“And I appreciate it,” he said even more warily.
“Well, no more,” she said. “At least, I guess you can still have your bedroom, but we’re going to organize that office until it resembles a human habitat and then, my friend, we’re going to balance your checkbook, examine the state of your finances, discuss your long-term goals and risk tolerance, and come up with a personalized financial strategy for you. No, don’t thank me. It’s the least I can do after you gave me and Will a place to stay. Really, it’s my pleasure.”
She was grinning, and Will knew his coach was sunk. Apparently he knew it, too.
“How long will it take?” Alex asked, resigned.
“Hours and hours,” she said cheerfully. “Days probably. There’s no game this week, right? So you’re not as busy as usual. We’ll get started tonight.”
As Alex reluctantly followed a determined Holly out of the room, Will shook his head. Financial planning. How many more ways could they come up with to avoid dealing with what was right in front of them? He was starting to wonder if even leaving them alone together this weekend would do the trick. Oh, well, all he could do was hope for the best.
Why did adults always make everything so complicated?
On Friday morning, Holly got up early to make breakfast. She’d been doing that all week, telling herself it was because she wanted to be the one sending her son off to school with a nice hot meal inside him instead of the other way around. In truth, it was also because she liked seeing Alex before they went to work. After all, eventually she and Will would be moving out, however settled they seemed to be here. Her meetings yesterday with an architect and a firm of contractors was a reminder that their stay here was temporary. Holly intended to soak up as much Alex as she could before then.
Five minutes after her son came downstairs, that suddenly seemed like a bad idea.
“I’m going away this weekend,” Will said casually, as if it was nothing, as if he wasn’t about to remove her best defense against the feelings she still entertained for Alex, late at night in the privacy of her bedroom. The feelings she couldn’t possibly act on because of the fifteen-year-old down the hall.
“What do you mean you’re going away?” she demanded. “You can’t tell me this on Friday morning.” She glared at Alex. “Do you know anything about this?” He shook his head, clearly as taken aback as she was, and she turned back to her son. “Kindly explain to me exactly where you think you’re going.”
Will took a bite of oatmeal. “Tom and his dad asked me yesterday. I forgot to mention it till now. You can call Mr. Washington if you want, to clear it. We’re going camping. We’re leaving right after school.”
“Tonight? You’re going to be gone tonight?” Holly felt panic rising and briefly considered asking if she could go along.
“Tonight and tomorrow night. We’ll be back Sunday afternoon.” He picked up a cinnamon roll, his expression cheerful.
Holly cleared her throat. “You know, I haven’t been camping since I was a little girl. Do you think Tom’s dad would—”
“Nope. Sorry. It’s kind of a guy thing. Also the tent’s only big enough for three. Besides, you guys have all that financial planning to do. And it’s supposed to rain. You’d be miserable out there.”
“Why won’t you be miserable?” Holly asked, knowing she was beaten but still clinging to a straw.
Will grinned. “We’re planning to do a lot of fishing. Fish bite great when it’s raining. I’m all packed and everything, Mom. I can bring my duffel bag on the bus so you don’t need to worry about a thing.” He got to his feet and gave a jaunty wave. “Have a great weekend, you two. See you Sunday.”
And before she could think of anything else to say, he was gone.
The silence felt a little awkward. Holly was sitting at the kitchen table, frowning down at her cinnamon roll, and wondering what Alex was thinking. Probably he didn’t care much. Why should he? They were friends.
“Will’s right,” she said brightly, forcing herself to meet Alex’s eyes with a cheerful smile. “A rainy weekend will be the perfect chance to concentrate on your finances.”
The smile wavered a little at Alex’s expression. He was leaning back in his chair, his head cocked to one side, his blue eyes speculative.
“Okay, it’s time for me to get going,” she added, her mind working quickly. Dinner tonight might not be a great idea. “I’m meeting some friends after work, so go ahead and have dinner without me. I’ll be home late. I probably won’t see you till tomorrow morning. We can start talking about your investment portfolio then.”