This I Promise You by Maureen Smith

enjoy working and keeping myself busy.” She saw no reason to point out to her mother that while Quentin was indisputably the breadwinner, the advances and royalties she earned from her cookbooks were more than enough for her to comfortably support herself if she ever had to.
    “I know you enjoy staying busy,” Carlene drawled, looking amused as she watched Lexi move from the counter to the breakfast table. “You’ve always been a little bundle of energy. How else could you do all that volunteer work, mentor those Spelman girls, be a consultant on Michael’s show, write your cookbooks and still hold it down at home?”
    Lexi paused in her cleaning. “Do I hear a compliment somewhere in there?”
    Her mother gave her an aggrieved look. “Why do you sound so surprised? This isn’t the first time I’ve complimented your multitasking skills.”
    “No, it isn’t.” But it didn’t happen very often.
    For the past two years, mother and daughter had been seeing a therapist to help them work through issues stemming from Lexi’s childhood, which included a traumatic event that had nearly left her dead. They’d come a long way in mending their troubled relationship, but they still had a ways to go.
    “Have you talked to your brother lately?” Carlene asked, changing the subject.
    “I have,” Lexi said with a smile. “I called him on the way over here. He says everything’s going well, and he and Ava should be back in another week or so.”
    Her younger brother, Colby, had gotten married that summer to an attorney he’d met when they were opposing counsel on a lawsuit. After they got engaged, Ava had resigned from her law firm to become a partner at Wolf & Reddick. Last week she and Colby had been dispatched to the firm’s Washington, D.C. office to assist with a big new case.
    Carlene was frowning. “I’ve been trying to reach Colby for the past two days. I find it interesting that he took your call but not mine.”
    Lexi bit back a weary sigh. “He’s been really busy, Ma. You know the long hours they work. The only reason I caught him is because it’s Sunday morning, and he and Ava decided to take the day off to go sightseeing.”
    Carlene looked slightly mollified by that.
    Taking advantage of the reprieve, Lexi glanced at the clock on the microwave. “We should get going. We still need to pick up Junior and Quentin’s mother on the way to church.”
    Carlene nodded. “Let me go put on my shoes.”
    Lexi gave the table one last swipe with the dishcloth and tidied up a few more things before leaving the kitchen. Her mother met her in the foyer with her purse tucked into the crook of her arm.
    They left the house together and walked out to the gleaming white custom Mercedes-Benz parked in the driveway. Quentin had surprised Lexi with the car on their one-year anniversary. She remembered the way he’d guided her outside with his hands covering her eyes, his voice like hot silk against her ear as he’d warned her not to peek. When she finally opened her eyes and saw the brand-new S-Class with a huge red bow wrapped around it, she’d let out the biggest squeal and jumped into his arms, showering his face with kisses before she burst into tears.
    Smiling at the memory, Lexi slid behind the steering wheel as her mother settled into the passenger seat. Carlene swept an admiring glance around the plush leather interior as if it were her first time riding in the vehicle.
    “I don’t know how you keep this car so clean with a child. But then, you’ve always been a neat freak.” She fastened her seatbelt and cackled softly. “Just wait till Junior gets older and starts spilling juice and leaving his toys everywhere. What will you do then?”
    “I’m sure I’ll manage,” Lexi said dryly, backing out of the driveway.
    On the way to Georgina Reddick’s house, Carlene complained about her grandson staying overnight with Quentin’s mother.
    “Why couldn’t I have kept him last night? I wasn’t