Stonehill series collect.., p.29
Stonehill Series Collection, page 29
“I am.” She winked at him. “I’m just taking you with me.”
Chapter 6
Paul frowned at his brother. Matt held up a to-go bag from one of their favorite local hamburger places, but Paul wasn’t impressed.
“What are you doing here, Matty?”
“Just thought I’d swing by. Catch the game.”
“There is no game.”
“Oh. Well, maybe a movie, then.” He pushed his way into Paul’s house and kicked off his shoes. “Grab us a few beers, will ya?”
Paul exhaled as he closed his front door and headed for the kitchen. There was absolutely no point in trying to fight what was about to happen. Grabbing two bottles from the fridge, he took them to the living room and dropped onto the sofa next to Matt. “Get it over with.”
“What?”
“The game of twenty questions you plan on playing.”
Matt at least had the decency to try to look offended. “I just wanted to hang out.”
Paul grabbed a burger and an order of onion rings. “She’s just a friend going through the same shit I am, and we’re trying to help each other through it. No sex or heartstrings attached.”
Matt nodded. “That’s a pretty big favor you called in for her. Asking me to give her a car at cost.”
“And I appreciate it. If you need me to cover some of the loss, I will.”
“We’ll make it back selling her Suburban.”
“Good.”
Matt shoved a few fries into his mouth. “She’s pretty.”
Paul sighed at the abundance of lettuce and tomatoes on his sandwich. “You know I hate this shit on my burger.”
“So take it off, big boy. You didn’t answer me.”
“You didn’t ask a question.”
Matt scoffed. “Sorry. Dianna’s pretty, isn’t she?”
“Actually, I think she’s beautiful. She’s reminds me of Mom in a way.”
Matt snickered, and Paul glared at him.
“Mom was gracious and kind. She always put us first. Dianna is like that. Mom didn’t deserve all the crap Dad pulled, and Dianna doesn’t deserve what her husband is putting her through. She’s strong, but she needs someone to help her, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”
“And you’ve decided to be that someone.”
Matt’s tone told him all he needed to know. It wasn’t an observation. It was a warning.
“She isn’t like Michelle, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“How do you know?”
Paul shook his head. “I’m not doing this, Matt.”
“Doing what?”
He took a big bite of his sandwich. “I’m not discussing my fuck-ups with you,” he said around the mouthful.
“I wasn’t talking about your fuck-ups.”
“You were getting there.”
“I just want you to be careful. Is that so wrong?”
Paul frowned at him. “For the last few years, you’ve been subtly telling me how wrong I was to marry Michelle. You never once took into consideration that I actually loved her.”
“That’s not true.”
“The hell it isn’t.” He squirted a packet of ketchup on his onion rings.
“I know you loved her. But she was using you from the get-go.”
“And I was just too stupid to notice?”
Matt dropped what was left of his burger and wiped his hands. “You were blinded by her. The rest of us were on the outside looking in. We had a better vantage point. We hated watching her hurt you for so long, but you wouldn’t listen. In case you didn’t know this about yourself, you can be pretty damned stubborn.”
Paul smirked. “That’s an O’Connell family trait apparently.”
“I don’t want you to get back into a situation like that.”
“I’m not.”
“You can see why I might think that, right? I’ve never even heard you mention this woman, and then all of a sudden you’re asking me to do her a favor. That’s not like you.”
Paul swigged his beer as he considered how much to tell his brother. “Look, I’m not giving you details, because…I don’t want to, basically. You’re being too damned nosy for my liking.”
Matt chuckled. “Okay.”
“She was married for over twenty years. She stayed home raising kids and taking care of her family while her husband worked to support them. Then one day, he left. Just like that. Now she’s got two kids to support and all the bills that she had before but no husband to help her out. She’s doing the best she can, but she had this huge car payment dragging her down. I knew I could help her.”
“But why is it your job to help her?”
Paul shrugged. “I was a mess Thanksgiving. Okay? There, I admit it. I was drinking myself into a stupor, and she came over and did her best to talk me through it. We’re both going through hell, but we’re trying to make things a little easier for each other. And nowhere is sex, love, or money involved in that. Okay?”
Matt nodded. “Okay. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. Not every woman is after your classic good looks, you know?”
Paul rolled his head back and groaned. “Jesus, you sound like Annie.”
Paul let out a catcall whistle when Dianna opened her front door. “Hubba hubba.”
