Free Mammoth Secrets by Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig Page B

since she’d come back was more than she could stomach. She picked up the loaf of fresh French bread, sliced it open and slathered garlic butter on two slices. “I’m not going. Like I said, I made plans.” She read Eden’s thoughts just by looking at her: What am I gonna tell Nana?
    Lilah tossed the tray into the waiting oven, cranking heat to broil. They’d sit across the table in the same seats they’d parked their rears in as children. He’d go over the same conversation that they’d had when she was five, ten, fifteen years old.
    “Well, isn’t that the limit.” Eden’s voice rose in a gale of fury. “You made plans. Just like always, Lilah gets to lay down the law. Make her way. Get on out of town and on with her life. Have a date while she’s still married. That’s just perfect.”
    “That’s not my fault and you—”
    “Not another word.” Eden’s nostrils flared with distaste. “Ten, fifteen, twenty.” Eden finished counting out loud, temper controlled—in that, at least, they were identical. “There.” Eden challenged, her brows high. “I’m taking a bath. You go wherever your plans are taking you, or up to Nana’s by the time I get out. But, I refuse to leave you in this house where they can see you and I have to listen to her complain about it. D’ya hear?” Her sister stormed down the hall. The raised floor rattled under her wake. Eden went to their shared bathroom. The door slammed, and even the panes in the windows shook. The plumbing rattled and the pipes clattered, the shower started.
    Lilah mulled over their argument. She should have known better than to try to change things. Things didn’t work that way here, and it was time Jake knew about it before he got himself in more trouble than he bargained for.
    Beaten, she dialed the church number from memory, but Jake didn’t pick up. A frown to the clock showed he still had half an hour to arrive for dinner. She smelled something burning and rushed to open the oven door. Lilah slid the tray out and shut off the broiler. She wrapped the crispy, semi-blackened bread in foil, set it on the counter, and went across the street to the pastor’s cottage.
    The May night embraced the oak trees in blue-gray twilight. The cooling breeze sent a shiver over her bare shoulders and she adjusted her peasant top. She knocked, then waited. Impossible not to peek through those back porch windows framed by cheery lamps glowing inside.
    The radio played a this-century tune. Shouldn’t he be listening to Christian music or ministry tapes? What kind of a pastor listened to songs about not being born to follow?
    She knocked a little louder and heard steps to the back door.
    “I thought you invited me to your place?” He buckled the belt on his just-pressed chinos, a confused loop between his brows. She browsed his attire, inhaling the scent of soap. He stood barefoot, a towel draped over his neck as he scrubbed at his damp hair with a corner.
    “Yeah.” Lilah fought a battle to look away and lost. “About that...”
    The phone rang.
    “Can you wait just a sec? I’m still technically on the clock.” He turned and darted a glance to where she leaned against to his doorframe. “Hey, Mrs. Dale.”
    Lilah’s stomach dropped.
    No! She tried to get his attention, batting at the air.
    “Dinner plans?” He shot a quizzical gaze at Lilah’s frantic waving off. “Uh, no. No plans. Sure. I’d love to join you all. See you in a half hour, then.”
    “Thanks.” Lilah exhaled. “That’s why I came over, to tell you. I sort of owe Eden. We do this family get-together thing every Saturday.”
    Jake joined her on the stoop. “Why didn’t you say so?” His face softened with understanding. “It’s not like we were going on a date or anything. Friends. Remember?”
    “I thought I’d mix it up a bit. Do something different, you know?” She shifted, backpedaling across the patio. “It didn’t go over so well with Eden. Probably would have gone