Read Online Murder in Vail by Judy Moore - Free Book Online

I have to cook? I don’t like to cook.”
    “Well, welcome to the world,” Gwen said, rolling her eyes.
    Glen smirked at his wife. “When was the last time you cooked? We go out to dinner almost every night.”
    “We do not,” Gwen retorted. She hesitated, thinking back. “I’ve cooked from time to time.”
    Glen rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Right.”
    Wounded by her husband’s rebuke, Gwen glared at him.
    “You eat half your meals at the marina anyway,” she said. “And, Glen, while we’re on the subject of the marina, you might as well kiss that yacht goodbye. There’s no way we can afford it on what we have left in the bank.”
    Glen frowned and asked Lance, “How much do you think she’s leaving Helga? Probably more than any of us will get.”
    “Wish there was a way we could find out about that,” Lance said. “I’d like to put an end to that. I don’t care for that woman.”
    Stephen sat slouched on the couch, his fingers laced behind his head as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.
    “I don’t think Mom’s going to change her mind about Helga,” he said. “Mom will definitely leave her a lot. But she thinks we’ve gotten enough. She’s always said that she thought Dad made a mistake by giving us so much. I can tell she’s serious about this.”
    Lance peered at his brother. “How about you, Stephen? How much do you have stashed away?” He added with a chuckle, “Could you front the rest of us with a loan?”
    Stephen straightened up and shook his head. “Nope. I’m as drained as the rest of you.”
    Gwen said sarcastically, “Those recreational needs of yours and Rachel’s don’t come cheap.” Under her breath she added, “And neither does rehab.”
    Stephen glowered at her and started to say something when Lance asked him, “Did you ever use your degree from NYU, Stephen?”
    “Political science?” Stephen said, lifting an eyebrow. “No. I’m not planning on running for public office anytime soon. I did exactly what you and Gwen did—waited until I turned twenty-four and got the money.”
    Lance nodded and stared off into space. “Dad wasn’t happy with me at all for not getting my MBA and going into business,” he remembered. “I got a degree in economics to please him. But I just didn’t want that kind of life. All I wanted to do was fly helicopters. I was definitely feeling the pressure from Dad, but then he died.”
    Stephen nodded. “I had just gotten my trust fund when Dad died. He was pressuring me to go into business too.”
    “What about you, Gwen? Did Dad have a lot of expectations of you too?” Lance asked.
    “Not really,” Gwen said, shaking her head. “He was kind of old school. He seemed more concerned about who I was going to marry than what my career would be. He kept mentioning sons of his friends who had graduated from Harvard or Wharton. I went out with a couple of them, but they were so boring. No fun at all.”
    She reached over and took Glen’s hand, the harsh words of a few minutes before apparently forgotten. “I’m just glad I decided to go to University of Miami and then stayed in South Florida, or I wouldn’t have met Glen. But I didn’t meet Glen until after Dad died.”
    “Wish I’d gotten to meet him,” Glen said, squeezing her hand. “I’ve heard so much about your father. It sounds like he was a great man.”
    “Definitely the ultimate businessman,” Stephen said. “It was like he took all that Olympic attitude and turned it toward the business.”
    “Yeah,” Lance agreed. “He was such a hard worker. Relentless and so competitive. But he never complained, just worked his butt off. That’s why the business was so successful.”
    Stephen turned to his sister. “What do you think he would have thought about this charitable donation idea of Mom’s?” he asked.
    “I don’t think he’d go for giving all of his money to charity,” Gwen said. “Maybe some of it, but not that much.”
    “I agree,” Lance said.