Juliet's Law Read Free Page A

fur. “Long time no see.”
    He lifted his chin to let his chest be scrubbed, then wandered over to slump down by the fire. Desi was in the bathroom, and when she didn’t come out fairly soon, Juliet went to the door and knocked gently. “Hey, sis, are you all right?”
    â€œNo,” she said, the word muffled by tears or a towel or maybe both. “But I’ll be out in a minute, okay?”
    â€œI’m just going to go get my suitcase.”
    â€œFine.”
    Juliet didn’t move. She stood there, forehead against the door, and wondered what to do. Desi didn’t make a habit of emotional scenes; in fact, of the three Rousseau sisters, Desi had always been the sensible, practical one. Juliet was the good girl. Miranda was the artist, the drama queen. Desi had always been the levelheaded person in any group, the scientist and practical one; picking up the pieces for other people, helping them put their problems into perspective. Desi got done what needed to be done.
    One of the reasons, come to think of it, that it was a good thing someone had taken the gun away from her. If Desi was so despairing that she had loaded a shotgun and aimed it at her ex, if she was so overwhelmed that she was weeping in the bathroom, things were really dire.
    Just this once, Juliet could be the rescuer in the family. “Josh will be back in a minute, too,” she saidthrough the door. “Wash your face and come out when you’re ready.”
    Outside, Juliet was surprised by the density of snow. It already clustered on the steps like down feathers, so light the flakes scattered in front of her feet as she walked toward her car. Josh approached, carrying a car seat with a very, very conked-out little girl in it. Juliet smiled and went for her bag, and carried it back inside right behind him.
    Just as Josh was settling the car seat down, the kettle started to whistle—loudly—and Juliet dashed into the kitchen area to pull it off the stove. She poured hot water into a fat yellow ceramic teapot she’d already primed. “Nothing like tea to cure what ails you,” she said half to the man, half to herself.
    â€œSo my granny says,” Josh said.
    â€œMine, too.” She held out her hand. “I’m Juliet, by the way. Desi’s younger sister.”
    Josh reached for her hand. His was a giant paw, the palm as big as her whole hand, and he raised his left, too, making a sandwich that covering hers completely. “Good to meet you.”
    â€œNot that much younger,” Desi said, coming out of the bathroom. Her nose was red and her eyes were swollen, but she looked more like herself. “She’s the middle child.”
    Josh looked over his shoulder, but didn’t let go. As gingerly as possible, Juliet tugged her hand out of his grip.
    He didn’t seem to mind. “Sisters always fight about that,” he said in a jovial tone. Juliet liked him for trying to create a sense of normality after the intense scene outside.
    â€œAre you okay?” Juliet asked her sister.
    Desi swiped hair off her face. “I’ll live.” She hugged Josh, and leaned into his chest. “Thank you.”
    He hugged her back, and in his bearish embrace, tall, square Desi looked tiny. Their mother had always called Desi an Amazon, and not in a nice way. It came out in sentences like, “You are such an Amazon you could never wear those shoes,” or, “Will you try to stop clumping around like an Amazon, Desdemona?”
    So mean, Juliet thought now, feeling a surge of fierce love for her sister. Their mother had been highly critical of all of them, but Juliet privately thought Desi had got the worst of it.
    Lifting the lid on the teapot, she said, “I think it’s ready now. Who wants tea?”
    â€œMe, me, me.” Desi sat down heavily at the round wooden table. “There are some oatmeal cookies in that jar over there, too, if you want to put a