Delaney stole a glance at Grant. Was she supposed to stay? Take the money and run? What was the etiquette here? One thing she did know was that she had a deplorable lack of options overall. If the house really belonged to him, the contract she’d signed was null and void. Which was made doubly irrelevant by the fact that she was pretending to be something, and someone, she was not. But the money was legally hers and they were obligated to return it.
“Coffee, sure,” Grant said. He pulled out a scarred wooden chair for Delaney. OK. She was supposed to stay. At least for a while longer.
Donna’s hands smoothed the front of the peach cardigan. “So, I see you two have met, obviously. That must have been a bit . . . interesting.”
“You could say that,” Grant said, sitting down next to Delaney. “Did it occur to you to tell me you were planning to rent my house?”
Donna’s cheeks flushed. “We tried to tell you, honey, but it was so hard to get ahold of you. You could call more often, you know.”
Carl sat down on the other side of Delaney. “Have you ever tried a sloe gin fizz? They’re delicious.”
“Not now, Carl,” Donna said, resting a hand on his shoulder before turning to fuss with the coffee pot. “Anyway, we tried to tell you, Grant, but the point is, you didn’t know. So I guess you’ll have to find another place to stay for a while. Your sisters are coming home for the wedding, and of course my sister Tina will be arriving soon, but I suppose you could sleep on our couch.”
He didn’t look too happy about that suggestion.
Delaney hiccupped.
“Or,” Grant said slowly, “we could give Elaine her rent money back and she can find a different place to live. I’m for that option. So please tell me you still have it.”
His mother seemed very focused on those coffee filters all of a sudden, and a pressure began to build inside Delaney’s lungs, as if she’d lounged for too long inside a steam bath.
“Have what?” Donna asked.
“Her rent money.”
His mother turned around slowly. “Not exactly.”
“What does not exactly mean?” he asked.
“It means no. I don’t have it. I spent it.”
The pressure expanded and Delaney’s next hiccup was actually painful. Of course this woman had spent her money. Because why should this current streak of bad luck stop now?
“All of it?” Grant’s voice took on an edge. “You spent six months of rent money in just four days? How? At the casino?”
“No.” Donna looked indignant, then chagrined. “Well, yes. A little of it, but not all of it. There have been wedding expenses, you know. Plus I wanted to get Tyler and Evie something really nice as a gift. Your brother has done so much for Carl and me, you just have no idea. Of course you wouldn’t because you’re never around. But everyone keeps telling me I have to pay for things and not just take them, so this time I used real money. It’s a wonderful present. Tyler and Evie are going to love it.” She took a big breath and plucked a coffee filter from the stack. “But yes, the money is gone.”
Delaney clenched her fists under the table. Gone, gone, gone. The money was gone and so was all her hope for a fast resolution to this latest dilemma. Every dollar she had left was in her backpack, and although it was certainly enough to keep her head above water for a few months or maybe more, being out six grand was a big dent in her finances.
Grant wiped both hands across his face, pressing his fingers against his temples for a full five seconds. Delaney looked at Carl.
He mouthed the words, “Sloe gin fizz?”
She shook her head but wondered if she should say yes. She could use a drink right about now.
Grant let his arms fall to the table with a thump, and he sighed. “OK, Mom. Then we can just return whatever you bought them and get a refund from the store, because Elaine needs her money back. She needs to find another place.”
Yes, she did need to find another place, and she did need that money back. Maybe the paparazzi’s interest in The Scandal would wane soon, but until it did, going home to Beverly Hills was not on Delaney’s list of viable options.
Donna’s face flushed a rosy shade of I’m in trouble as she popped the filter into the coffeemaker. “Return the gift? Well, I don’t really expect we can return it.”
A muscle twitched in Grant’s jaw, and his fingers drummed on the table. “Can’t return it? Why? Is it monogrammed?”
“No, but it might be branded.”
“Branded? What the hell did you buy them?”
Donna opened the can of coffee and scooped up some grounds. “A cow.”
Grant’s mouth dropped open in tandem with Delaney’s but he recovered slightly faster while she was still trying to breathe.
“A cow?” he said.
“Yes. A cow.” Donna turned and faced them squarely. “Evie is always talking about how unhealthy meat products are these days, what with all the hormones and bad feed and all that. And my friend, Dody Baker, she said she’d recently bought herself a cow that gets fed only fresh green grass and it gets to live on a farm until its time comes. A happy cow. And I thought, what a nice present.”
“A cow,” said Carl, pulling a cigarette from the pack on the table. “This is news to me. Or should I say moos?”
“You take that nasty smoke outside, Carl,” Donna said.