Page 143 of Out on a Limb
“Honestly?” I lifted my shoulders. “Nothing.” I picked out a cracker from the assortment in front of me and broke a little off, dropping it down to where Phillip sat at my feet. “He owns his house free and clear. If he needs money then he can downsize and live perfectly well.”
It was tough, but I decided to worry just as much about my granddad as he worried about me.
Which was very little.
“We should kick him in the nuts too.” Sylvia practically snarled anytime my granddad was mentioned.
“Straight to violence?” Andrew came into the room with a tray of something that smelled fantastic. “What happened to arson?”
“We can’t burn his house down. Then Collette would feel responsible for him.” Sylvia leaned Andrew’s way. “What do you have there, handsome?”
“Spinach puffs.” Andrew leaned closer. “They’re hot.”
She shot him a wink. “So are you.”
Andrew lifted a brow at her as he waited for Sylvia to pick off a few of her favorite snack, lining them down the small plate on her lap.
She wiggled her brows at him. “Thank you.”
Julia snagged a spinach puff as soon as Andrew set them on the table. “I bet I could get Grant to make snacks for our next girls’ night.”
“No way.” Sylvia shook her head. “Having a handsome man we can flirt with is half the fun, and no one here’s flirting with my grandson.” She popped one of the puffs into her mouth and continued talking around it, pointing one finger across the room. “This one needs to find a man so we can have options.”
Helen let out a long sigh. “I’m not sure I’m relationship material.”
“I didn’t say you needed to keep him.” Sylvia pulled a White Claw out of the little cooler she always brought to girls’ night and tossed it Helen’s way. “You can even bring a different one every week.”
“We might prefer that actually.” Barb held the entire bowl of mixed nuts in her lap, popping one in every few seconds. “Give us some variety.”
Sharon reached out to snatch the nuts from Barb. “Quit eating those. You’re going to aggravate your diverticulitis.”
Barb stole them back. “You’re going to aggravate me.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Sharon swallowed down some of the liquid in her flask.
Julia gagged a little as she watched. “What is in that thing?”
Sharon gave her a smile. “Moonshine.”
“Where in the hell do you find moonshine around here?” I took the flask as Sharon passed it my way, sniffing at the opening.
There was a faint scent of lavender and vanilla.
“Try it.” Sharon egged me on. “I have it shipped from a distillery in a little town in West Virginia.”
I risked a little sip. “Holy shit.” I stole another swallow. “That’s really good.”
It was slightly sweet and surprisingly smooth.
“Be careful.” Julia covered her mouth with one hand. “That’s how you end up wishing you were dead.”
“Amateur.” Sharon took back her flask.
“You girls are going to have to up your tolerance if you want to keep running with us.” Sylvia pointed at where Helen was still nursing her first drink of the night. “Especially you.” She smiled, the expression slowly sliding across her lips. “Cause we plan on raising as much hell as we can.”
* * *
ANDREW
