Lost and Found in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #2)

5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

T he third night the boys were home, Maureen, Allan, and Ashley were in the family room, lights out, the big-screen television illuminating the room in a bluish glow.

“What are we watching tonight, Ash?”

“Can we watch a horror movie?”

She didn’t even have the words out of her mouth before Maureen started shaking her head.

Allan laughed and leaned forward, reaching for his bowl of snacks. “You know your mother can’t watch that kind of thing. She’ll never sleep again.” He looked over his shoulder at Maureen, who sat next to him, and gave her thigh a gentle squeeze. “Right, hon?”

“Come on, Mom, it’s only a movie.”

“That’s still a no from me,” Maureen said. She turned her head toward the sound of one of the boys running down the stairs. A second son tramped down the stairs but ended with a big thud. This was followed by a bark of laughter from Lance .

Maureen stood to investigate and walked to the staircase. Everett was picking himself up off the floor, rubbing his elbow.

Lance was trying to stifle a laugh.

“Did you fall down the stairs?” she asked. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. Just slipped,” Everett said, brushing past her.

Maureen returned to the family room and rejoined Allan and Ashley, plopping herself back on the sofa.

Everett and Lance stood in the entrance of the family room.

“We’re going to watch a movie. Want to join us?” Maureen asked. “I’ll make popcorn.”

Everett smirked and Lance scoffed, “Come on, we’re not ten.”

“It was only an invite; I wasn’t asking either of you to donate a kidney.”

“If you ever need a kidney, Mom, no problem,” Lance said brightly.

“Dad, can we have a few friends over and do a bonfire in the backyard?”

This sounded like a good plan to Maureen; she’d know where they were then. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Ashley was mesmerized, scrolling through the Netflix list. Maureen frowned. The movie recommendations for her daughter’s profile looked like she’d need an exorcist on standby.

“It’s fine by me,” said Maureen.

“I’m okay with it, but everything better be cleaned up,” Allan instructed. “I don’t want to wake up to a mess in the morning.”

“Don’t worry, Dad! ”

“Thanks, Dad!”

And before Maureen could say anything else, they were gone. She turned to Ashley. “Did you find anything?”

“Not yet.”

“How about one of those Christmas romance movies? They keep them on Netflix all year round.”

Ashley stole a side glance at her father and arched one eyebrow. “Dad, what do you think?”

Allan, who looked like he’d rather have a root canal, put his arm around Maureen. “First, it’s almost Easter. Second, don’t you have enough romance with me?”

Maureen laughed. “I do, but now I’m addicted to it.”

He pulled his arm away, smiling. “My work is done here. How about crime or a thriller or action and adventure? I’ve been looking into people’s mouths all day. I need something high-octane to wake me up.”

“Pick something for your father, then, Ashley.”

Ashley grumbled. “All right. But some night, we’re watching horror.”

“Why don’t you have Emma over for a sleepover and you can watch horror movies all night long?” Maureen suggested.

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Mom, a sleepover, really? Emma’s in college!”

Maureen feigned contrition. “Sorry.”

“Dad, how about this? There’s a race against the clock, blah, blah, blah, and this guy is an ex-cop.”

“Sounds good.”

“Mom, what about popcorn? You offered to make it for the boys. ”

Maureen stood. “Popcorn coming right up.” It didn’t surprise her that her kids kept a scorecard; hadn’t she done it herself growing up with her sisters?

They settled in to watch the chosen movie. Maureen was aware of the lights going on in the backyard and as the night went on, the noise level rose. She hoped the neighbors wouldn’t complain. Before they went up to bed, Allan stuck his head out the back door and warned them to keep it down.

Maureen was up early and went downstairs to sit by herself and enjoy the quiet as she drank the first cup of coffee of the day. All she had to do was press the start button on the coffeemaker because she always set it up in the evening, before she went to bed. She padded through the kitchen, still in her pajamas, over to the coffeemaker on the counter. She was greeted by two things: a sink full of dirty dishes and half a carafe of cold coffee. Clearly someone had made a pot overnight.

She poured the cold liquid down the drain, rinsed out the pot, and set up the machine for a new brew and turned it on. As quietly as she could, she unloaded the clean dishes from the dishwasher, then took all the dirty dishes from the sink, loaded them in, and closed the door, satisfied that she didn’t have to look at the mess anymore.

Once her coffee was ready, she fixed it the way she liked it and carried it over to the kitchen table. She pulled out a chair and sat, pulling one knee up and wrapping her left arm around it while she sipped her coffee .

The sun was coming up in the east, and in a few hours the kitchen would be filled with sunlight. When they purchased the property years ago, the original house had been in ruins, and they’d had it torn down and built their current grand Victorian-style home. She wished she’d had more forethought when they built it. The house faced south, and while the large windows at the front and back let in a lot of light, there were too few windows on the east-facing wall where all the sunlight was in the morning.

