Piper nodded. “Our lot is over an acre. Huge by modern standards.”
“And your backyards face the river,” Rosamund pointed out. “It must be nice to have water views.”
“Only in the winter.” Piper repressed a shudder as she thought back to her conversation a few hours earlier with Bruno Orlov.
Kiersten snagged a napkin. “What’s the deal with the two houses going up across the cul-de-sac, between your house and Richard and Margaret’s place?”
“A widower lived there,” Rosamund said as she grabbed an Oreo. “Nice old guy, but I guess he was starting to have cognitive issues. Chip Davis tried to be helpful and sort of watch over him from afar, but I think it got to be too much. The old guy sold his house to Chip last year when he entered assisted living, and now Chip and Trey are building two new homes on that lot.”
“So Chip is Trey’s dad?” Kiersten asked.
Rosamund nodded. “They’re both developers. Trey’s also a real estate agent.”
“Who’s going to live in those new houses they’re building?” Kiersten asked.
“We don’t know yet,” Rosamund said. “They’re planning to put them on the market when they’re finished. I hear they’re planning to ask $2 million.”
Piper let out a low whistle. “Wow.”
“This house is far from perfect,” Kiersten conceded, gesturing to the popcorn ceiling with a slice of pizza. “We could only afford it because it’s never been updated. The bathrooms and closets are tiny. And so is the kitchen. But the neighbors are second to none.”
“Hear! Hear!” Rosamund raised her Solo cup in the air.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you guys today.” Kiersten’s voice wavered, and Piper stiffened. Was she going to start hugging people again?
“Thank you both.” Kiersten blinked rapidly, then dabbed her eyes with a napkin. “For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.” Piper waved away these heartfelt expressions of gratitude with an Oreo.
“I wish that were an option,” Kiersten said. “I’m not sure how to tell my husband I left our last-born son at a rest stop.”
“Whereisyour husband?” Rosamund asked, looking around the kitchen.
“Kansas, I think.” Then she shrugged. “I’m never sure where he is, honestly. I can’t keep track.”
“I know what that’s like.” Piper snorted. “My husband is somewhere in Europe. Brussels, I think.”
“He travels a lot?” Kiersten asked.
“He’s a DS agent.”
Kiersten looked confused, and Piper apologized. “I forgot you’re new to the area and have not yet learned the many acronyms of the DMV.”
“DMV?” Kiersten frowned.
“DC, Maryland, Virginia,” Piper explained. “AndDSstands forDiplomatic Security. It’s like the Secret Service, but for ambassadors and the diplomatic corps. He’s currently assigned to the secretary of state. Where she goes, he goes.”
“And she travels a lot?” Rosamund asked.
“Fortunately for America, and unfortunately for me, she’s very energetic. Twenty-six countries since she was sworn in. Brendan is never home. And when he is, he’s jet lagged.”
And she had to resist the urge to ask him to do all the things she needed him to do but couldn’t. Shouldn’t, because he was exhausted.
Sometimes she found herself wishing he were deployed again, as they’d both been over the years on various assignments. Because then she wouldn’t resent him for being physically home but mentally checked out.
“That sounds rough,” Kiersten said, picking up another slice of pizza. “At least my husband’s travel is mostly domestic. What about you, Rosamund? Does your spouse travel a lot?”
Rosamund paused just a moment before answering. “I’m a single parent. Guinevere’s father isn’t in the picture.”
