“No, mostly he was going off about the cupboards being painted. Apparently, he’s not a fan of white.”
“Then I should tell him it’s called alabaster,” she grumbled, eliciting a smile from Nick. Even when the house was literally falling down around her, she liked it that he appreciated her sense of humor. “I notice he didn’t stick around to give you a hand.”
“Are you kidding? I was the one who suggested he should take a walk and cool down. Besides, Gabi helped me… until Moby escaped. Do you know if she’s located him yet?”
“Shh.” Zoey touched Nick’s arm to quiet him. She heard a noise and wanted to determine whether Moby was hiding nearby or if Ivy was awake and moving around upstairs.
He leaned toward her. “What’s wrong?” he whispered, his mouth enticingly close to her ear. If she turned her head toward him, just a smidgen, her lips would be—
“When you’re done making out with the handyman, I want to talk to you in the living room,” Mark barked. Then he retreated from the doorway as abruptly he had appeared.
Mortified, Zoey dropped her hand from Nick’s arm and stepped away from him. “My cousin issucha—”
Nick covered his ears. “Please don’t say it. I’ve heard all the swearing I can handle for one day,” he joked, taking the edge off of Zoey’s embarrassment.
Then he told her he’d left a fan running upstairs to dry the floor, but he had cut the electricity for the best room, bathroom and a portion of the basement. He’d be back to make sure it was safe before turning it on early the following morning on his way to his other client’s house.
Zoey accompanied him outside and moved her car so he could leave. Since street parking was allowed after five o’clock, she didn’t pull back into the driveway again so she wouldn’t be blocking Mark.I wouldn’t want to delay his departure for even a minute, she thought.
Once she was back inside she checked on Ivy again before dragging herself into the living room, where Mark was pacing in front of the fireplace. His clothes seemed to hang on him and his face was haggard. Concerned, she asked, “Hey, Mark, is something wrong?”
“Uh, let’s see. I arrived here to find the bathroom flooded, Ivy in pain, Gabi in tears andyounowhere in sight. Not to mention the paint job in the kitchen looks like—”
“I meant is something wrong withyou.You seem to have lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time. Have you been sick?”
“I’m sick all right. Sick and tired of what goes on around here.”
Why do I even try to show him I care?“Could you please lower your voice? You’ll wake Aunt Ivy and it’s important that she gets plenty of rest these next couple of weeks.” Zoey thought Ivy had called Mark last evening to tell him about the surgery, but in case she was wrong she explained, “She has to have a minor procedure done soon and—”
“No kidding. She told me last night. That’s what I came to talk to her about. I understand how a pacemaker will help her heart, but it isn’t going to help her memory.”
Even though Zoey had concerns about her aunt leaving the water running, too, she knew better than to admit that to Mark when he was in this state of mind. He’d use what she said now to justify taking rash measures—in addition to whatever other scam he’d come here to put into motion—and afterward there’d be no going back.
“We all have things that slip our memory from time to time. I’ve left the faucet on once or twice when I’ve been distracted. The only difference between Aunt Ivy and me is that I’ve got better hearing. So, whenever I’ve heard the water running, it has jogged my memory and I’ve turned it off.”
“Excuses, excuses. First it was the gas. Then the water. What’s it going to take for you to see she can’t live on her own—a fire? Don’t you care about her at all?”
Zoey was furious. “Don’t youdareact as ifIdon’t care about her when allyoucare about is her house!”
“You’re right—I docare about the house. And I’m sorry if you’re so jealous that you’d rather see it burn to the ground than to see me inherit it. But I’m not going to stand idly by and let that happen.” It seemed like an afterthought when he added, “Orwatch Ivy get hurt or die in the process.”
Before Zoey could respond, Gabi burst through the door with Moby in her arms, bawling. “It’s my fault, Aunt Zoey. I did it. I left the faucet on. Aunt Ivy asked me to draw a bath for her and I-I forgot. I was on the phone. I’m really sorry.” Her shoulders were shaking so vigorously she nearly caused the cat to tumble to the floor.
“You havegotto be kidding me. Is everyone in this house utterly oblivious?” Mark jeered.
“I’m so sorry, Aunt Zoey,” Gabi repeated. “I-I was afraid to admit it because you’re already upset with me about not telling you what I’ve been doing after school. I thought you’d get even madder when you found out about this and you’d want to send me home. Please don’t do that. I have nine hundred and thirty-one dollars in my savings account. I’ll pay for the damage, I promise.”
“Exactly whathaveyou been doing after school?” Mark butted in. When Gabi refused to answer—refused to even look in his direction—he advanced toward her and threatened, “Maybe I should call your father and tell him about the trouble you’ve been causing here.”
Zoey swiftly stepped in-between them. Positioning herself in front of Gabi like a shield, she glared up at her cousin. Then, in the tradition of her great-aunts—first with the policemen, and then with Mr. Witherell—she demanded, “Leave her alone or leave this house.”
Mark slammed the door on his way out.
* * *
Over the weekend, Ivy wept nearly as often as in the days immediately following Sylvia’s death. She readily forgave Gabi, who apologized profusely for letting her take the blame for the flood. However, it was no consolation to Ivy to discover that she hadn’t been at fault.
“Don’t you see?” she cried to Zoey. “I should have been able to recall that I wasn’t the one who turned the water on. Whether I forgot to turn it off, or forgot that I didn’t turn it on, it doesn’t matter. Either way, it shows there’s something wrong with my brain.”
