Free Protect and Serve by Gwyneth Bolton

wallet in his back pocket.
    “How am I supposed to know you won’t hurt us? You’re a criminal. You did go to jail for murder.” Carla crossed her arms and gave Gerald a pointed look before turning to Penny. “You see what you did, Brat? You let a murderer in the house.”
    “I was cleared. The DNA cleared me, and you know it, Carla. Why you deliberately trying to poison her mind toward me?”
    Carla shrugged, twisted up her lips and slanted her eye before placing her hand on her hips.
    If it weren’t her life, Penny might have found the entire display mildly amusing. The two deadbeat parents were trying to one-up one another. In her eyes, neither would be getting the parent of the year award anytime soon.
    The doorbell rang and Carla shot off to answer it. She turned slightly. “Too late to leave now. That’s the cops. I told you to get out and leave us alone. Oh, well. Too bad, so sad.”
    Gerald’s shoulders slumped, and Penny almost felt bad for him.
    She had no idea what the man had hoped to accomplish with his visit. But she was pretty sure this wasn’t it. Seeing the way Carla’s treatment affected him made her cringe as she thought of how her own funky attitude might have made Jason feel. At least Carla had a reason to be so mean and bitter. She, on the other hand, had no right to treat Jason badly. She only hoped he would stay away so she could leave Paterson without having another confrontation that would only end up hurting him and, most of all, herself.
    “I just wanted to see you, that’s all. I just wanted to see you before you went back off to California. I didn’t come to hurt anybody, just wanted to see you for myself.” Gerald’s sad voice pulled her out of her thoughts of Jason.
    Carla came flouncing back into the sitting room, with Jason following right behind her.
    Penny didn’t even bother looking toward the heavens. What was the point? Someone up there clearly wanted her to face her past.
    Must be Big Mama…. I can’t do it, Big Mama. I don’t think I can do it ….
    Carla’s smirk let Penny know her mother was relishing every minute of the ex-lovers’ tit for tat they were caught in.
    “Well, looka, looka who P-Town’s finest saw fit to send over and help us get rid of this lowlife. The wonderful Hightower you can’t seem to get enough of, Brat. Ain’t that a blip? Huh? Ha!” Carla tilted her head haughtily before pointing to Gerald. “That’s him, Detective Hightower. That’s the criminal that tried to break down my door and who has been harassing me. I’d like him arrested.”
    Penny glared at Carla, and then shot Jason an angry glare, as well.
    Since when did police detectives come and check out random domestic disputes?
    “I picked the call up on my scanner and told them I knew you all and I was in the neighborhood, so I could check it out.” Jason at least appeared a tad contrite, as if anyone so overbearing could be contrite.
    “Well, I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time, Jason. This man is my father, and I invited him in so we could talk and get to know one another.”
    Jason’s jaw dropped. He eyed Gerald, then looked at Carla. “Did you call in a false report?”
    Carla’s honey skin seemed to take on red-hot tones as she glowered at Penny. Her shoulders arched, her chest poked out, and her tiny hands found their way to her hips.
    Penny could have sworn she saw steam trailing from Carla’s nose and ears.
    “I didn’t call in a false report. I didn’t invite this man into my home.” Carla pointed angrily at Gerald, and cut her eyes at Penny at the same time.
    “No, you didn’t, but I did, Carla. So, Detective Hightower, I’m sorry we’ve wasted your time. I can see you out now, if you’d like. Things are really under control here.” Penny stood up from the sofa. She glanced at Carla, and the betrayed look in her mother’s eyes almost made her heart turn soft toward the woman.
    Almost.
    Penny sighed. “And, Gerald, perhaps you should leave,