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Well, that explained the silence and why she’d been able to go off on all sorts of tangents in her own mind.
Liza jolted him by pushing against his arm. “Brian!”
“What?” he barked grumpily.
“You’re home. Go inside and clean up,” she said, more gently than he deserved. “And don’t forget to eat.”
“You’re the best, Liza Lou.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
She winced and tried not to gag at the smell of alcohol, sweat, and jail that surrounded him. “Night,” she managed.
He opened her car door and stepped out, stumbling once before he righted himself and made his way to the front door.
Liza waited until he was safely inside before driving away. She was exhausted and looking forward to changing into sweats and going to sleep early. First, she’d microwave herself leftovers, eat, and then fall into bed. No late night for her. Tomorrow was a busy day with back-to-back meetings, beginning with an important 9:00 A.M. with Faith.
Liza had an agenda for joining the Beautification Committee. In past years, the committee had raised a fortune at their fundraisers but had spent the money on the parts of town that were already well cared for. This year, Liza hoped to convince them to steer some of the immense funds raised toward a more worthwhile cause, the youth center downtown.
The center was a place for kids to hang out, take art and music classes run by volunteers, and play basketball and other sports games in a safe environment. The center was close to Liza’s heart because it represented a future to kids who might have none. And she couldn’t help but wonder if just maybe had it been around when Brian was younger and acting out, things might have been different for him.
Who am I kidding?she thought with a shake of her head. Nothing short of discipline would have shaped up her brother and there’d been nobody to give it to him.
But the center had volunteer counselors and teachers who didn’t mind taking a tough stand with the kids. Unfortunately, it was also always short of funds. The Police and Firefighters’ Festival that was scheduled for this coming weekend raised money for the center, but it was never enough. And that was because the wealthier residents, like Liza’s parents, couldn’t be bothered with a place that helped the less fortunate.
By working with the committee, Liza also hoped to up her credibility within her hometown. McKnight Architecture flourished thanks to out-of-town referrals and business. Their work spoke for them, but here where she’d grown up, Brian’s reputation had tarnished her own.
So for the last two years, Liza had attended beautification meetings and ignored the more uppity members who’d tried to freeze her out, slowly making younger acquaintances and giving her views. Then at last month’s meeting, they’d surprisingly announced that Faith Harrington would be the new fund-raising chair.
Surprising because Faith hadn’t been a committee member before. And because Faith, like Liza, had committee members with immense bias against her. In Faith’s case, thanks to her father’s criminal behavior. Still, Faith’s husband had money, and rumor had it that Ethan had gifted the mansion to his wife as a wedding present, making Faith the current owner ofthepremier landmark in town and cementing her role as the fund-raising chair.
Liza couldn’t be more pleased. She’d liked Faith when they were kids and it seemed they had a similar uphill battle against the snobs in Serendipity. She hoped to get Faith on board with her idea to use the money raised at the annual fundraiser, a black-tie event of the elite and the wealthy, for the youth center.
Liza believed she had a shot. Unless, of course, Dare told his sister-in-law about her brother’s latest arrest, and Faith decided working with Liza and implementing her ideas was a liability.
Liza groaned. One way or another, she’d know soon enough.