Heat started at her neck and quickly rose to her newly dyed hairline and flushed her face. “Stop.”
“I like it. Very nice.”
She ran her fingers through her freshly cut strands. She’d used the gift certificate he’d given her to have long layers put back into her hair and have the color dyed a shade lighter than her natural chestnut with a hint of auburn. She had walked out of the salon feeling years younger. When she got home, she’d even put on makeup. She hadn’t done that in months. She’d added just enough mascara and eyeliner to bring out the brightness of her blue eyes, used a bit of concealer to hide the seemingly permanent dark circles under her eyes, and dabbed on a little lipstick.
She hadn’t paid close attention to her appearance since Mitch left. Realizing the creases in her forehead had somehow grown deeper and the lines around her eyes and mouth more obvious dampened her spirits, but she pushed the criticism aside and relished having an updated look.
“I can’t thank you enough, Paul. Seriously, I so needed this.”
“You look beautiful. Even more beautiful,” he quickly amended. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner. It smells great.”
She grinned. “Well, I owed you. I hope you like eggplant parmesan.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She took a bottle of wine from him as he hung his coat, and then they walked to the kitchen. While he lifted the lid off the sauce and tasted it, she dug out a corkscrew and glasses.
“Is this homemade?” he asked, going in for another spoonful.
“Yes.”
“Amazing. Do you make everything yourself?”
“Not everything.” She grunted as she pulled the cork out. “Mitch preferred homemade, and I had the time, so I did whenever possible. It’s a habit now, I guess.”
Paul lifted his glass after she filled it. “Well, here’s to hanging on to the good habits.”
She clinked her glass to his and took a drink. Paul got plates down while Dianna returned her attention to the stove.
Leaning against the counter, he took a drink of his wine while she strained the pasta. “I have a confession to make.”
“Uh-oh.”
“I didn’t bring the wine just for dinner. I was hoping to get you drunk so I could take advantage of you.”
Dianna turned and lifted her brows at him.
“I need to go Christmas shopping, and I really suck at that. I thought if I got enough wine in you, you’d agree to help me.”
“Oh, yes, I can see how you’d need alcohol on your side. Women hate shopping.” She smiled when he laughed. “I was planning on going to the mall tomorrow after we left Annie’s if I had time. I need to get a few more small things. Want to tag along?”
“Perfect. And it will give us an excuse to bail.”
“You’re worrying me a bit.” She topped off his food with some sauce. “Are they going to sit me at a table with spotlights and grill me?”
“That’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.” He accepted the plate. “Michelle left a bad taste in their mouths. I wouldn’t be surprised if any woman I ever introduced to them in the future had to go through a lie detector test.”
Dianna sat across from him with her own plate and watched him cut into his dinner. He had taken three big bites, moaning his appreciation each time, before he stopped chewing.
He eyed her. “What?”
She chuckled when she realized she’d been staring. “It’s nice to cook something I like and have someone enjoy it rather than complain and then go make a sandwich.”
“Anybody who doesn’t appreciate your cooking is an idiot.” He started to fill his mouth again and then stopped. “Wait, we’re talking about him right? I don’t want to call your kids idiots.”
“Well, them, too, but they’re kids. They aren’t supposed to like good food. I meant him.”
“Well, he’s an idiot.”
“Indeed.” Dianna cut into her dinner. “Tell me more about your family.”
He told her about his siblings as they ate. Matt had opened the car dealership right out of college, and Annie went to work for a real estate agency after high school. Five years after that, she branched out on her own. The other realty office closed, but Annie’s was still going strong. She’d never married but had a daughter. The father had never been in the picture. Matt, on the other hand, was happily married and spoiled his two girls rotten.
Paul’s sons, Sean and Toby, sounded eerily similar to Dianna’s boys. Toby was quite serious, while Sean had always been the class clown. Paul had never been close to his boys, but now that Michelle was out of the picture, he wanted to try to fix that.
In turn, Dianna told him of her love of music. Once upon a time, she’d hoped to give lessons, but she’d never found the time. Jason had never cared to learn, but she’d taught Sam to play the guitar, though the piano was her favorite.
Once dinner was done, Dianna filled a container with leftovers and put it on the counter for Paul to take home. The dishwasher door squeaked as Paul opened it, and Dianna stopped gathering their plates from the table as she turned to him.
She watched him rinse a pan before setting it inside the machine. “What are you doing?”
