“Be it ever so humble,” Grant said to Celeste as Mandy scrambled out of the helicopter carrying a pile of suitcases as effortlessly as if they were feather pillows.
Grant reached over and grabbed one of them, and Celeste took hers. Mandy had agreed to come work for him as security, since he’d just turned his back on his entire pack. He’d have to hire new staff as soon as they got settled in.
“Geez, I don’t know if I’ll be able to fit all my stuff in here, but I’m willing to slum it for a week or two,” Celeste said.
“I can have the rest of your stuff shipped here from your house in…” He trailed off. “Where is it again?”
She gestured at her big, overstuffed suitcase. “This is my house. I call it Casa de Celeste.” He looked at her in disbelief. “Seriously,” she said. “I meant it when I said I lived in motels. Why pay rent when you’re travelling fifty-two weeks out of the year?”
“Okay then. We’ve got a swimming pool here,” Grant said to Jeffrey. “And a bowling alley. And a movie room. And an elevator. Pretty cool, huh?”
Jeffrey refused to meet his eyes. “It’s okay for now, until me andmy mommove to our new place,” he said.
Ouch.
Celeste shot Jeffrey a look, but he hurried on ahead as they walked up to the two-story high front door.
“Wow,” Celeste said with a laugh. “The designer of this house had some real self-esteem issues. I bet he drives a teeny red sports car and wears banana hammocks.”
“I know. You’ll like our house in North Dakota much better. I mean, it’s not small and understated, but it’s more authentic. And less orange.” He scowled, then shook his head. “Wait. I’m sorry. It’s still new to me that I’ve left the pack. We’ll have to talk about where we’re going to settle once this court case is over with.”
He’d saidwe, Celeste noted. Her heart flipped. They hadn’t really talked about the future, or anything other than getting the court case out of the way. She ruthlessly pushed the feeling back down. She needed him to understand that she couldn’t stay, but she couldn’t bring herself to push the issue. The thought of leaving Jeffrey behind brought a lump to her throat. But the fear of trying, and failing, to be part of a family yet again hurt just as badly.
As the helicopter took off, they walked into an enormous entryway, with two spiral staircases leading to the second floor. The décor inside clashed with the Spanish theme of the house. It was all rococo and big, heavy, dark pieces with curly, heavily adorned flourishes.
“Good knight,” Celeste said in astonishment.
“It’s seven a.m. Are you feeling okay?” Mandy asked her. In answer, Celeste pointed to her left.
“Is that a suit of armor?” Mandy gaped at the silvery medieval suit of armor standing in an alcove in the foyer. “Gahh! Stop looking at me, Lance-a-little! It’s freaking me out. I’m going to go find the wine cellar, before I challenge that thing to a duel.” And she set down the suitcases and hurried off.
“I’m starving,” Jeffrey said to Grant. “Can you go order me a pizza from Greasy Gus?”
“Greasy Gus?” Grant stared at him in dismay.
Jeffrey fixed him with an icy glare. “Yes. Me and my mom love it. It’s our favorite.”
“It’s true,” Celeste admitted. “Soggy pizza, bitter coffee…what’s not to love?” It was the familiarity of the chain, not the taste, that really drew her. They had them in every state, and when she and Jennifer were teenagers, it had been the only place they could afford to eat most of the time.
“Is the stuff on the pizza actually cheese?” Grant wondered aloud.
“For ninety-nine cents a slice? At least some of it’s probably cheese.” She looked at Jeffrey. “You know they’re not open this early, though. How about if we just eat there for lunch?”
Grant tried to hide a grimace of distaste. He set his suitcase down. “Sure thing. I’ll go get you something to snack on right now. And how about tonight I cook dinner for us? I cook a mean steak. You like steak?”
“Nope. Hate it.” Jeffrey turned his back on him, and Grant sighed and headed off for the kitchen.
“Jeffrey,” Celeste said, with a note of warning in her voice.
“Is he gone?” Jeffrey asked. “Okay, I heard the door close. This place isgreat.”
“You like it?” she said in surprise.
“Heck yeah. You can fill up your whole suitcase with stuff. Take the silverware – that’s the easiest to fence. We’re probably going to have to hotwire that car out front, unless you think you can get the keys out of Dad’s— I mean, out ofGrant’spocket.”
Great. Project “Make Jeffrey Love Dad” was going really well.
She pasted a smile on her face. “You plan ahead, and you take initiative,” Celeste said. “I like that about you. Let’s keep the silverware thing as our backup plan. However, we should stick around for at least a little while. Grant says he cooks a good steak, and I want to see if he’s telling the truth.”
