Read Online Running on Empty by Sandra Balzo - Free Book Online Page B

secret?' AnnaLise asked. 'A lot of people bought when housing prices
     were high and now that values have dropped, they're stuck. It's not something to be
     ashamed of.'
    'Besides,' Daisy said. 'Tucker and his father, certainly, don't seem to have anything
     to worry about.'
    AnnaLise thought she saw something cross Joy's expression. 'But it wouldn't be just
     the Stantons, would it? All of Hart's Landing could be in jeopardy.' Along with —
     easy come, easy go — AnnaLise's 'memoir' contract.
    'Pfft.' Joy must have read her mind. 'Dickens Hart will always land on his feet. Just
     press him on your book deal and get the money upfront.'
    'I'll do that,' AnnaLise said, though it might be like insisting the devil sign on
     the dotted line for your soul. 'But back to you: your spa idea could be a real boon
     to the development. I assume that's the project you have "in the works"?'
    'Yup,' Joy said.
    'Well, don't worry,' Daisy said. 'You'll think of something.'
    'Oh, believe me.' Joy squared her shoulders. 'I haven't given up.'
    'Good for you,' Daisy said, slapping Joy on the back as the prospective spa-owner
     turned to leave. Again.
    'Hello,' Katou said again from on high.
    'I think you mean goodbye,' AnnaLise said. 'Joy's leaving.'
    'No.' He pointed. 'I speak to him.'
    Sure enough, a new arrival. Bobby Bradenham was passing Joy on the sidewalk from the
     parking lot.
    'I thought I heard your car go by our house,' Bobby said to AnnaLise when he reached
     them. 'You better get that muffler fixed. Especially with out-of-state plates.'
    Sutherton's police department was notorious for ticketing. It, along with tourism,
     had provided an important stream of income for the town over the years.
    'The municipal coffers down?' AnnaLise asked.
    'You'd be surprised how much law enforcement, when properly motivated, can bring in.'
     He looked around the group. 'What's everybody doing here? We only need Mama for a
     quorum.'
    'And your mama,' AnnaLise said. 'Assuming we want to re-create the restaurant scenario from
     this morning.'
    'I dropped Ma off at Hotel Lux to get a mani-pedi.'
    'Your mom is primping for Frat Pack Night?' AnnaLise knew better, but she loved Bobby's
     imitations of his mother.
    'Please.' Theatrically, he threw out his hand, palm-up. 'I despise crowds, as you
     well know. If I want to enjoy the lake, I will do so from the comfort and privacy
     of my own lovely deck, not some noisy hole-in-the-wall.'
    'Does your mother ever use a contraction?' AnnaLise asked, curious.
    Bobby's hand had migrated to the imaginary strand of pearls. 'Why ever would one use
     a single word where two will do? And apostrophes — ' a denigrating flap of the hand
     — 'so common, no?'
    'Your mother,' Katou said, looking puzzled. 'AnnaLise asks if she hires someone?'
    'Hires someone?' Bobby repeated, looking at AnnaLise.
    'Oh,' she said, understanding. 'Contraction, root word contract. Leading to contractor,
     perhaps. Very good reasoning, Ichiro. However, a contraction is—'
    But Bobby cut her off, presumably having heard enough of AnnaLise's lectures in the
     past. 'I was just saying that my mother will be staying home tonight.'
    'Your mother does not enjoy... the company?' Katou asked.
    'Only her own,' Daisy said under her breath as she moved into the shade thrown by
     the building.
    'That's not entirely true,' Bobby said, with a grin. 'She tolerates me at times.'
    'And me, as well,' Katou said. 'Tomorrow for the lunch. I look forward to seeing your
     home and learning of your family.'
    'Ma will be "delighted" to show you the place,' Bobby said, 'but don't expect any
     family sagas. Ma's so evasive, I've always wondered whether I'm adopted.'
    'You, me and every kid who doesn't look like their surviving parent,' AnnaLise said,
     glad Mama wasn't around to put her two cents worth in about Bobby's paternity.
    'I think that's why I was always fascinated by the subject of heredity in school.
     I even tried to blood-type myself once. I thought