Chapter 54

Mopp sat in a corner, sipping soda from the can—after the way his head had almost exploded from all the champagne punch he’d drunk on Christmas, he’d sworn off anything alcoholic—and listened while Mr. Cooper and JT talked about the possibility of him going to college.

“Daddy’s not gonna be happy.”

“Why not?”

“He feels getting a college education is putting on airs.”

JT shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Mopp couldn’t exactly make it out, but he had a feeling it wasn’t complimentary to his daddy.

“Look, Billy Bob. All our kids go to college.”

“But I’m not your kid.”

JT gave him a look. “You live here, yes? You eat at our table, yes? Then you’re our kid.”

Oh! To have someone come out and say that… It made him feel more a part of this family in just the nine months he’d lived here than in the twenty years he’d lived with Momma and Daddy.

“You want to go, don’t you?” JT asked.