Read Online Ain’t Misbehaving by Jennifer Greene - Free Book Online

you could afford to hire others to do.”
    Mitch shook his head, and his father chuckled. “When do you sleep?”
    “I haven’t time.”
    Aaron sobered abruptly. They were alike physically, both tall and broad-shouldered and lean. Mitch had his father’s dark hair, the same quietness in the way he moved, the same enigmatic expression in his dark eyes. They were both stubborn. Both fiercely independent. And they understood each other, at times, far too well. “You’re pushing it, you know,” Aaron said quietly. “Trying to do everything all at once. It’s not like that anymore. You’ve got time. And you know I’ll help you—”
    “Good. You can let me know what my last round of medical adventures cost you.”
    Aaron sighed. It was an old argument. Even before that final operation, Mitch had been pulling his financial weight in the family, with a drive that his father respected and a stubbornness no one could control. Lately, yes, Mitch had pursued a most determined course in fortune-building…and he’d fiercely resented his father’s paying the last hospital bill.
    Aaron understood. Mitch had never been able to tolerate feeling dependent on others, and had a man’s need to pay his own way. But for Aaron there was no forgetting the long hours in the waiting room, with the knowledge that this last operation could swing either way. It wasn’t the gift of money but the gift of life he’d been so desperate to give his son. The decision to go under the knife one final time had been Mitch’s. It was Aaron who’d barely survived it.
    “If you want to help me out, you can accept your mother’s invitation to dinner tonight,” Aaron said abruptly.
    Mitch dug his hands in his pockets as his father pulled on his coat. “Dad—”
    “She told me to tell you there’d be prime rib, a good Burgundy, glazed carrots, blueberry pie…”
    “And who’s she lined up as a surprise across the table this time?” Mitch smiled dryly.
    “Laura Kingsley.”
    Mitch chuckled. “Let no one suggest that Mom leaves any stone unturned.”
    “Your mother—” Aaron cleared his throat “—occasionally lacks subtlety. On the other hand, she says we haven’t had the Kingsleys over in some time.”
    “And their daughter, by some miracle, just happened to be in town.”
    “A miracle, yes.” Aaron looked at his son and burst out laughing. “Do you want a word of fatherly advice?”
    “No offense, Dad, but not particularly.”
    “Thank God.” Aaron glanced at his watch, then negotiated a path around a pile of cardboard boxes near the door. “You know, if you should want to sell that garnet—”
    Mitch shook his head. “If I can find a match, I’ll work up a set of earrings for Mom for Christmas.”
    “Dinner?” Aaron asked abruptly, giving his son a wry look. He knew damn well Mitch was going to find some way to pay back the debt.
    Mitch hesitated. “Not tonight, Dad. I’ve got an afternoon of painting here, plus I want to get a run in, maybe a game of racquetball. Beyond that, I honestly have work to do. Tell Mom thanks—and I’ll stop by to see her tomorrow.”
    “That’ll mollify her.” There was a moment more, as both men stood in the doorway, a quick flash of eye contact that simply conveyed the very real affection they had for each other. “Not that I appreciate being left alone to entertain those two vacant-headed Kingsley women over dinner this evening. You just keep in mind that you owe me one.”
    Mitch closed the door a moment later. With his father gone, the house seemed pregnant with a peculiar, lonely silence. He tugged off his tie, taking the steps upstairs two at a time. His bedroom was the only room in the entire house that was more or less furnished. There’d been ample space in the huge room for a couch and armchair on one side, for his double bed on the other. The rest of the furniture included some handsome teak bookcases and an old chest lacquered in navy blue, Chinese style, that had