Almost Perfect (Fool's Gold #2)(37)
Pia slipped and had to grab onto the counter to stay upright. Her mouth dropped open. “No,” she breathed.
“Am I wrong?”
Pia winced. “I did get him into bed, but it’s not what you think.”
“You weren’t trying to have sex with him?”
“Okay, yes. It was that, but I…” Pia shook her head, then swore. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Liz waited. “Didn’t mean what? To take him?”
“You were gone. Plus, I wasn’t completely sure the two of you were actually dating. Josh said something that one time and Ethan denied everything.”
Not an afternoon Liz cared to remember. It had been difficult enough working as a waitress in the one place the popular kids liked to hang out, but it had been sheer torture being there when Ethan came home from college and they started seeing each other. They’d both agreed it was better if no one knew about them. He had his family’s reputation to think about. After all, he was a Hendrix.
Liz had been young enough and foolish enough to think that was a good reason to slink around behind everyone’s back. Today she wouldn’t bother. Either a man wanted to be with her or he didn’t. But back then she’d been so grateful to have someone care about her. Especially Ethan.
Ethan who was accepted everywhere he went. Ethan who had a family that was always sober and kind and respectable. Ethan’s mother didn’t show up at the grocery store drunk and talk about being with other women’s husbands.
Liz had never actually met Ethan’s father, but she heard him speak once, at a fundraiser to refurbish the city park. He’d been stern, but eloquent as he talked about duty and responsibility and how as citizens of the town, everyone had to participate and give of themselves. She’d been drawn to the man and intimidated. After seeing him, she knew why Ethan didn’t want anyone to know they were involved. Ralph Hendrix wouldn’t have approved.
Then Josh had mentioned seeing the two of them together and another friend had called her a whore. Ethan had not only denied they were dating, he’d said he wasn’t so desperate as to need to be with someone like her.
Pouring a milk shake over his head and walking out hadn’t healed the wound in her heart.
She didn’t want to remember any of this, Liz thought grimly. She didn’t want to be here, dealing with her past. The people, the memories, her complete inability to feel as if she’d made progress emotionally were just a few of the reasons she’d never wanted to come back.
“Your relationship with Ethan doesn’t matter,” she stated, turning away from Pia. “My point is, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about when it comes to my son, and you need to remember that.”
“I’m sorry.”
Liz nodded.
“I mean that. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Liz declared facing her again, trying not to see the regret in Pia’s eyes.
Pia opened her mouth, then closed it. “I really am sorry,” she whispered, then walked out of the kitchen, leaving Liz alone.
If the buzzing in Liz’s head wasn’t enough to tell her that she wasn’t going to have a good time come morning, the tightness in her chest hinted that a hangover might very well be the least of her problems.
Damn this town, she thought as she grabbed the cookies and braced herself to return to the party.
LIZ WOKE UP WITH A MILDER headache than she deserved and a determination to put together a plan to get out of Fool’s Gold as quickly as possible. The house was the biggest problem. What to do with it. Keeping it for the girls was a possibility. As a rental, it could provide income and the value would increase over time. Although that would require fixing up the place. Selling it presented the same fix-up dilemma. Maybe the best place to start was to speak with a Realtor. Get some actual numbers and see what made the most sense.
As much as she wanted to pack her car and run, she knew she couldn’t. There were Roy’s girls to think of. Melissa and Abby wouldn’t want to move. They’d already lost their dad and stepmom. Their home was all they had.
But she couldn’t stay here, she thought, feeling desperate. It was a twisted kind of hell for her. Which meant what? Endure the town as long as she could and give the girls more time to adjust to her and moving?
Not a decision she could make without a second cup of coffee.
She made her way to the kitchen. Melissa was on the phone with one of her friends and Abby had gone next door to play. Tyler was with his father. She got out the phone book and called a couple real estate offices from her cell.
An hour later, she’d confirmed what she’d already guessed. No one would commit without seeing the house in person, but the consensus was for rental property and fixing up was required. A sale could be “as is” but that seriously cut down on the number of interested buyers as well as the price.
Liz had a feeling the house was all the girls could expect to get from their father. Her gut said that fixing it up and then renting it made the most sense. Let the property value increase while Melissa and Abby were growing. If they wanted to sell it later, they could. She could even pay for the renovations herself.
She got out a pad of paper and started making a list. She would have to get an attorney to draw up a title transfer. Roy had said he wanted to put the house in the girls’ names. Fortunately, Bettina wasn’t on the title, so she wasn’t going to be a complication.