Her mother’s mouth hardened into a straight line. “That was unkind, Amy. You know your father has been doing much better with all of that and has even lost a little weight. Now, I’ve answered your question. Answer mine.”
“I’ve been taking my time unpacking everything.” She forced a smile. “Want to see the pictures of the stack of boxes still sitting in the middle of my living room floor?”
She got out her phone and scrolled to the album she’d created from pictures she’d taken of the house. “There’s the pile of stuff I haven’t put away yet. Here’s my office, which is pretty much set up now.”
After giving her mother a quick peek at those two photos, Amy brought up the next one. “Here’s my bedroom.”
Her mom gave the picture a cursory glance. “Your father said you were having a fence built. How is that going?”
Amy shrugged. “I have pictures of that, too. The fence posts are in and a few of the rails. The contractor hopes to finish it by the end of next week.”
Her mother frowned. “Why is it taking so long? When our neighbor had his fence done, it only took the contractor a couple of days. Maybe your father should have a talk with the man.”
That was the last thing Amy wanted to happen and not just because she and Mikhail were doing the rest of the work. If she gave an inch this time, the next time her parents thought they should step in, there would be no holding them back. “No, Mom, I don’t need Dad’s help dealing with this. I checked the man’s credentials and all the review sites to make sure he was reputable.”
That was a wee bit of a lie. She did check the reviews for Joe’s Construction, which was the name of Jack’s company. However, he wasn’t the one doing the rest of the work. “I knew going in that the contractor was going to schedule working on my fence around another job he’s doing. He discounted the price because of that. It’s on track to be finished before I get my puppy from the breeder, so I’m okay with how it’s moving along. He’s also doing my neighbor’s fence at the same time.”
What put that look on her mom’s face this time? Oh, right, the puppy.
“Didn’t I tell you that I’m getting a bulldog puppy? That’s why I’m having the yard fenced in the first place.”
By this point, her mother sat slumped back in her chair, her expression sad rather than angry. “You have no intention of ever moving back home.”
It wasn’t a question, but it deserved an answer. “I made that clear from the beginning, Mom. If the move was only temporary, I would have rented a house instead of buying one.”
“We miss you and you know we worry.”
Amy hated the sparkle of tears in her mother’s eyes, but she wasn’t going to back down. Not after she’d come so far. It was so much easier to simply breathe without her parents or one of her brothers hovering over her shoulder all the time. Even though her health had improved so much, they hardly let her go for a walk without one of them tagging along. Then there was the time when she’d run into an old friend while walking the trail at a local park and stopped to have a cup of coffee with her. Of course, it would be the one time she’d left her phone in the car.
She could still feel the burn of embarrassment when the police were waiting by her car when she came back. Once she assured them that she was fine, they’d asked her to call home. The next day, she’d called a real estate agent, and the rest was history.
“Mom, I miss you, too, but I’m happy in my new home, and my Web design business is doing better than ever. I’m excited about getting a pet. These are the kinds of things that parents are supposed to want for their children. Most people would be thrilled to know they had successfully launched an adult into the world.”
She signaled the waiter to get the check. When he set the folder with the bill in it on the table, Amy snatched it up before her mother could. “My treat, but now I need to be going. I have work to do.”
On the fence, but she wasn’t about to share that little bit of information. The thought of hanging out with Mikhail all afternoon brightened her mood considerably.
Her mother caught her hand in her own. “Please, Amy, let’s not part angry. We are proud of what you’ve accomplished. It’s just hard to have you so far away.”
After putting enough cash in the folder to cover the bill, Amy managed a small smile, hoping it looked happier than it felt. “It’s not as if I moved across the country.”
Although she’d actually considered it for all of ten minutes. “It’s less than a hundred miles from door-to-door, Mom. Once I finish settling in, I’ll come down for Sunday dinner.”
They both stood up and headed toward the exit. “We’ll look forward to that. Email your father some of those pictures. I know he’d love to see them.”
“I will.”
When they reached their cars, she hugged her mom. “Tell Dad I love him and that I’m doing fine. Great, even.”
“I will, honey, and let him know if you do run into problems with that fence guy. He’d be glad to talk to him for you.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. The longer she could keep her parents from meeting her sexy neighbor, the better for everyone involved.
Back on the road, she cranked up her favorite radio station and sang along at the top of her lungs. It was just one more thing she got to do now that her brothers weren’t around to complain about the quality of her singing or her taste in music. Like they had any room to talk, the big jerks.
She missed them like crazy sometimes, not that she’d ever admit it. The four of them were like stair steps in both size and age. Will was the oldest at thirty-five. The twins, Mark and Brett, were thirty-three, followed by Chad at thirty. Every one of the bunch was at least two inches over six feet tall and handsome to boot, although none of them had let that go to their heads. Not much, anyway. Will was the only one who was married. None of the others had shown any signs of settling down as yet, another source of constant disappointment to their parents.
Her phone rang, ending her self-serenade. She turned the radio down and punched the button to answer.
