Free Helens-of-Troy by Janine McCaw Page B

go
have a word with your mother?”
    “That’s probably not a good idea. My
mom thinks thatwell, never mind what my mom thinks. She’s messed
up.”
    “But maybe I can help,” Helena
offered.
    “She hates you, Mrs.
LaRose.”
    “Ohwell, since you put it that way.
Tell Stan I hope he feels better soon.” She thought about him for a
moment. “He doesn’t hate me, does he?”
    Ryan shook his head. “No. He just
thinks you’ve got a body buried in your backyard.”
    Helena took a deep breath. Keep calm,
she told herself. “Why does he think there are bodies buried in my
backyard?” She could feel her heart beginning to beat a little
faster.
    “Body. Singular. I told you he’s a
little weird. I have no idea why he thinks that. But he does. He
seems to think it’s under the grass just off your back porch, if
you really want to know.”
    Helena laughed nervously. “That’s
ridiculous. I can assure you there is no body by the back
porch.”
    “Like I said,” Ryan shrugged. “He’s
just a weird little kid.”
    Helena listened carefully to what Ryan
was telling her. She was going to have to make some changes at the
back of the house if the neighbors were feeling uncomfortable. She
couldn’t have Stan being afraid to go into the yard when spring
rolled around. Lawn seed. Colorado Blue. She’d have to order some
in for the dead patch.
    “I know the spot he’s talking about.
I’m afraid a coyote has taken a liking to letting it all flow
there. I’ve tried just about everything to get the grass to grow
back. You don’t have a magic solution hidden away in your garden
shed do you? Your lawn doesn’t seem to have the same
problem.”
    “No," Ryan replied. “I think Betty puts
down mothballs.” He leaned out the window and pointed towards the
side of Helena’s house. “I can see the newspaper under the bush, if
that’s what you’re looking for.”
    “It is,” Helena sighed, walking across
the lawn. “Good help is hard to find. I certainly miss the days
when you had the paper route. At least you could throw.”
    As she reached down to pick up the
paper, her silk housecoat came untied. She looked up to find Ryan
staring at her ample breasts, proudly displayed within the bodice
of her nightgown.
    “ You’re squinting, Ryan. You
don’t need glasses, do you?” she asked coyly, taking her time doing
up her robe. “Although, I guess football players prefer contacts
these days.”
    “I can see everything just fine, Mrs.
LaRose.” He winked at her. “I have 20-20 vision. And that’s not the
only thing that’s perfect about me.”
    Raunchy little beggar, Helena thought
to herself. “Ryan, if I were several decades younger than I am, I
might entertain the notion of determining what is and isn’t
perfection with you. But as it happens I’m not, and besides, my
daughter Helen would have a fit, so let’s just put a lid on the
innuendos for now, okay? You’re an incredibly muscular young man
and I’m a rather well endowedwhat’s the wordcougar?” The natural
yet somewhat seedy attraction that causes, should probably be our
little secret.”
    Ryan was silent for a moment. “Oh, I
get you. Your daughter’s the jealous type.”
    “Something like that.”
    “So what’s up? Is Ellie going to be
coming to our school?” he asked innocuously. Rejection wasn’t a big
problem with Ryan. He had clearly moved on.
    Helena honestly didn’t know how long
the girls were planning to stay, or whether Troy Tech was going to
be in Ellie’s future. “Your guess is as good as mine,
Ryan.”
    “I was only asking because it’s Friday
night football tonight,” he said with excitement. “She could come
with Tom and Jacey and me and check it out if she’s hanging around
that long. It’s a pretty big game for us. The coach is expecting a
sell-out.”
    Helena smiled. “I’ll let her
know.”
    “Tell her if she wants to come, to be
out by the curb around five and we’ll pick her up. If we