Page 5 of Shine: Sins of the Father
“Before you can bask in its glory, we need to get to work.”
“Boo,” she whines.
“You take the queen over there.” I gesture to a room and then walk to the master and throw my bag on the bed.
A couple of hours and a lot of elbow grease later, and the place is looking so much better.
“Not too shabby.” I take in our hard work. “I think we could take a little break, sit on the porch, have a soda, before we tackle the bathroom.”
“Now you’re speaking my language.”
We sit at a table and take in the lake. A few boats are out, but for the most part, it’s quiet.
“Glad we stopped at the gas station on the way in, because this place has nothing in the fridge.”
“Well, they can’t exactly leave things that spoil. They never know when they’ll be up here next.”
“Makes sense.” Janey’s phone rings some pop song. “Hey, Mom. Oh no, did you call an ambulance?”
At the sight of my brows furrowing, she covers the receiver and whispers, “She fell.”
“Oh no,” I whisper.
“Yes, of course. It’ll take me about five hours, though. Okay, see you soon. Love you.”
Janey hangs up and then scrunches her face in apology. “Sorry, I have to take Mom to the doctor.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yeah, I told her to call an ambulance, but she said absolutely not.” Janey rolls her eyes. “She tripped on her front steps and hurt her ankle. I need to take her to the doctor and make sure she didn’t break anything. I’m so sorry, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“No apology needed. Go take care of your mom.” I stand and usher her inside.
A few moments later, she’s climbing into her Miata.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’m just going to be cleaning toilets. Nothing exciting.”
“What about food?”
“I still have all the snacks I bought at the gas station. I can manage until tomorrow morning. Now go on, Mom.”
She rolls her eyes at my chiding. “Okay, okay. See you tomorrow.”
“I hope your mom is okay. Let me know.” I wave as she backs out.
She gives a little beep-beep as she pulls onto the road.
CHAPTER TWO
Shine—
The amber whiskey in my glass reflects on the bar top. It’s the same whiskey I’ve been nursing for an hour. The prospect got tired of asking if I wanted another and just left the bottle in front of me.
My reflection in the mirror behind the clubhouse bar stares back at me.
I feel way older than I look. Someone slides onto the stool next to me.