He glanced back over his shoulder. “Helping you clean up. Is that wrong?”
“No. No. That’s right. That’s very right. Thank you.”
“He didn’t do that either, huh?”
“And get his hands dirty? God, no.”
They worked together to clean up dinner, and then Dianna led him to the living room. They sat on the sofa, and Paul listed off who he intended to buy presents for when they went shopping the next day while Dianna wrote their names on her shopping list.
“Any idea what you want to get them?” she asked.
Paul sank back into the sofa and rolled his head back. “Not a clue. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate Christmas.”
Dianna gasped dramatically. “What?”
“The stress, the panic, the pressure. It’s horrible.”
Her smile faded as he ran his hand through his thick silver strands. “I know it’s been a tough year, but—”
“It’s not that.”
“What is it?”
He looked at her, and the depth of sadness in his gray eyes made her heart hurt. “The only good thing about Christmas is the food.”
She held his gaze for a moment before letting her questions go and smiling. “The food is amazing.”
“Will you be spending Christmas with family?”
“No. My family is in Oregon. I met Mitch in college. We moved here after he graduated. He grew up here.”
“Did you graduate?”
“Nope. I did get pregnant, though. I planned to finish after we got settled, but it just never happened. Mitch had a good job, and I wanted to be home with Jason, and then Sam came along. I always thought I’d go back once they were both in school, but then there was PTA and classroom volunteering and sports. I never found the time to finish my degree. I’m certainly kicking myself for that now.”
“Don’t. You were with your kids when they were growing up. That’s important. You have a bond with them that I’ll never have with my kids.” His lack of relationship with his sons was clearly weighing on his mind.
“It’s not too late. If you want a relationship with your boys, you can make it happen.”
He stared at the tree, but she didn’t think he was actually seeing it. “They’re in college. They don’t need me now.”
“Yes, they do.” Her voice was soft but firm. “Trust me, they do. It’s never too late to be a father. Will they be there tomorrow?”
“No. They’re both back at school until Christmas break.”
“Well, when they get home, do something fun, something different than you normally would do. It’ll give you something to talk about.”
“Maybe.” He shook his head after a moment, as if to rid it from his thoughts. “So what did you study in college? Music?”
“Music and English.”
“English?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I’m kind of a nerd.”
He laughed. “Well, working in a bookstore must be heaven for you.”
“It’s more stocking shelves than analyzing poetry, but I like it.” She finished her wine. “I’m going to get more. Would you like some?”
“Sure.”
She nodded toward the remote and took his empty glass from the coffee table. “Why don’t you find us a movie to watch? I’m over talking about depressing shit.”
Chapter 7
Kara gasped loudly. “What are you doing on that site?”
Dianna turned from the sink where she was washing the last of the dinner dishes. Kara was staring at her laptop screen. She’d forgotten to close the window she’d been browsing earlier. “I have to start selling stuff if I’m going to pay the bills.”
Kara’s eyes went wide. “Did you put your address online?”
“No. But I’ll have to give it to whoever wants to come look at what I posted.”
“Don’t. You. Dare. Are you insane?”
“It’s not like I put out a sex ad, Kare. I’m selling some furniture.”
“Do you know how many crazy people are just waiting for some beautiful single woman to sell some furniture? You’ll be raped and murdered within a week.”
“Oh, my God.” Di laughed. “You watch too much Nightline.” She sat in her chair and pulled her laptop to her. “Besides, you’re one to talk. Didn’t Harry just lecture you about personal safety after you hired a drug addict to do some work at your house?”
“He wasn’t a drug addict. He just…had a problem. And I’m not talking about me. There are perverts out there who answer these ads just to case out a house and see if they have a potential victim. Stonehill isn’t a bubble. There are lunatics here, just like everywhere else. I cannot believe you put an ad on Craigslist.”
Dianna’s frown deepened when Paul stepped into the kitchen, his eyes just as wide as Kara’s.
“You did what?” he demanded.
“She put her address on Craigslist.”
Dianna rolled her eyes. “No, I didn’t. I set up an account so I could sell some things. She’s acting like I asked someone to come kill me.”
“You might as well have,” Kara said.
“Just…stop,” Dianna said. “Paul, this is Kara, my overlord.”
Paul took Kara’s hand when she extended it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Kara rolled her eyes to Dianna. “None of it good, I’m sure.”
