Free Ember Flowers by April Worth Page B

the weekend.”
    Her friend
threw the toy to the dog. “Oh? That’s great. Kevin and I used to do
that sometimes when he came home. Where abouts did you go?”
    Jo bit her lip
as she chose her words. “A property out in the ranges, horse
riding.”
    Kerry was
nodding at her. “Sounds nice, friend take you?”
    Grey eyes
glanced at her fleetingly. “Well, no, actually I met someone.”
    She hadn’t
expected her shoulder to be pummelled with excitement. She raised a
hand to protect herself as she grinned at the reaction, a little
taken aback. Her neighbour was happy for her. Kerry called Owen all
kinds of names behind his back, and was happy Jo seemed to be
getting over him.
    “Oh Jo! That’s
great. I’m happy for you. So how did you meet? Is he cute?”
    The grit of her
jaw was almost imperceptible. Something else that worried her,
conducting a conversation with someone who knew her well, without
using ‘she’ or ‘he’ was difficult.
    “Funny story..”
She coughed softly. “You remember how my car looked last
month?”
    Kerry scoffed,
leaning back on the worn wood. “Oh Jo..Don’t tell me you rear ended
the poor guy?”
    She smiled
guiltily. It was mostly the truth.
    Kerry laughed.
Once she got over that she continued with her follow up question.
“You didn’t answer my question? Cute?”
    Jo shifted
uncomfortably. She thought about it. “...Yes. Older. Gentle.”
    A pat on her
shoulder. “Aw, that’s great. Sounds like just what you need.” Kerry
was probably imagining some studly older guy with a pony farm out
in the hills, ready to take her horseback riding while she gazed at
his well oiled chest.
    She sighed.
“Yeah maybe.”
    The brunette
nudged her with her elbow. “So have you two..y’know?” An impish
grin. Kerry was forward, and cheeky, she used to host movie nights
at her house. Jo tended to keep to herself, politely declining,
ignoring the soccer mom types that she could overhear cackling
drunk over the fence.
    “Kerry? Do you
think I’m some kind of trailer trash?” A brow twitched with a hint
of annoyance.
    Her friend’s
face blanched. “Oh..no no. Of course not. I was just..you know?
Curious. You’ve seemed happy. I thought maybe you got laid?”
    Joanne blushed. Nothing made her blush. It was followed by a frown. “No,
haven’t yet.” She realised what she’d said and it made her cringe
internally. Yet. Would there even be a yet? She hadn’t
allowed herself to think about it. Every time her mind wandered
there she shut herself down and thought about something else. Sports. Work. Hell, she’d even take a stuffy dinner at her
mother’s house to avoid it.
     

Chapter
14
     
    Jean pulled up
in the suburban driveway. She remembered Jo’s house from dropping
her off that time. The Sailing Day Jo had to attend. By comparison
Kerry’s yard looked like it had been watered. Both neighbours had
single storey homes that sat fence to fence in the quiet unassuming
street.
    She’d texted
the blonde a few days ago, she hadn’t heard from her since their
camping trip, no doubt she had a lot to think about. A contact,
however slight and nonintrusive would at least show she cared.
    Jo had
responded, assuring her she was fine, that she had a good time. A
follow up text later in the day mentioned that Jean might receive a
call from an interested customer. It asked her not to mention to
Kerry a few specific details, and why. It was signed with a kiss. A
single x at the end of a message. At least that was promising.
    Jo’s neighbour
was quick to answer to door. Jean looked presentable, her usual
company shirt on top of cargos, work boots scuffed at the toe.
    A face looked
back at her through the fly screen door. A dog ran toward her with
a clack of claws down the hall. The puppy from the photo, with a
gruff warning bark.
    “Oh Winston!
Shut up would you?”
    The screen door
opened, revealing a short brunette stay at home mother and a
scampering dog. “Jean right?” She held out her