His mouth curled in disgust. “The only thing that would rehab that son of a bitch is a bullet to the brain.”
“Careful now,” Pauline warned. “Talking like that can get you in trouble. But don’t worry, they’re not going anywhere just yet so let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”
He supposed she was right but it made his gut curdle at the thought of letting that man even a hundred yards within the girls and damn, if that didn’t make his trigger finger itchy.
Pauline deftly changed the subject. “How are things going with the mother? She any trouble?”
Distracted, he waved away Pauline’s question. “She’s not a problem. Not yet, anyway,” he grumbled, his thoughts still sour.
“I’m surprised I haven’t had a call from you saying she’s tried to up and steal them in the middle of the night. She seemed the type to grab and run.”
Pauline’s offhand comment startled him. He’d never thought of that. Suddenly, he felt uneasy. Would she do that? He didn’t know her at all and Alexis clearly didn’t trust her. Perhaps he’d been too quick to let her move in. And what if he’d kissed her? What a royal idiot he was. She could be playing him for all he knew. It wasn’t like she was trustworthy. She was an addict for crying out loud. She was probably a pro at lying to get what she wanted. He realized Pauline was watching him closely and he gave her a short nod as if in thanks. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” he said. “Who knows what she’s capable of.”
“Smart thinking.”
Pauline seemed ready to play the amiable devil’s advocate as she added, “Then again, she got off to a bad start here but maybe, deep down, she’s a good person and if she’s given half a chance, she could be a good mother again. Who knows. Stranger things have happened. Remember that time Fudder found that two-headed snake down by Hatcher Creek? Creepy little thing. The snake, not Fudder,” she said with a small chuckle. “Anyway, hopefully things will work out for everyone involved. This is an unusual case.”
Yeah, you could say that again.
Pauline offered a wise smile and John realized there was a wealth of unsaid knowledge behind that subtle twist of the lips. “What?” he asked, eyeing her suspiciously.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing my ass. What’s with that look you just gave me?”
She leaned forward, her gaze intent. “Have you considered what it’s going to be like when your chicks fly the roost? Their mom is going to regain custody eventually.”
“I know,” he admitted with a slight scowl. “That’s good. My life can get back to normal.”
“True. But what if normal to you now is what you want normal to be forever?”
He balked initially at Pauline’s question but once it sank further into his brain he realized she might have a point. When the girls went on with their lives…he’d miss them. A lot. He drew a deep breath and shook his head.
“We all adjust, right? No matter what the situation. That’s life.”
“True again,” Pauline agreed.
He cleared his throat and focused on the one thing he felt he could control. “I want a restraining order against Jason Dolling.”
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