Paul grinned as he sat at the table. “Not all of it was bad.”
Kara snorted. “I bet.”
“If you’d quit hovering like I’m a child, I’d have nicer things to say about you.”
“And if you didn’t do things that endanger your life, I wouldn’t hover.”
“She’s right,” Paul said. “If you’re going to sell something online, do it through your social media. At least you know the people.”
“And have everyone know just how bad things are? No, thanks.”
“Hey,” Kara said firmly, “there’s no point in trying to save face if some weirdo cuts your head off.”
“Jesus,” Dianna said. “You really do watch too much TV. Is he going to decapitate me or rape me?”
“He’ll probably decapitate you and then rape you, smart-ass.”
“Not all murderers are men, you know,” Paul offered. “That’s a pretty broad stereotype, and as the only male in the room, I’m slightly offended.”
Dianna chuckled and looked at Paul. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. Sam let me in on his way out. Listen, if you don’t want to list your stuff on your profile, I’ll put it on mine, but don’t use some online sales site. It isn’t safe.”
Dianna frowned. “Fine. I’ll take my ad down.”
“Thank you,” Kara said with a nod. “Do it now, please.”
She grumbled under her breath but went in and took down what she’d posted earlier in the evening.
“What are you selling?” Paul asked. “I’ll see if anyone I know is interested.”
“A leather sectional sofa, a piano, and a full-size bedroom set.”
“You’re selling your piano?” Kara asked softly.
“Yes.” Though she didn’t elaborate, she was sure the expression on her face spoke for her. She didn’t want to sell it—she didn’t want to sell any of it. But she was out of options. Silence hung in the air, heavy and thick, while Dianna messaged Paul and Kara the photos and information on the items she was selling. “Do me a favor and tell anyone who asks that I’m remodeling instead of destitute, okay?”
She pushed herself up and walked to the sink to fill a glass of water but didn’t miss the glance that Kara and Paul shared. She’d have asked them both to leave if it weren’t so rude to do so. She’d spent the day determining what big items to sell and then researching what other people were selling similar furniture for so she wasn’t asking too much or too little. She’d been depressed and gloomy, and as she always did, Kara acted like it was her responsibility to cheer her up with food and drink.
Chapter 6
Paul frowned at his brother. Matt held up a to-go bag from one of their favorite local hamburger places, but Paul wasn’t impressed.
“What are you doing here, Matty?”
“Just thought I’d swing by. Catch the game.”
“There is no game.”
“Oh. Well, maybe a movie, then.” He pushed his way into Paul’s house and kicked off his shoes. “Grab us a few beers, will ya?”
Paul exhaled as he closed his front door and headed for the kitchen. There was absolutely no point in trying to fight what was about to happen. Grabbing two bottles from the fridge, he took them to the living room and dropped onto the sofa next to Matt. “Get it over with.”
“What?”
“The game of twenty questions you plan on playing.”
Matt at least had the decency to try to look offended. “I just wanted to hang out.”
Paul grabbed a burger and an order of onion rings. “She’s just a friend going through the same shit I am, and we’re trying to help each other through it. No sex or heartstrings attached.”
Matt nodded. “That’s a pretty big favor you called in for her. Asking me to give her a car at cost.”
“And I appreciate it. If you need me to cover some of the loss, I will.”
“We’ll make it back selling her Suburban.”
“Good.”
Matt shoved a few fries into his mouth. “She’s pretty.”
Paul sighed at the abundance of lettuce and tomatoes on his sandwich. “You know I hate this shit on my burger.”
“So take it off, big boy. You didn’t answer me.”
“You didn’t ask a question.”
Matt scoffed. “Sorry. Dianna’s pretty, isn’t she?”
“Actually, I think she’s beautiful. She’s reminds me of Mom in a way.”
Matt snickered, and Paul glared at him.
“Mom was gracious and kind. She always put us first. Dianna is like that. Mom didn’t deserve all the crap Dad pulled, and Dianna doesn’t deserve what her husband is putting her through. She’s strong, but she needs someone to help her, even if she doesn’t want to admit it.”
“And you’ve decided to be that someone.”
Matt’s tone told him all he needed to know. It wasn’t an observation. It was a warning.
“She isn’t like Michelle, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
“How do you know?”
Paul shook his head. “I’m not doing this, Matt.”
“Doing what?”
He took a big bite of his sandwich. “I’m not discussing my fuck-ups with you,” he said around the mouthful.
