Janice Johnson - All a Man Is

Chandler grunted, wordlessly expressing dissatisfaction.

“You know it’s going to be out of our hands anyway,” Alec reminded him. “They’ll want to file charges in federal court.”

“As long as his ass goes to jail,” Chandler said flatly.

Alec agreed. He hadn’t met the man who’d preceded him in office, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t despise him. Alec had spent the past three and a half months untangling and fixing everything the son of a bitch had let go out of sheer laziness, never mind the elastic morals and the greed.

He and Chandler left it at that.

* * *

WHEN THE PHONE RANG, Julia pounced on it. “Alec?”

“Yeah.” He sounded tired. “Sorry to have run so late. Have I missed dinner?”

Most nights he ate with them. She’d told him all he had to do was let her know, that he was always welcome but shouldn’t feel pressured to give up every evening for them, either. As far as she knew, the couple of dinners he’d missed were because of work obligations.

“No, you’re not the only one running late.” She hesitated, not wanting to dump anything else on him right now, but he’d notice when he got here if Matt was still missing. “My darling son has also failed to appear, even though I told him what time I’d planned dinner for.”

Alec’s voice sharpened. “Do you know where he is? I can pick him up.”

“Not a clue. After lunch when I asked where he was going, he said ‘around.’”

She’d seen Matt’s attitude deteriorating these past few days but hadn’t yet said anything to Alec. She wanted desperately to believe she was imagining things, but now...she couldn’t delude herself anymore.

“Do you want me to try to talk to him?” Alec offered.

She hesitated. They were already depending so heavily on him. “I don’t want you to damage your relationship with him.”

“Julia, I’m on your side, not his.” He sounded implacable. “I may not be his father, but I’m the next best thing. The way I see it, you and I have to stand together.”

She didn’t cry easily or often, but hearing such a strong message of support had her eyes burning. “Thank you” was all she could manage to say, and that was with a thick voice. “I’m not used to having...” She stopped. Had he understood what she’d meant, telling him that Josh was more buddy than parent to the kids? The truth was, he hadn’t been on her side. He’d gone so far as to undermine her authority, giving permission for Matt to do something to which she’d already said no, or chiding her right in front of their children for being too strict.

“I’ll be there in five,” Alec said brusquely and was gone.

She’d barely hung up when she heard the front door open and close. Julia stepped from the kitchen. “You’re late.”

Matt’s entire posture radiated rebellion. She didn’t know whether she hated the slouch or the sneer the most.

“So?” He shrugged. “It’s summer.”

“You know I expect us to sit down to dinner as a family most nights.”

“A family. That’s a joke.”

His tone was so vicious, it sent a shudder through her. “Losing your dad doesn’t mean we aren’t a family anymore.”

“Losing him?” He looked at her in disbelief. “He’s dead. He’s not lost. Without Dad—” Matt choked. “We’re just not, okay?” He whirled and raced for his bedroom.

“Dinner will be on the table in ten minutes,” she called after him.

“I’ll eat in my bedroom.”

Julia didn’t have much of a temper, but what she had suddenly sparked. She moved fast, planting her hand on his door before he could slam it. “If you plan to eat tonight,” she told him with steel in her voice, “you will be at the table in ten minutes. Hands clean, prepared to behave politely. Is that clear?”

“I don’t know why I came home at all!” he yelled and threw his shoulder at the door so that it closed right in her face.

Shaken, she retreated to the kitchen, where she turned the burner on beneath the green beans she’d snapped earlier.

She heard the snick of a door and soft footsteps, so she wasn’t taken by surprise when Liana said from right behind her, “Why is Matt so mad, Mommy?”

Julia turned and held out her arms. Liana catapulted into them. Hugging her hard, Julia bent to kiss the top of her head as she rocked her. “I don’t know, sweetie. I wish I did.” She paused, battling her conscience. Asking either of her kids to rat out the other seemed...wrong. She was getting desperate, though. “Does he talk to you?”

“Uh-uh.” Her daughter shook her head hard. “He says I act like a baby and I wouldn’t believe him anyway.”

Believe what?

The doorbell rang. Liana straightened. “Is that Uncle Alec? Can I let him in?”

Julia laughed, hoping it sounded natural. “Of course you can.”

Liana started chattering the minute she got the front door open. Julia heard the slow rumble of his responses. A minute later the two stepped into the kitchen, Alec’s dark eyes going right to Julia.

A hand on his niece’s thin shoulder momentarily silenced her. “Smells good,” he said easily, but she could tell he knew something was wrong.

“Chicken cacciatore, and if you dare compare it to your mother’s, I’ll abandon you to open a can of soup for dinner tomorrow night.”

He laughed, probably guessing the recipe was from his mother. “Have I ever complained about your cooking?”

“Says the man whose freezer is probably stocked with microwave meals.” She turned to lower the heat beneath the furiously boiling green beans, mostly so he couldn’t see her face while she went for casual. “Would you call Matt?”

She heard his footsteps going and his voice. A moment later he was back.

“He says he isn’t hungry.”

Did Mattie think he could sneak out here as soon as they were done and heat up leftovers? If so, he was in for a surprise. In fact, she might go so far as to balance a pan lid atop the refrigerator door in case he tried after she’d gone to bed. The clang should scare him and wake her up. Maybe her resolve to starve her son made her a horrible mother, but right this minute she didn’t care.

Alec was pouring milk for himself and Liana, asking what Julia wanted, responding to some story Liana was telling about her day, and a minute later the three of them were ready to sit down at the small table. Julia ignored the unneeded place setting, although she saw both her daughter and Alec glance at it. His gaze moved from it to her face, where it stayed.

“There a problem?” he asked quietly.

“Matt yelled at Mom,” Liana confided. She bent her head, her fine, silky hair falling forward to veil her face. “Sometimes he scares me,” she said softly, sneaking a look toward the hallway.

Alec’s eyes met Julia’s, just a quick look, before he laid a hand on Liana’s nape and squeezed. “Hey,” he said. “He’s a teenager. They can be butts. It’s hormones run amok, you know. It’ll happen to you, too, kiddo.”

Liana looked up, her expression patently relieved. “Uh-uh. I’d never yell at Mom.”

He grinned at her. “Famous last words.”

Her forehead creased. “What’s that mean?”

As he explained, Julia admired his endless patience with the kids. How was it he hadn’t married and had children of his own? He never seemed bored with hers, never gave them anything less than his complete attention. Liana visibly bloomed with him.

We are so lucky, Julia thought, for at least the hundredth time. Then, But he might get bored. Or—what if he already is, and is just hiding it?

He told a few tall tales about his own and Josh’s teenage years that had her and her daughter both laughing. Oh, she hoped that for once Matt had taken the damn earbuds out and was eavesdropping on his family. Let his stomach be rumbling, too, she thought vengefully.