What have you gone and done now, Dad?
    He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. From the looks of the number of settings at the table, four, he was going to need it.
    Mike opened the slider to join his dad and the obvious mother-daughter duo on the deck. He smiled, although he’d rather have turned and left.
    “Son!” Dad popped up from a deck chair and seemed to dance as he jockeyed through the introductions. “Meet Beth and her daughter, Katie.” He leaned in close and whispered into Mike’s ear, “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?”
    Mike smiled and nodded to Katie, who looked as stuck as he felt. That somehow made it less awkward.
    “Beth here goes to my church, and she makes the best lasagna you’ve ever had,” his dad bragged.
    Beth blushed. “Thank you. Your daddy is such a charmer.”
    “He is that,” Mike agreed.
    “Katie lives in Raleigh,” Beth continued. “Not too far. Easy drive. She just got an amazing promotion at her firm. I’m so proud of her. She came up to help me work on the big church bazaar. Now if she could just quit working long enough to find a nice man.”
    Katie looked like she wished she had a bread stick to throw at her mom.
    “You hungry?” Mike’s dad asked.
    “I wasn’t until I walked through your kitchen and smelled that lasagna.”
    “It’s my specialty.” Beth got up from her chair, and motioned to his dad. “Come on. Help me in the kitchen.”
    The two of them scurried away like they were pulling off a big coup.
    Mike and Katie let out a sigh at the same time, causing them both to laugh.
    “You didn’t know I was going to be here, did you?” Katie asked.
    “No. I didn’t know anyone was going to be here. I thought I was coming to fix something for Dad. They think they’re tricky, don’t they?”
    Katie nodded. “Don’t blame your dad. I’m sure it was all Mom. She fancies herself quite the little matchmaker. I’m not sure why. She’s been trying to hook me up for at least the last seven years and I’ve never been attracted to even one of the men she’s picked for me. That woman has a weird definition of handsome.”
    “Well, I do clean up nice,” Mike said.
    She clasped her hand across her mouth. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re very good-looking…oh, gosh…”
    “I’m just kidding.”
    “Sorry,” she said. “The truth is I’m kind of seeing someone, but I just don’t want the hassle of dealing with Mom and the scrutiny of the family on every holiday until it’s a for-sure thing. It’s simpler to pretend I’m alone and have to work.”
    “I see you have a few of your own tricks up your sleeve. Must run in the family.”
    “I guess I do. It’ll work until I’m forced to come back and take care of her. She’ll never leave this town, but she’s getting a little forgetful and I do worry. Maybe I’ll get lucky and your dad will take care of my mom and vice versa.”
    “Maybe. Never really pictured my dad remarried again, but you never know. He’s a good man.”
    “Have you always lived in a small town?”
    “No, not always. But mostly. It appeals to me.” Technically it was true. Although all his civilian time had really been right here in this small county, he’d been all over the world as a Marine. Longer story than he planned to share with this gal, though.
    “Divorced?”
    Mike took a swig of his beer. “Nope.” It wasn’t a lie, but he knew her real question was had he ever been married, and that was a whole other story. But then again she was already rambling along about herself, so maybe she didn’t really care what his status was.
    “I was married for less than two years right out of high school. Big mistake. I ended up getting a divorce, then I went back to college and started fresh. I’ve had a couple serious relationships, but