“I wasn’t talking about your fuck-ups.”
“You were getting there.”
“I just want you to be careful. Is that so wrong?”
Paul frowned at him. “For the last few years, you’ve been subtly telling me how wrong I was to marry Michelle. You never once took into consideration that I actually loved her.”
“That’s not true.”
“The hell it isn’t.” He squirted a packet of ketchup on his onion rings.
“I know you loved her. But she was using you from the get-go.”
“And I was just too stupid to notice?”
Matt dropped what was left of his burger and wiped his hands. “You were blinded by her. The rest of us were on the outside looking in. We had a better vantage point. We hated watching her hurt you for so long, but you wouldn’t listen. In case you didn’t know this about yourself, you can be pretty damned stubborn.”
Paul smirked. “That’s an O’Connell family trait apparently.”
“I don’t want you to get back into a situation like that.”
“I’m not.”
“You can see why I might think that, right? I’ve never even heard you mention this woman, and then all of a sudden you’re asking me to do her a favor. That’s not like you.”
Paul swigged his beer as he considered how much to tell his brother. “Look, I’m not giving you details, because…I don’t want to, basically. You’re being too damned nosy for my liking.”
Matt chuckled. “Okay.”
“She was married for over twenty years. She stayed home raising kids and taking care of her family while her husband worked to support them. Then one day, he left. Just like that. Now she’s got two kids to support and all the bills that she had before but no husband to help her out. She’s doing the best she can, but she had this huge car payment dragging her down. I knew I could help her.”
“But why is it your job to help her?”
Paul shrugged. “I was a mess Thanksgiving. Okay? There, I admit it. I was drinking myself into a stupor, and she came over and did her best to talk me through it. We’re both going through hell, but we’re trying to make things a little easier for each other. And nowhere is sex, love, or money involved in that. Okay?”
Matt nodded. “Okay. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again. Not every woman is after your classic good looks, you know?”
Paul rolled his head back and groaned. “Jesus, you sound like Annie.”
Paul let out a catcall whistle when Dianna opened her front door. “Hubba hubba.”
Heat started at her neck and quickly rose to her newly dyed hairline and flushed her face. “Stop.”
“I like it. Very nice.”
She ran her fingers through her freshly cut strands. She’d used the gift certificate he’d given her to have long layers put back into her hair and have the color dyed a shade lighter than her natural chestnut with a hint of auburn. She had walked out of the salon feeling years younger. When she got home, she’d even put on makeup. She hadn’t done that in months. She’d added just enough mascara and eyeliner to bring out the brightness of her blue eyes, used a bit of concealer to hide the seemingly permanent dark circles under her eyes, and dabbed on a little lipstick.
She hadn’t paid close attention to her appearance since Mitch left. Realizing the creases in her forehead had somehow grown deeper and the lines around her eyes and mouth more obvious dampened her spirits, but she pushed the criticism aside and relished having an updated look.
“I can’t thank you enough, Paul. Seriously, I so needed this.”
“You look beautiful. Even more beautiful,” he quickly amended. “Thanks for inviting me to dinner. It smells great.”
She grinned. “Well, I owed you. I hope you like eggplant parmesan.”
“Sounds perfect.”
She took a bottle of wine from him as he hung his coat, and then they walked to the kitchen. While he lifted the lid off the sauce and tasted it, she dug out a corkscrew and glasses.
“Is this homemade?” he asked, going in for another spoonful.
“Yes.”
“Amazing. Do you make everything yourself?”
“Not everything.” She grunted as she pulled the cork out. “Mitch preferred homemade, and I had the time, so I did whenever possible. It’s a habit now, I guess.”
Paul lifted his glass after she filled it. “Well, here’s to hanging on to the good habits.”
She clinked her glass to his and took a drink. Paul got plates down while Dianna returned her attention to the stove.
Leaning against the counter, he took a drink of his wine while she strained the pasta. “I have a confession to make.”
“Uh-oh.”
“I didn’t bring the wine just for dinner. I was hoping to get you drunk so I could take advantage of you.”
Dianna turned and lifted her brows at him.
“I need to go Christmas shopping, and I really suck at that. I thought if I got enough wine in you, you’d agree to help me.”
“Oh, yes, I can see how you’d need alcohol on your side. Women hate shopping.” She smiled when he laughed. “I was planning on going to the mall tomorrow after we left Annie’s if I had time. I need to get a few more small things. Want to tag along?”
