Rachel felt Greg watching her. They’d discussed Heather’s consistent no-show.
“There is,” she said now. “I’ve been meaning to talk to her about blowing off her responsibilities.”
“I should think so.” Maggie smiled approvingly.
“Really?” Greg asked quietly.
“Glaring at her isn’t much of a strategy if she isn’t there,” Rachel admitted. “I don’t like the idea of confronting her, but yes, it’s time.”
Their server placed bread on the table. Rachel considered the warm rolls for a second, then shook her head. She was trying to keep her indulgences to things she really loved. While bread was nice, it wasn’t as thrilling as a glass of wine or a great dessert. She was saving her calories for the chocolate mousse torte they had here.
She handed Neil the basket. As she turned, she felt a familiar twinge in her lower back. All the walking and other exercises had been helping, but lately she’d been feeling the telltale electric jabs on her right side. She would have to be more diligent about her stretches or else she would be facing a full-on back episode.
“Does Josh play any other sports?” Neil asked.
“He likes basketball,” Rachel answered. “He’s played soccer in the past, but he doesn’t love it. I think he’s a baseball guy.”
“Better that than football,” Sienna added. “You won’t have to worry about so many injuries.” She smiled at Greg. “Not that you weren’t amazing when you were captain of the football team.”
“I was pretty dreamy.”
Everyone laughed.
“I played football for a year,” David said. “Then I quit to focus on my studies.”
There was a moment of awkward silence after that. Rachel told herself not to judge. Just because she couldn’t see what her sister found appealing didn’t mean David didn’t have great qualities.
“I like that he’s the kind of kid who wants to be outside,” Rachel admitted, hoping to get conversation going again. “We limit his video game time and he’s mostly fine with it. I would worry if he wanted to play for hours at a time.”
“I agree.” Neil nodded at her. “That’s why Barrels offered so many other ways to play. Video games are fine in their place, but children need to be moving around. There was a lot of concern when I introduced laser tag, but it was successful from the start.” His expression turned wistful. “I always wanted to have a paintball section, but that would have required too big a footprint.”
Rachel did her best to figure out exactly what Neil was talking about. She knew that Neil had owned some kind of video arcade, but she’d assumed it was a single location. Barrels was a nationwide franchise with a unique business model. The name—Barrels—referred to its dual purpose. Barrels of fun for kids during the day and barrels as in wine and whiskey barrels at night.
Sienna looked equally confused. “You owned a franchise?”
“Barrels wasn’t a franchise. The corporation owns every store across the country.”
Maggie patted her fiancé’s hand. “I thought I’d told you girls. Neil created Barrels. He opened the first one when he was in his twenties and grew it from there. He sold the whole thing last year.”
Rachel looked at her sister. Sienna’s mouth was hanging open.
Sienna recovered first. “Um, no, Mom, you didn’t tell us that at all. You said Neil owned a video game arcade.”
“Did I?” Maggie looked a little smug. “I suppose I didn’t want to brag.”
“Selling Barrels is a big deal,” Rachel managed to say. “It had to go for millions.” Or billions!
Neil’s smile was modest. “I was very lucky. As I told you before, I’m going to make sure your mother is taken care of for the rest of her life.”
“I guess,” Sienna murmured.
Rachel had never been worried about Maggie’s financial future, but it was nice to know there wasn’t ever going to be a problem. Barrels. Now, that was a shock.
“You didn’t know?” Greg asked.
“No. Did you?”
“Sure. When your mom started dating him, I looked him up online.” He turned to Neil. “No offense.”
“None taken. I’m delighted to know my fiancée has so many people looking out for her.”
“You should hit him up for money,” David told Sienna. “For that duplex.”
Sienna flushed. “I don’t ask my family to participate in any of my projects, David. You know that.”
She was telling the truth, Rachel thought. When Sienna had started working for the nonprofit, she’d come up with the rule herself. That way she was free to talk about her work without anyone feeling they were being solicited. David should respect that.