CHAPTER 11
Ma waited anxiously until Mary Jo returned. It was nearly dark when she rode in and put the mule up. She came through the back door fussing with her shirt, likely trying to keep from looking her Ma in the eye.
"Well, what did he say?"
Mary Jo's shrug was far too nonchalant to be innocent, and she avoided eye contact.
"He said he weren't no detective."
"And you believed him."
Mary Jo finally looked at her. "Yes, I do."
"I reckon there was more to your meetin' than that."
Mary Jo blushed. "I wasn't there long."
"Long enough for him to kiss you."
Mary Jo's face turned scarlet, but she didn't answer.
Ma heaved a deep sigh. "Mary Jo, a man will lie to get what he wants."
Mary Jo gave her a scathing look. "He ain't gittin' no more than a kiss, Ma."
She meant it, sure enough, but sometimes things happened without intent. Ma shook her head. "You be careful, Mary Jo."
It wouldn't help to tell her not to see him, or him not to see her. She was a grown woman and she thought she was in love. At least she wouldn't be married with a baby on the way at seventeen. She had finished school and wanted to get a job. It would be better to encourage that part.
Barrett had trouble getting to sleep that night. He had waited until Mary Jo was out of sight before following her to make sure she got home safely. Then he went back to the trailer. Joe and Tom looked at each other and smiled, but they didn't say anything. Here he was, out in the middle of nowhere and he still didn't have any privacy.
On a professional note, if Ma had figured out that he wasn't giving them the whole truth, then how many others had deduced as much? He wasn't very good at deceiving - never had been. That was one of the reasons he had hesitated about getting involved in this mess. He was involved now - way over his head involved.
It was disturbing enough that he didn't know what he was doing as a lumberjack or a PI, but right now he was thinking about taking that girl away from her family and giving her a life she could enjoy. That was a laugh. He didn't even have a permanent job. He didn't know what he was going to do with the rest of his life - except love that girl.