“Perfect. And it will give us an excuse to bail.”
“You’re worrying me a bit.” She topped off his food with some sauce. “Are they going to sit me at a table with spotlights and grill me?”
“That’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.” He accepted the plate. “Michelle left a bad taste in their mouths. I wouldn’t be surprised if any woman I ever introduced to them in the future had to go through a lie detector test.”
Dianna sat across from him with her own plate and watched him cut into his dinner. He had taken three big bites, moaning his appreciation each time, before he stopped chewing.
He eyed her. “What?”
She chuckled when she realized she’d been staring. “It’s nice to cook something I like and have someone enjoy it rather than complain and then go make a sandwich.”
“Anybody who doesn’t appreciate your cooking is an idiot.” He started to fill his mouth again and then stopped. “Wait, we’re talking about him right? I don’t want to call your kids idiots.”
“Well, them, too, but they’re kids. They aren’t supposed to like good food. I meant him.”
“Well, he’s an idiot.”
“Indeed.” Dianna cut into her dinner. “Tell me more about your family.”
He told her about his siblings as they ate. Matt had opened the car dealership right out of college, and Annie went to work for a real estate agency after high school. Five years after that, she branched out on her own. The other realty office closed, but Annie’s was still going strong. She’d never married but had a daughter. The father had never been in the picture. Matt, on the other hand, was happily married and spoiled his two girls rotten.
Paul’s sons, Sean and Toby, sounded eerily similar to Dianna’s boys. Toby was quite serious, while Sean had always been the class clown. Paul had never been close to his boys, but now that Michelle was out of the picture, he wanted to try to fix that.
In turn, Dianna told him of her love of music. Once upon a time, she’d hoped to give lessons, but she’d never found the time. Jason had never cared to learn, but she’d taught Sam to play the guitar, though the piano was her favorite.
Once dinner was done, Dianna filled a container with leftovers and put it on the counter for Paul to take home. The dishwasher door squeaked as Paul opened it, and Dianna stopped gathering their plates from the table as she turned to him.
She watched him rinse a pan before setting it inside the machine. “What are you doing?”
He glanced back over his shoulder. “Helping you clean up. Is that wrong?”
“No. No. That’s right. That’s very right. Thank you.”
“He didn’t do that either, huh?”
“And get his hands dirty? God, no.”
They worked together to clean up dinner, and then Dianna led him to the living room. They sat on the sofa, and Paul listed off who he intended to buy presents for when they went shopping the next day while Dianna wrote their names on her shopping list.
“Any idea what you want to get them?” she asked.
Paul sank back into the sofa and rolled his head back. “Not a clue. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I hate Christmas.”
Dianna gasped dramatically. “What?”
“The stress, the panic, the pressure. It’s horrible.”
Her smile faded as he ran his hand through his thick silver strands. “I know it’s been a tough year, but—”
“It’s not that.”
“What is it?”
He looked at her, and the depth of sadness in his gray eyes made her heart hurt. “The only good thing about Christmas is the food.”
She held his gaze for a moment before letting her questions go and smiling. “The food is amazing.”
“Will you be spending Christmas with family?”
“No. My family is in Oregon. I met Mitch in college. We moved here after he graduated. He grew up here.”
“Did you graduate?”
“Nope. I did get pregnant, though. I planned to finish after we got settled, but it just never happened. Mitch had a good job, and I wanted to be home with Jason, and then Sam came along. I always thought I’d go back once they were both in school, but then there was PTA and classroom volunteering and sports. I never found the time to finish my degree. I’m certainly kicking myself for that now.”
“Don’t. You were with your kids when they were growing up. That’s important. You have a bond with them that I’ll never have with my kids.” His lack of relationship with his sons was clearly weighing on his mind.
“It’s not too late. If you want a relationship with your boys, you can make it happen.”
He stared at the tree, but she didn’t think he was actually seeing it. “They’re in college. They don’t need me now.”
“Yes, they do.” Her voice was soft but firm. “Trust me, they do. It’s never too late to be a father. Will they be there tomorrow?”
“No. They’re both back at school until Christmas break.”
“Well, when they get home, do something fun, something different than you normally would do. It’ll give you something to talk about.”
“Maybe.” He shook his head after a moment, as if to rid it from his thoughts. “So what did you study in college? Music?”
“Music and English.”
