And last night, from what I gathered, the owner had been very sick. And his server had been very concerned about him. And while he fought through the pain, she became more and more distraught. Maybe she looked shrill and harpy to outsiders. But I knew Ada. And I knew that seeing Charlie in pain would have killed her.
Meanwhile, the owner was a tough man who had equally hated and feared hospitals ever since his dad died. And the only way he would go to one would be kicking and screaming. Which was apparently what happened.
Did that deserve a night of bad reviews?
I didn’t think so. But I didn’t make the rules.
“I’ll take care of it, Will. Please stay out of it and let me do my job.”
He made a sound in the back of his throat, and it said everything he didn’t say out loud. Starting with “I should have done my job last night then.”
I pointed a finger at him. “You weren’t there either.” I remembered what else he said on the phone and said, “Was four thousand dollars really stolen?”
He worked his jaw back and forth. “It might not have been quite that much.” He paused for a beat and then added, “And Ada texted this morning, telling me where she’d put it. It wasn’t stolen, just misplaced in her rush to close everything down and get Charlie to the hospital.”
“What?”
“I said, it wasn’t stolen after all—”
“I heard you the first time, Will, but I’ve been sick over that money this entire day. Between Charlie and the money, I’m fairly confident I gave myself an ulcer. At the very least, I’m working on a stress migraine. You didn’t think to text me as soon as you found out Ada had simply misplaced it?”
“Oh, like you texted me last night to let me know where you were going?”
He was so lucky our mom was here. I loved her too much to make her a witness to a murder in the first degree.
Enough of Will and his false guilt, I whirled around and stomped toward the kitchen. Lola ducked out of my way and hurried over to Will. I was hoping she was planning to talk some sense into him because nobody wanted me to be the one to do it.
There would be a lot less talking, for starters.
My mother gave me an assessing look as I slid onto one of Will’s kitchen stools. “There’s no use fighting with him, babe. He’s as stubborn as a mule.”
I forced a breath out through my nose. “Someone has to, Mom. Otherwise, he’ll think this behavior is perfectly acceptable.”
The corners of her mouth lifted in a secret smile. “He has Lola now. He listens to her.”
Meaning he didn’t listen to me. If I hadn’t already known that, I might have been hurt by her insinuation. “It’s not my fault Charlie got appendicitis,” I growled.
She patted my hand. “Of course it’s not. Will knows that. He’s just... a perfectionist. When life interrupts his plans, he gets frustrated.”
I looked at Jonah for help. “Please tell my mom that Will isn’t a perfectionist. He’s a psycho. And he should have been institutionalized years ago. She listens to you.”
He grinned at my mom. “I forgot how fun these family disputes are. It’s been a while since I’ve witnessed one firsthand.”
My mom took a demure sip of coffee. “That’s because you never come over anymore, Jonah. I’m left to deal with these maniacs all by myself.”
I made a shocked sound even though I should have known better. Jonah was such a traitor when it came to my mom.
Just when I’d finished making my poutiest face, my mom winked at me. “Let’s order some food, huh? We can stay all day with Charlie and drive Will nuts.”
Her deviousness knew no bounds. I smiled before I could help it. “Fine, you pick the place. I’ll order.”
She wandered off to sit by Charlie and scroll through her phone. She was honestly the slowest person at deciding where to eat. She had to look up reviews, compare online coupons, and scour the recesses of the Internet for the best deal. I had at least thirty minutes.
Jonah slid over by me. “The English family always keeps it interesting.”
I elbowed his bicep. “Not intentionally.”
He reached for a bag of chips we’d bought for Charlie. It had been a long day so far, and we’d skipped breakfast, coffee, and lunch. Plus, we’d spent last night drinking. Honestly, I was impressed I hadn’t fainted yet. “Will needs you to stand up to him, you know. He respects you more for it.”
