“I’m sure you mean well, but it would be more helpful to all concerned if you concentrate on raising your kids.” He started walking, anxious to end the call. Jerry hadn’t said anything, but Paul suspected his friend must have had reason to worry about Laura to have left him as executor instead of his wife. He had promised Jerry he would watch out for the children. Jerry hadn’t asked the same for Laura.
“That’s not what I want.”
“And Jerry didn’t want to die young, but we don’t all get what we want.” He exhaled, trying not to be harsh with her. “Sorry to rush, but I’m on my way to the office. Bye.” Not waiting for a reply, he clicked off. His appetite ruined, he jogged the rest of the way to his office, waving to Ethan Warren who was climbing into his car, no doubt on his way to the school.
The phone was ringing as Paul entered. Turning on the lights, he crossed to the desk that faced the entrance. Breathless, he grabbed the phone. “Distinctive Properties.”
“I wasn’t finished.”
It was her.
“Paul, like it or not, we’re stuck with each other because of Jerry’s will. I want to work in the company. It was half Jerry’s, so why shouldn’t I?”
Paul glanced around his small office, imagining sharing any part of it. Since he contracted out the majority of his work, he’d never needed a large space for employees. And he’d always been partial to the Victorian building. He kept the furnishings spare—one extra desk, two chairs, a few lamps. He considered it more important for the office to fit his work instead of making it a showplace. “Your allowance is reasonable. You don’t need to work. A lot of women would be happy not to leave their kids to go to a job.”
“I want…I…” Her voice trailed off.
Listening, he heard muffled sounds. “Mrs. Manning? Laura? Are you there?”
It took a moment. “Yes.”
“You don’t even know what you’re asking to get into. This is a tough industry. Flipping property is even worse than selling homes—you know, traditional real estate. Buying investment houses, then renovating on a tight schedule and reselling them to make a quick profit is like chasing sharks. It only sounds like fun.” She didn’t laugh. That didn’t surprise him. He had never heard her laugh, she had looked unhappy every time he’d ever seen her. “It’s stressful and risky, you have to know what you’re doing all the time. If you mess up, you not only lose your own shirt, but your investors’, as well. It’s not the place for the weakhearted. I know you’ve had a lot to take in lately.” He eased into his well-used wooden chair and put his feet up on the scarred desk. “Maybe I was too abrupt with you earlier. But, this isn’t something you want to do. Trust me. You’re going to have your hands full with the kids, keeping up with your house.”
“You don’t understand—”
“What’s to understand? Jerry just died. You’re confused.”
“I’m not confused.”
Paul rubbed his eyes. “Laura, maybe you can talk to a therapist or—”
“I don’t need a therapist.”
His other line rang. “I’m sorry but I have to take another call.”
He had always understood the initial attraction Jerry must have felt for her. Tall, slim, glossy dark hair, haunting green eyes. But she always acted downtrodden. He likened her to a whipped dog. And he never could figure out why. Jerry was a great guy and treated her like a queen. But then some women, like his ex-fiancée, only thought about money. Maybe Jerry’s beautiful home wasn’t as big as she wanted. Maybe she wanted one in the exclusive River Oaks area of town where the millionaires lived.
And personality wasn’t the only thing she lacked. Her husband had just died and she hadn’t expressed a shred of grief.
Laura stumbled outside, needing the open air. Even the muggy air the recent rain had rendered. When Paul Russell had pushed, she hadn’t been able to summon the courage to push back, to find the words to explain how much she needed her freedom. She couldn’t bear to be under Jerry’s thumb another moment.
How was she going to convince him to let her learn the trade? Clearly not over the phone. She would have to talk to him in person, argue her case.
“Mom?” Kirsten sounded annoyed as she came outside to join her on the deck.
“I’m here.”
“It’s like a zillion degrees out here and the humidity’s killing my hair,” Kirsten complained.
“Did you need something?”
Kirsten frowned. “I’m going to stay at Nana’s for the weekend.”
No asking permission, not even the consideration that she might need to. This had to stop. Laura had tried so hard to keep Jerry’s abuse hidden from the children that she had become a doormat in her daughter’s eyes. And it was becoming more blatant since Jerry’s death.
“I don’t think so, Kirsten.”
Her daughter stomped her foot and Laura noticed she was wearing a new pair of shoes, another present from her grandmother. “But Nana said we were going shopping!”
“You didn’t ask me for permission.”
Kirsten scowled, her pert features so much like her father’s. “What’s the big deal?”
Maybe it had been a mistake to try to keep Jerry’s image untarnished, to keep their arguing secret. “I’m your mother, Kirsten. Without my permission, you don’t go anywhere. And that includes your grandparents’.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Those are the rules. You wouldn’t have thought you could go without permission when your father was alive.”
Kirsten was definitely her daddy’s girl. She shook the blond hair—exactly like his—blue duplicates of her father’s eyes now furious. “Daddy would have said yes!”
“Maybe. And maybe you’ll think twice next time about announcing you’ve got plans, instead of asking for permission.”
“Nana’s right. We should come live with her.”
Laura stared at her. “What?”
“Nana says you won’t be able to manage and we should come live with her. I think she’s right. And Gregg will think she’s right, too, when I tell him.”
Fear unsettled her. Up until now, Gregg hadn’t acted like his older sister. But if Kirsten tried to influence him… And Meredith…if she was campaigning to take the children away…
Laura had to do something. Living only two blocks away from her in-laws, it would be easy for Kirsten to visit them as often as she wished. Yet moving was nearly impossible. She couldn’t sell the house. And if she leased it out…she didn’t want to move her children into an area that wasn’t safe just to find lower rent. And that was the only way she could imagine finding the funds to go back to school herself. Unless…
Unless she learned the basics of flipping houses from Paul Russell. She hadn’t been able to find her courage in years, but now…now she had to.
Laura fretted and agonized for days. If she stayed in Houston, her life would be out of her control as it had been during her marriage. But, if she could convince Paul Russell…She knew she didn’t have any practical experience to bring to the table, but…She moved away from the window, her steps hesitant, and reached for the phone.
She dialed Donna’s number. They’d been friends since the third grade, and Donna was the only person she had confided in throughout her marriage. Donna answered on the third ring.
“I’m glad you’re home.”
“I