“English?”
She scrunched up her nose. “I’m kind of a nerd.”
He laughed. “Well, working in a bookstore must be heaven for you.”
“It’s more stocking shelves than analyzing poetry, but I like it.” She finished her wine. “I’m going to get more. Would you like some?”
“Sure.”
She nodded toward the remote and took his empty glass from the coffee table. “Why don’t you find us a movie to watch? I’m over talking about depressing shit.”
Chapter 7
Kara gasped loudly. “What are you doing on that site?”
Dianna turned from the sink where she was washing the last of the dinner dishes. Kara was staring at her laptop screen. She’d forgotten to close the window she’d been browsing earlier. “I have to start selling stuff if I’m going to pay the bills.”
Kara’s eyes went wide. “Did you put your address online?”
“No. But I’ll have to give it to whoever wants to come look at what I posted.”
“Don’t. You. Dare. Are you insane?”
“It’s not like I put out a sex ad, Kare. I’m selling some furniture.”
“Do you know how many crazy people are just waiting for some beautiful single woman to sell some furniture? You’ll be raped and murdered within a week.”
“Oh, my God.” Di laughed. “You watch too much Nightline.” She sat in her chair and pulled her laptop to her. “Besides, you’re one to talk. Didn’t Harry just lecture you about personal safety after you hired a drug addict to do some work at your house?”
“He wasn’t a drug addict. He just…had a problem. And I’m not talking about me. There are perverts out there who answer these ads just to case out a house and see if they have a potential victim. Stonehill isn’t a bubble. There are lunatics here, just like everywhere else. I cannot believe you put an ad on Craigslist.”
Dianna’s frown deepened when Paul stepped into the kitchen, his eyes just as wide as Kara’s.
“You did what?” he demanded.
“She put her address on Craigslist.”
Dianna rolled her eyes. “No, I didn’t. I set up an account so I could sell some things. She’s acting like I asked someone to come kill me.”
“You might as well have,” Kara said.
“Just…stop,” Dianna said. “Paul, this is Kara, my overlord.”
Paul took Kara’s hand when she extended it. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Kara rolled her eyes to Dianna. “None of it good, I’m sure.”
Paul grinned as he sat at the table. “Not all of it was bad.”
Kara snorted. “I bet.”
“If you’d quit hovering like I’m a child, I’d have nicer things to say about you.”
“And if you didn’t do things that endanger your life, I wouldn’t hover.”
“She’s right,” Paul said. “If you’re going to sell something online, do it through your social media. At least you know the people.”
“And have everyone know just how bad things are? No, thanks.”
“Hey,” Kara said firmly, “there’s no point in trying to save face if some weirdo cuts your head off.”
“Jesus,” Dianna said. “You really do watch too much TV. Is he going to decapitate me or rape me?”
“He’ll probably decapitate you and then rape you, smart-ass.”
“Not all murderers are men, you know,” Paul offered. “That’s a pretty broad stereotype, and as the only male in the room, I’m slightly offended.”
Dianna chuckled and looked at Paul. “When did you get here?”
“Just now. Sam let me in on his way out. Listen, if you don’t want to list your stuff on your profile, I’ll put it on mine, but don’t use some online sales site. It isn’t safe.”
Dianna frowned. “Fine. I’ll take my ad down.”
“Thank you,” Kara said with a nod. “Do it now, please.”
She grumbled under her breath but went in and took down what she’d posted earlier in the evening.
“What are you selling?” Paul asked. “I’ll see if anyone I know is interested.”
“A leather sectional sofa, a piano, and a full-size bedroom set.”
“You’re selling your piano?” Kara asked softly.
“Yes.” Though she didn’t elaborate, she was sure the expression on her face spoke for her. She didn’t want to sell it—she didn’t want to sell any of it. But she was out of options. Silence hung in the air, heavy and thick, while Dianna messaged Paul and Kara the photos and information on the items she was selling. “Do me a favor and tell anyone who asks that I’m remodeling instead of destitute, okay?”
She pushed herself up and walked to the sink to fill a glass of water but didn’t miss the glance that Kara and Paul shared. She’d have asked them both to leave if it weren’t so rude to do so. She’d spent the day determining what big items to sell and then researching what other people were selling similar furniture for so she wasn’t asking too much or too little. She’d been depressed and gloomy, and as she always did, Kara acted like it was her responsibility to cheer her up with food and drink.
