Wednesday wasn’t a fun day at work. Gary was in a bad mood, the customers were cranky, and Lauren was fed up by closing time. She actually sat in her car for a few minutes, head resting on the steering wheel, trying to shake off the negativity that had sucked all the energy out of her.
It was still too early to drive over to the Kowalskis and pick up Nick, but she didn’t see any point in going home just to go out again, so she drove to the library.
Hailey was behind the circulation desk, checking in a stack of picture books with her handheld scanner, and the place seemed empty. “Hey, Lauren. Rough day?”
“Does it show that bad?”
“Probably only to somebody who knows you well. Promise.”
Lauren dragged a stool from the computer area to the desk so she could sit down. “So, I guess you’ve heard.”
“That your son messed with the Kowalskis and has been sentenced to hard labor? Yeah, I heard.”
“I swear, he gets more like Dean every day.”
“Lucky you.” Hailey carried the books she’d checked in to a rolling cart. On Tuesdays and Thursdays a high school student reshelved them, unless Hailey got bored and did it. Then the lucky kid got to dust. “You know, Nick’s not only sentenced to hard labor. You know Rose will be feeding him and giving him that amazing lemonade she makes. Or milk. Depends on what she feeds him.”
“Maybe I should break a few of their windows.”
“Are you going out there to pick him up? I have a couple of books she reserved, so maybe you could drop them off? Save her a trip.”
“Sure. I’d look around, but I still haven’t finished the last batch I checked out. And now we’re eating a little later and, even though it’s not by much, it’s throwing my schedule off.”
A couple of kids wandered in, wanting to use the computers. Then a few moms showed up with preschoolers tagging along. So much for killing time chatting with the librarian.
“I’ll get out of your way. I’ll probably run a couple more errands and then go pick up Nick.” She took the books Hailey checked out for Rose and left.
Even once she’d run out of things to do, Lauren was a little early when she drove up to the lodge and parked between Josh’s and Ryan’s trucks. Grabbing the books off the passenger seat, she walked up the front porch steps. She could hear power tools being run behind the house and she couldn’t help but hope her son wasn’t operating one of them.
At least she trusted Ryan to show him how to use the things correctly. But still, they weren’t something Nick had a lot of experience with.
When Rose opened the door, she held up the books. “Delivery from the library.”
“Lauren! It’s nice to see you again. Come on in.” She took the books, making an excited sound over the shiny, new hardcover.
“I stopped at the library and Hailey knew I had to come pick up Nick, so she asked me to bring them.”
“I appreciate it. Come on into the kitchen. I’m making up a big batch of spaghetti and I don’t want the sauce to burn.”
The kitchen smelled amazing and Lauren wasn’t surprised her stomach growled—quietly, just enough to let her know she was starving and the cube steaks and instant mashed potatoes waiting at home weren’t going to taste quite as good tonight.
“Nick’s really working hard,” Rose was saying as she stirred the sauce. “And he’s a quick learner, according to Ryan.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Lauren pulled out a chair and sat down, since she wasn’t sure what else to do. Almost instantly a napkin appeared in front of her with a fresh brownie on top. She liked this place. “Considering what he did, you’ve all been very gracious to him. I appreciate that.”
“My boys all made their share of stupid mistakes and had to make right on them. They’re not going to hold the same against your boy. You two want to stay for supper? I made plenty.”
Yes, she absolutely wanted to stay for supper. But she needed to keep in mind, even if Rosie didn’t, that Nick’s being here was supposed to be a punishment. “Thank you, but I’ve got meat thawed and I need to cook it.”
Lauren heard footsteps crossing the wood floors and looked up to see Ryan stride into the room, phone to his ear.
“She signed off on marble countertops in the master bath and granite in all the other bathrooms. If she wants marble in all of them, she’s going to pay for it, plain and simple.” He stopped when he saw her and smiled before continuing on to the fridge. “I don’t care. You already gave her under-cabinet lighting in her kitchen because you’re a sucker. If you don’t get her to accept the granite or sign off on the marble as an extra, I’m going to fire you.”
Lauren watched as he pulled a bowl of what looked like chocolate pudding out of the fridge. Then she put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh when Rose took it away, slapped his hand and put it back in the fridge. She replaced it with a brownie, which Ryan scowled at.
“She has until noon tomorrow to make the decision and then the granite’s going in. Tell her that. I’m not going to pay the penalty if this job runs over because she can’t make up her mind. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went.”