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“I’m a contractor,” he said. “Mainly cedar, decks and siding. That sort of thing.”
“He owns his own business, too,” Clover said, and the pride in her voice made him stand up a little straighter.
“That’s great,” Kelly said. “I always thought it would be fun to run my own business.”
“Lots of work,” Erick said. “But Clover knows that better than I do. I work alone. She actually has employees, and since one of them is my daughter, I know how hard she works at it.”
“Too hard,” David said. “Working her life away.”
“I don’t work that much, Daddy,” Clover said.
“Gotta take time for yourself,” he said. “Family is just as important as work.”
“I took time for myself this week, and I enjoyed every minute of it,” Clover said.
“Running off with a man and leaving your phone behind isn’t exactly what I meant,” David said.
“But it’s exactly what I needed,” Clover said, and Erick could see how shaky that plastered-on smile of hers was. There was only one thing for it.
“Who wants wine?” Erick asked. He did.
Erick went into the kitchen and poured out seven glasses of wine—two whites and five reds. Lisa slipped in and picked up two glasses for her and her husband.
“Let me get these,” she said. “You only have two hands.”
“Thanks for the help,” Erick said.
Lisa glanced over her shoulder at the family talking in the living room.
“Word of advice,” Lisa whispered, leaning in close to him. “Get out while you can.”
“Too late,” he said. “I’m in too deep.”
“You have my sympathies,” she said, then mouthed the words, “Save yourself...” before putting on a fake too-wide smile and returning to the party. Apparently Lisa had about as much fun at these family gatherings as Clover did.
With that, she walked back into the breach, and Erick wondered if both glasses of wine were for her. For her sake, he hoped they were.
“Can I help in the kitchen with anything?” Val asked when Erick passed the wineglasses to everyone. He took a long deep drink of his red. Drinking might not be the best idea around this crowd but it would certainly help him put up with their sniping at each other.
“We’ve got it under control,” Erick said. “Turkey’s almost done. Everything else is warming in the oven.”
“It all smells wonderful,” Lisa said. “Thanks for having us. I wanted to host this year but then Hunter decided we needed to remodel the kitchen. Again.”
Erick sensed they were drifting into choppy waters.
“Your fault you won’t let me buy a bigger house,” Hunter said. “So we remodel. Gotta look good for the bigwigs, right?”
“You finally learn how to cook?” Kelly asked Clover.
“Erick did most of it,” Clover said behind her glass of chardonnay that she held in a white-knuckle grip.
“I admire a man who is good in the kitchen,” Kelly said. “Mike is useless.”
“Before the kid, I couldn’t boil water,” Erick said. “I had to learn fast after my divorce, and I got full custody of Ruthie. Kids have this weird obsession with eating real food multiple times a day.”
“Mr. Mom,” Hunter said, raising his wineglass in a mock toast. “Good for you.”
“Not Mr. Mom. Just Dad,” Erick said, putting on his most harmless smile. “Normal dad. That’s all.”
