Page 58 of Love It or List It
He was just feeling the relief of the door closing behind him when Walker tried to murder him by tripping.With a curse, Austin caught himself on the edge of the dresser.
“I rescued you from the great outdoors and this is how you repay me?”he grumbled.
“Mrow,” Walker said proudly.His orange tail stuck straight up as he rubbed against Austin’s bare legs.
At least Austin knew where Joe kept his underwear.Fuck, was that weird to steal?
It was probably weirder to steal his jeans without underwear.
He put the questions out of his mind as he dragged on a T-shirt and then a hoodie.Joe had six hundred of them and the house was freezing.
Then he scooped up the cat and went back to the kitchen to face the music.
“—a kitchen island,” Maria was saying when Austin came in.“Throw a coat of white paint on the cabinets, upgrade the counters….”
Austin twitched.
At the stove, Joe hunched his shoulders.“It’s not really in the budget, Mom.”
“Sweetheart.You know I’d loan you the money.You can pay me back when you sell.Or just let me list it for you.You’ve done a lot of work—it’s going to pay off.I’ll give you a deal on commission.”
Austin didn’t know a lot about healthy parent-child relationships.The closest he’d ever been to one was on TV.But he understood body language, and he didn’t think Joe’s mom was making him chafe on purpose.
Which meant she didn’t see that her remarks were upsetting Joe, but Austin did.
Austin could think aboutthatlater too.Or, more likely, avoid thinking about it.He took a sharp breath, then cleared his throat.“Sorry about that,” he said, forcing a smile.“Long day at the office.Can I help?”
Joe threw him a shocked and bewildered look over his mom’s head, because Austin had been clear about his uselessness in the kitchen, but then they met eyes and he must’ve understood Austin was just there to change the subject.“Looks like you have your hands full,” he pointed out.
“Well, my favorite wasn’t available.Where’s Pepa?”
Joe’s mother blinked.“Who’s Pepa?”
Wait, Joe hadn’t told her about thedog?Austin opened his mouth, caught Joe’s eye again.Was he supposed to lie?
“Austin’s dog,” Joe said.
Maria arched a curious, nonjudgemental eyebrow, so Austin supplied, “She was a stray in the neighborhood.She stole my dinner one night, so I took her home.”
“Did you, now,” Maria said, clearly amused.
“She’s in the breezeway,” Joe explained with a look that told Austin his need for Pepa cuddles was transparent.
Austin took the offered olive branch and excused himself from the awkward small talk in the kitchen.Besides, his girl probably needed a bathroom break before dinner.
Austin set Walker down on the floor and watched with fond amusement as he immediately trotted across the kitchen and climbed Joe’s jeans.Joe didn’t flinch, just reached down and scooped the kitten from his hip to his shoulder.
Shaking his head, Austin turned toward the door and caught sight of Maria watching this with a smile.
Then, to his surprise, as he headed toward the door, Maria said, “I’ll tag along.I’d like to meet this Pepa.”The slight stress on the name told Austin she knew everything about its meaning.
“Uh, sure.The breezeway is heated, so you don’t need a coat or shoes.Unless you wanted to come for the walk.”
She followed him to the breezeway without collecting boots or coat, so Austin figured she just wanted to get a look at Pepa.She clearly wasn’t a dog person, though she did bend down to pat her head once Pepa abandoned Austin to greet her guest.Austin put on the outdoor gear that he left in the breezeway, and Pepa danced happily at his feet.
Ozzy eyed them from his cozy spot on the dog bed and then closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
Maria left him as he clipped on Pepa’s leash, and he figured that was it, but two minutes after they got outside, Maria came around the side of the house, dressed in casual boots and a coat that looked just as picture-ready as her jeans and sweater.
