letting you matter more once upon a time. I lost three good hands because of you, and barely kept Jean. You have no idea of the havoc you managed to wreak and how long it took me to put things back together. I’m not doing that again.”
She stood up. “When did you become so cruel? I have nowhere to go!”
He felt a twinge of conscience, but tried to quash it. If this woman weren’t poison, he’d give her the two weeks. But he’d learned his lesson the hard way.
Without a word, he got up and went back to the kitchen. Jean was sitting at the table at a time of day when she would ordinarily have been working on something for the midday’s big meal for him and his hands. He dumped the cereal, rinsed the bowl and sat facing Jean.
“She says she has nowhere to go.”
Jean scowled.
“For two weeks.”
Jean’s frown deepened. “Do you really believe her?”
“Damned if I know. The thing is...”
“The thing is, you’ve always been too generous for your own good.” Since Jean had helped raise him, he was used to her having her say. “You don’t want her here. I don’t want her here. She’s a troublemaker.”
“But if she’s not lying...”
Jean sighed. “If she’s not lying, then whose fault is it she has no one to turn to but you?”
Hard to argue with that. But despite his anger that she was here, he couldn’t exactly kick her to the curb. “Can you handle it for a few days?”
Jean rolled her eyes. “I knew it. I knew it the minute she marched into this house right past me with a suitcase. As if she owns the place even now.”
“I know what she’s like. I’m asking you. ”
“I put up with her for two years for your sake. I suppose I can manage a few days. But I warn you, I’m not going to bite my tongue this time. Not like I did before.”
“It’s better for you if you don’t. I’m going to figure out a way to get her out of here as quickly as possible.”
Jean just shook her head. “When did you ever get that woman to do what you wanted?”
Good question, he thought as he marched back into the living room. Lisa had given up on the sultry pose, exchanging it for one that looked like avenging fury. As if she had a right. But Lisa had never needed anyone else to grant her a right. She took them all as she chose.
“You can stay here a couple of days until you find something else. That’s it. And be forewarned, I don’t want Jean or anyone else upset. Period.”
He watched Lisa struggle to find a grateful smile. She almost made it. “Thank you.”
He grabbed a couple of bananas and headed out to work. All of a sudden it seemed the world was determined to turn upside down.
Oh, to hell with it. They could endure anything for a couple of days, even Lisa.
Chapter Four
H olly had spent the day puttering around, getting used to the silent house, deciding which things she should keep and which should go. Martha’s clothes needed to be donated, but beyond that she found decisions remarkably hard. She did find a small stack of bills in Martha’s desk, unopened, so she pulled out her new checkbook and paid them. She supposed she needed to have the utilities and so on put in her name. She wondered if she would need Cliff for that.
She didn’t especially feel like seeing him again, even if her thoughts kept wandering his way. She wished she could just understand why she felt so attracted to him. That should have faded, shouldn’t it?
Apparently not.
On and off, though, she remembered his remark about bringing some of her kids out here. During the late afternoon, she went outside to water the tree and walked around, thinking of what she might be able to do on the land that hadn’t been fenced. There was a surprising amount of space. Martha’s big vegetable garden, now mostly a memory under a layer of grass and weeds, was still there. There was room to build some kind of bunkhouse, maybe two, where the kids could stay, either with their families or with counselors, depending.
She stood up. “When did you become so cruel? I have nowhere to go!”
He felt a twinge of conscience, but tried to quash it. If this woman weren’t poison, he’d give her the two weeks. But he’d learned his lesson the hard way.
Without a word, he got up and went back to the kitchen. Jean was sitting at the table at a time of day when she would ordinarily have been working on something for the midday’s big meal for him and his hands. He dumped the cereal, rinsed the bowl and sat facing Jean.
“She says she has nowhere to go.”
Jean scowled.
“For two weeks.”
Jean’s frown deepened. “Do you really believe her?”
“Damned if I know. The thing is...”
“The thing is, you’ve always been too generous for your own good.” Since Jean had helped raise him, he was used to her having her say. “You don’t want her here. I don’t want her here. She’s a troublemaker.”
“But if she’s not lying...”
Jean sighed. “If she’s not lying, then whose fault is it she has no one to turn to but you?”
Hard to argue with that. But despite his anger that she was here, he couldn’t exactly kick her to the curb. “Can you handle it for a few days?”
Jean rolled her eyes. “I knew it. I knew it the minute she marched into this house right past me with a suitcase. As if she owns the place even now.”
“I know what she’s like. I’m asking you. ”
“I put up with her for two years for your sake. I suppose I can manage a few days. But I warn you, I’m not going to bite my tongue this time. Not like I did before.”
“It’s better for you if you don’t. I’m going to figure out a way to get her out of here as quickly as possible.”
Jean just shook her head. “When did you ever get that woman to do what you wanted?”
Good question, he thought as he marched back into the living room. Lisa had given up on the sultry pose, exchanging it for one that looked like avenging fury. As if she had a right. But Lisa had never needed anyone else to grant her a right. She took them all as she chose.
“You can stay here a couple of days until you find something else. That’s it. And be forewarned, I don’t want Jean or anyone else upset. Period.”
He watched Lisa struggle to find a grateful smile. She almost made it. “Thank you.”
He grabbed a couple of bananas and headed out to work. All of a sudden it seemed the world was determined to turn upside down.
Oh, to hell with it. They could endure anything for a couple of days, even Lisa.
Chapter Four
H olly had spent the day puttering around, getting used to the silent house, deciding which things she should keep and which should go. Martha’s clothes needed to be donated, but beyond that she found decisions remarkably hard. She did find a small stack of bills in Martha’s desk, unopened, so she pulled out her new checkbook and paid them. She supposed she needed to have the utilities and so on put in her name. She wondered if she would need Cliff for that.
She didn’t especially feel like seeing him again, even if her thoughts kept wandering his way. She wished she could just understand why she felt so attracted to him. That should have faded, shouldn’t it?
Apparently not.
On and off, though, she remembered his remark about bringing some of her kids out here. During the late afternoon, she went outside to water the tree and walked around, thinking of what she might be able to do on the land that hadn’t been fenced. There was a surprising amount of space. Martha’s big vegetable garden, now mostly a memory under a layer of grass and weeds, was still there. There was room to build some kind of bunkhouse, maybe two, where the kids could stay, either with their families or with counselors, depending.
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