Page 103 of The Homemaker

“No. We have no desire to deal with that kind of rental property,” Vera replies.

“Murphy could probably give you some tips,” Janelle says.

“Oh, yes. He owned a house not too far from here,” Mom adds.

“How does Krista know about your rental property?” Blair asks with a smile through gritted teeth.

My mom wrinkles her nose.

Murphy clears his throat, pressing his napkin to his lips for a beat. “I’m not sure how it came up, but it did.”

Shit.

“Mom, isn’t it time for you to take your walk around the lake?” I stand, eyeing my mom with a tight grin. “You know how important a ten-minute walk after each meal is to keep your glucose in check.”

“Oh, are you diabetic?” Vera asks.

“No.” Mom plasters on a fake grin and stands because she knows I’m not happy with her. “And that’s probably because I take a ten-minute walk after every meal.”

“Good for you. I wouldn’t be able to drink that much wine and walk around the lake without falling in. Alice, perhaps you should walk with your mom,” Vera suggests.

“She’s good.” I hold on to her arm. “I’ll see her out then clear the table and clean up the kitchen.”

“It was nice meeting you, Janelle,” Mom says.

“You too.” Janelle smiles like she just made a new best friend.

Blair stands too, jaw fixed while she tosses her napkin aside. “You know what? I think I need a drive. Dad, let’s take one of your convertibles for a drive.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun,” Vera says. “But no smoking, dear.”

“Then it won’t be that much fun,” Hunter deadpans.

“I guess we’re going for a ride.” Murphy finishes his last bite of sorbet.

“No, babe. I think you should walk your mom out then hang out in the bedroom and do your work or whatever elseyou do, like own rental property and turn wood, and tell everyone like it’s no big deal, except me.” Blair narrows her eyes.

They have a stare off, but he waves the white flag first. “I’ll stay here.”

I pull my mom toward the back door. “Good job, Mom.”

“What? I didn’t say you stayed at his place.”

“Shh.” I open the back door. “Go to bed.”

“I thought I was going for a walk.”

“You are. Walk straight to the guesthouse and go to bed. I have work to do, and Vera is right. You’ve had too much to drink to walk around the lake. Nighty night. Love you and your big mouth.”

She sticks her tongue out at me. Yep, she’s tipsy.

I smirk and close the door. When I return to the kitchen, Murphy’s scraping the leftover food from the dinner plates into the garbage.

“You’re grounded. Go. I’ve got this.”

“Everyone left. I’m back in the doghouse. Might as well make myself useful.”

Everyone left.