Live and learn.

She cast a glance out the back window to see what condition the yard had been left in by the boys and their friends. Blinking several times, she stood up, unable to believe what she was seeing.

The backyard was trashed.

Empty beer cans, quart bottles, and litter were scattered all over the lawn. Some of her expensive lawn chairs had been tipped over. White-knuckling her coffee cup, she took a big gulp, then set it down on the table. She forced herself to go over to the window to get a better look at the damage. The first thing she spotted was a raccoon making his way through the garbage. She groaned. They’d never get rid of him!

She was rinsing her coffee cup out at the sink a few minutes later when Allan entered the kitchen, whistling.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said, sliding a hand around her waist and kissing her on the cheek.

His good mood evaporated quickly when he glanced out the window.

“What the—”

Maureen sighed. “I guess they had a good time last night.”

He scowled. “Too good of a time.” He narrowed his eyes to get a better look. “Are those cigarette butts all over my lawn?”

“They are. I’m going to get dressed and go out and start cleaning up. The mess has drawn a raccoon.”

“Under no circumstances are you to pick up one thing outside,” he said firmly, all business. “It’s their mess and they can clean it up.” He glanced at his watch. “The party is over. Get both boys out of bed by seven and tell them I want that yard cleaned up. And they can cut the grass and trim that hedge I’ve been asking them to trim all weekend.” He paused and added, “I want every single butt picked up.”

Although he was easy to live with, the kids knew not to take advantage of Allan’s good nature. He was a big believer in actions having consequences.

“I’ll grab breakfast on the way to work.” He glanced out the window again. “I’ve lost my appetite.”

He leaned in and kissed her again, his demeanor softening. “Have a good day, and I’ll see you tonight.”

She kissed him back. “Back at ya.”

As he walked out of the kitchen, he called over his shoulder, “Tell them I want a photo sent to me by noon of the backyard and the trimmed hedge.”

“Will do.”

She sorted out dinner by searing a piece of beef and throwing it into the slow cooker with onions, potatoes, and carrots, along with some water and mix packets. Turned it on low and left it.

She went upstairs to get ready for work. But before she left, she roused both boys and passed on Allan’s instructions. Everett mumbled something and rolled over in his bed. Lance grumbled, “I’ll do it later.”

“Dad wants it done by noon. Send photos.”

The shower in the upstairs bathroom started, indicating that Ashley was up and getting ready for school.

Maureen went off to work, glad she didn’t have to deal with the mess in the backyard.

It was World War Three at the dinner table that night.

Maureen was tired. She’d spent more time than she’d allotted with a couple who couldn’t make up their minds about how they wanted to decorate their home. Both were professional people, but he preferred the rustic look and earth tones, and she liked contemporary with bright colors. They were proving to be a challenge. Anything she’d showed them was met by one of them scrunching up their nose and saying no. Finally, as it was getting late, she said she’d come up with something that would please them both and would get back to them. But it had set her back for the rest of the day.

It was only four of them for dinner. Ashley had gone out with Emma and Nadine.

Lance was in a foul mood, which was unlike him. His expression was stormy all through dinner. Everett, on the other hand, could barely stay awake through the meal. He sat with his elbow on the table, propping his head up with his hand.

Allan carried the slow cooker over to the middle of the table so Maureen could dish out the dinner. They passed their plates to her.

Lance leveled a withering glare at his brother.

“What is going on with you two?” Maureen asked, filling his plate with beef, potatoes, and carrots and handing it back to him.

Allan interrupted. “Backyard looks great, by the way. For future reference, you have a party, you clean up after yourself and your friends. Don’t leave it for your mother or me, or there will be no more parties at this house.”

With his fork, Lance pointed across the table at Everett. “Tell him!”

Maureen and Allan looked back and forth between the boys.

“Everett never got out of bed today to help,” Lance said. “I cleaned the whole backyard by myself. And trimmed the hedge.”

Allan looked at their oldest son. “Is that true? You left it all for Lance?”

“I didn’t leave it for him. I fell back asleep.” Everett’s tone was sour.

Maureen sighed. “I told you before I left for work to get out of bed and clean up the backyard.”

“I just said I fell back asleep.”

“Yeah right.” Lance’s expression was thunderous.

Everett shot him a look.

Allan speared a carrot and put it into his mouth. “Don’t do that again. In the meantime, on Saturday, you can help me paint the garage.”

Everett sat back in his chair. “I can’t. I have plans.”

Allan shot back, “Not anymore. You’ll be too busy clearing out the garage and painting it.”

“It’s Mom’s stuff, she should clear it out. ”

“No, she shouldn’t. She does enough.” Allan cut up a piece of meat. “It’s supposed to be a sunny day on Saturday, perfect for painting.”

And that was the end of that discussion.