Page 12 of It Runs in the Family

I quickly explained the situation, and Hannah cursed like a sailor. “You left that poor baby on the front porch? Are you really that much of an imbecile?”

“I’m parked at the end of the street, watching his car seat. At least I’m here. His father just left him there.”

“Where’s Rita?”

“She’s either in a coma, or she sent John Jacob to the door. I knocked and rang the doorbell.”

“That fucking John Jacob,” she spat. “He’s a worthless piece of shit.”

“Agreed, so will you come get the baby? I have to go home and get ready for work.”

“Doesn’t your shift start in three hours?”

“I have to do laundry and eat dinner.” When she said nothing, I added, “I’m running on four hours of sleep to do Rita a favor, and this is how I get repaid. Are you gonna help a poor innocent baby or not?”

“I’m already on my way, dipshit. You better stick around until I get there.”

“Of course I will,” I said in disgust. “You think I was going to just call you and then run?” The answer was obvious. “Never mind, don’t answer that, but before you hang up…”

“What?” she snapped.

“Have you talked to Selena within the last day or two?”

“No,” she said curtly, then her tone softened. “Why?”

“I had a vision of her, and I think she’s in trouble. Do you know where she might be or who she’s hangin’ out with?”

Her animosity faded. “I haven’t seen her in weeks. What happened in your vision?”

“She was with a guy who seemed dangerous. I just want to make sure she’s okay. If you hear from her, will you let me know? I’m worried about her.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. You know Selena’s like a cat.”

“She has nine lives?” I prompted. “Which life is she on now?”

“No, she always lands on her feet.”

Our cousin Mark would claim she always landed on her back. He wasn’t entirely wrong.

We hung up, and I felt relieved we’d seemed to patch things up. I waited until Hannah pulled up to the curb. She got out, picked up the car seat, pulled the diaper bag from the crack on the door, and took them both to her car. She buckled the car seat in the back seat—thankfully, I’d carried the car seat up with the base still attached—then drove away, flipping me off as she went past me.

So maybe we hadn’t patched things up after all.

But as long as she took care of the baby, she could flip me off until her finger fell off.

Chapter Five

I took an hour’s nap, then ate some leftovers from my fridge before I headed to the convenience store.

Mannie usually worked the three-to-eleven shift. He was lazy and didn’t believe in keeping a tidy workspace, but I didn’t have a problem with him. He was watching a late-night talk show on his iPad when I walked in at 10:55.

“You know Jimmy’ll fire you if he finds out you’re watching TV on the clock,” I said, walking behind the counter, straightening up as I went. The place was even more of a mess than usual.

“You’re tellin’ me you don’t watch TV while you’re working?” He chuckled. “Or maybe you’re sleepin’.”

I didn’t do either, but I did listen to plenty of podcasts and audiobooks. “I’m definitely not sleeping.” I gave him a look. “Would it hurt you to clean up after yourself?”

“Hey, that wasn’t me. It was the new kid that works from four to eight.”