The Road Home by Susan Crandall

Author:Susan Crandall [CRANDALL, SUSAN]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: FIC027020
ISBN: 9780446510806
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2007-09-03T04:00:00+00:00

“Good God, Benny, I don’t think we can stand this much success,” Henry said when he came out of the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.

The last customer had left at one. It was now two-thirty. Most of the other help had gone home. Riley was upstairs in his grandfather’s apartment watching TV. Just Faye, Henry and Lily remained with her father.

Faye said, “It’s just curiosity. Everybody wanted to see the place. It’ll settle down by next weekend.” She cast a pointed look at Lily. “Then we’ll see.”

“We need this kind of business,” Benny said. “I, for one, hope it keeps up. Can’t have the bank coming in here and hauling away the furniture.” He said it as a joke, but for Lily, knowing what she now did, it stung.

Lily looked at Henry. “Had lots of compliments on the food tonight. I think the reputation will keep people coming in.”

Henry smiled with pride. “Well, we’ll see.” He yawned and gave his cheek a scratch. “Think I’ll be headin’ on home.”

“Yell up the back stairs for Riley to come down on your way out, will you?” Lily asked.

“Sure thing.” He disappeared through the swinging door.

A short time later, when Lily and Riley got in the car, she said, “I saw you talking to Mickey Fulton.”

He looked out the window. “Yeah. So?”

“So, I thought it was nice. She seems nice, a little shy, maybe. I’m glad you’ve met someone your age.”

“She’s not shy.” His gaze snapped around to her. “She’s smart. And she has opinions about stuff.”

“Oh. Opinions. You must have had quite a conversation tonight.” Lily was fishing, but she didn’t want to cast her line directly at her target and have him shy away.

He shrugged and looked out the window again.

“Well, in any case, I’m glad you met someone.”

He grunted. “You know her mom?”

“We went to school together. We weren’t friends or anything.”

“So, you didn’t like her?” There was something in his tone that made it seem like more than a casual question.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far. We didn’t really know one another.” She wanted to say, No, I didn’t like her, she was silly, superficial and a snob. “Why?”

He shrugged and looked back out the window. “No reason.”

“Maybe we should have Mickey out to swim sometime soon.”

“Geez, Mom, I just talked to her.” He rotated in his seat, giving her as much of his back as the seat belt would allow. “Don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“Okay, okay.”

He didn’t look at her again. When they got home, he jumped out of the car and hurried to the house. His plan to avoid her ran into a brick wall when he couldn’t get in the locked door.

He held the screen open for her to use her key, with his gaze fixed on the lake. The second the deadbolt slid free, he was in the house and heading up the stairs.

Lily locked the door behind her, then dumped her purse on the kitchen counter. That’s when she noticed the basement door was open.

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