Snow Place Like Home

Chapter Fourteen

Shonna

"What's been going on with you?" Veronica asked a little while later as they continued going through their grandmother's things.

They were putting her belongings aside, deciding what to keep and what to toss.

"Just work," was her response.

Veronica was a detective for the Phoenix Police Department. She gave little detail on all that had been going on. Being the only female detective in a male-dominated profession and a black woman at that, she had to deal with a lot of sexist and racist crap on a day-to-day basis.

After Shonna threatened to file a sexual harassment suit against her touchy-feely superior, Lieutenant Mark Gordon, she was reluctant to tell Shonna any more specifics about her interactions with him.

"Have you seen him?" Veronica asked, referring to Danny, Darren's brother was currently serving a year-long sentence.

After pleading guilty to felony DUI and driving with a suspended license, Danny was sentenced to prison and had been there for six months already.

Shonna was wondering how long it would take before she brought him up. Veronica had been infatuated with Danny since they were teenagers, and although she pretended not to have feelings for him anymore, she wasn't good at hiding her true emotions. There was a time when Shonna had a crush on Danny as well, and right before she went away to college, they slept together.

"Yes, I visited him on Thanksgiving," Shonna told her.

Veronica sucked her teeth, eyes facing down as she continued sifting through YoYo's belongings. Shonna could tell she was upset because her jaw was clenched tight, something she always did when she was angry.

"Did you visit him?" Shonna asked.

"No," she grumbled. "He won't let me. I tried so many times, but he won't add me to the list of approved visitors."

Her voice was shaky as she held back her tears of frustration. "I thought we were friends. We've known each other forever. Why would he do that?"

"I don't know, babe. He's probably embarrassed," Shonna offered.

She was a cop, after all. Maybe he thought she would look down on him or judge him, even though that wasn't Veronica's personality at all.

"He's not embarrassed for you to see him," she muttered.

Veronica had always been jealous of how close she and Danny were. And when Shonna lost her virginity to Danny, she thought Veronica would never forgive her. But she had, and they were still close, but she still harbored feelings of insecurity over their relationship, even though she and Danny had been strictly friends ever since.

"Danny and I were close once. I know him a little better than you do."

At that, Veronica stopped what she was doing and crossed the room. She plopped on the couch, and Penny, sensing something was wrong, put her head in Veronica's lap. She rubbed the dog's head and continued to pout.

"Do you still have feelings for Danny?" Shonna asked her.

"No," she said, but it wasn't the least bit convincing. "I just wanna know why he won't see me. But whatever. It's not a big deal."

Shonna wished Veronica could find a way to move on from Danny. He would never return her feelings. She suspected he would always see V like something resembling family. Even though there was no blood relationship, they had all been close since they were younger, so it was difficult to see each other as anything else.

After they finished clearing out YoYo's place and loading up Shonna's rental car, they headed back to the inn, and by the time they got there, Shonna's new room was ready.

***

Jason

When Shonna mentioned wanting to remodel YoYo's house, it lit a fire under him. He wanted to get the project underway as soon as possible.

The next day, Jason's friend Matt Barone met him at the cabin. He owned a construction company in Anchorage with his brother Leo, which they inherited from their father. The two had been working with their hands their whole lives. When Jason and Rigby were renovating the inn, Matt and Leo helped to transform the old mansion into a luxurious, modern establishment. When it came to remodeling, Jason wouldn't trust anyone else.

After a quick inspection and evaluation, Matt explained to Jason, "The house is in pretty good shape, considering. The pipes need replacing, the kitchen and furnace need an overhaul, and the floorboards and foundation need to be reinforced."

"What's the cost?"

"About fifteen thousand. Can probably knock down a couple thousand if I shop around."

"Can you have it done by Christmas?"

"If I bring in a couple more guys, but it'll cost more. They're on a job upstate."

"I'll help as much as I can. I want to surprise her."

"YoYo's granddaughter really showed up, eh?"

"Yeah."

"Bet you gave her a piece of your mind. How can a family just leave their loved one out to die alone like that?"

"It wasn't like that. It's not her fault." Jason wasn't sure why he felt the need to defend this woman. He felt protective of her, like she was his. But she was far from it.

"Yeah, but you told me you spoke to the family."

"Guess the family doesn't talk to each other because her granddaughter had no idea YoYo had died until she got here."

"That's messed up, man."

Jason wasn't about to get into it. Matt was a good friend, but he wasn't sure he wanted to explain the twisted story involving him and Shonna and YoYo's letters.

Shonna had left him a message at the front desk yesterday, saying they needed to talk, but he didn't bother to get in touch with her because he didn't know what was there to say.

Her cousin's words knocked him square in the chest, bringing him back to reality. Shonna had no intention of staying here, but his life was in Blackstone. His business was here. She was everything he told himself never to want. A tourist, a big city girl who would never truly embrace him or his way of life.

They had spent the night together, and, in that time, they had shared their souls. He was catching feelings for her, and on top of being attracted to her, it was a recipe for disaster.

Jason was old-fashioned. He was in it for the long game. He didn't do flings or hookups. He wanted a partner, companionship, someone to go through life with.

And Shonna, although a magnificent beauty, was leaving.

Case closed.