Hung Up On You by Holly Jacobs

Author:Holly Jacobs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

7

IT WAS THE LONGEST week of Ari’s life, even though it wasn’t a week.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Three days.

Since Thursday wasn’t quite over it wasn’t even three whole days.

Unless you counted that she hadn’t seen Simon since Monday, late afternoon. Then it was.

No matter how you counted it, Ari’s week had been long. She couldn’t shake Simon’s proposition. It kept creeping into her thoughts at the oddest moments, like right at this moment when she should be concentrating on what her father was saying.

“I don’t know where she keeps the new checks,” he said over the phone. “You ask her when she comes in from wherever she is. Where did you say she is?”

“I didn’t. You’ll have to ask Mom yourself.”

“She won’t tell me anything. I mean, if she won’t tell me what she does every day, why would she tell me where the checks are?”

They were going for another round of a game Ari had come to think of as Dad-ask-Mom. It was her refrain to her father’s cross-examination.

“…Dad, ask Mom.”

“I tried, but she won’t tell me. She says I blow things out of proportion. All I want to know is what’s going on?”

“Dad, ask Mom.”

“She wouldn’t tell me who this Simon character is. She walked out on our marriage, on me. I was simply trying to give her a hand around the house. You’d think she’d appreciate it….”

The doorbell rang.

“I’ve got to go. Someone’s at the door.”

“I’ll wait,” he said.

“No, that’s okay. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She hung up and immediately felt guilty.

Her father was lonely. He missed her mother, but didn’t know how to get her back.

She’d go over this weekend and see him. Maybe she could talk him into agreeing to seeing someone, a marriage counselor.

The doorbell rang again.

Her quiet house had become Grand Central Station in the last few weeks.

She opened it hesitantly, not sure who to expect this time. What new disaster awaited her on the other side of the door?

Her caller didn’t look like a disaster.

An older man in a very starched-looking suit, clutching a bouquet of spring flowers, stood on her steps looking…determined.

Yes, determined was just the word to describe his stance and expression.

This was a man on a mission.

“Is Agnes here?”

“Agnes?” Ari repeated.

Then it clicked. Agnes was Bubbi, although no one in the world called her that, so it was easy to forget she had a name other than Bubbi.

“Oh, Agnes,” she said. “Yes she is. Would you like to come in? I’ll go get her.”

“Thank you, but I’ll wait here, if you don’t mind,” he said, his voice full of quiet dignity.

Ari left the door open and went to find her grandmother. Bubbi was in the kitchen stirring something on the stove.

“There’s a man on the steps. He’s here for you. He has flowers.”

“An old geezer with gray hair and fake teeth?”

“I didn’t ask about the teeth, but yes, his hair is gray.”

Bubbi looked grim. “Tell him that I’m not home.”

“Yes, you are. I already told him I’d get you, so he knows you’re here.

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