Leigh is reading aloud at the table from To Kill A Mockingbird. She is enjoying the way the language feels in her mouth. Her mother had told her she would but she still waited until the last possible weekend to read the thing for Junior English. “Here’s another one; Jem’s talking to Scout: ‘“Listen, no matter what she says to you, don't answer her back. There's a Confederate pistol in her lap under her shawl and she'll kill you quick as look at you.” See, Jem looks after his sister.”
Wash, who does actually look after his sister, much to her annoyance, though now away at college much of the time, sits with his laptop perched in front of him on the other end of the table, returns the serve without hesitation or even eye

The last sentence is a bit confusing. Consider breaking it down, or sharing the information about him going to college later in the story.