Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option for Bronwyn.
“Mother, please join us. We were catching up.” Mo sat in thechair beside her, and she was sure she imagined it, but for a second, she thought he might be leaning toward her. He was definitely giving off a “touch her and die” vibe.
Maybe it was time for her to stop reading romance novels.
“Yes, Mrs. Pierce. Sit.” Meredith had recovered and now flashed her trademark smile. “It’s been ages. How are you?”
Bronwyn enjoyed the long moment it took for her mother to devise a graceful way to extract herself from the situation. Quinns being friendly to a Pierce! Perish the thought. But for a Pierce to act out in public? That couldn’t be borne. Pierces were better than everyone else, of course. And that included in their manners and decorum.
How many times had she heard that?
Her mom pasted on a smile only the people at the table would know was fake. “Darling, I hate to disturb your social time with work matters. Why don’t you step outside with me for a moment?”
It had been fun while it lasted, but her mother had boxed her in. Bronwyn stood. “Of course.” She took the coffee with her. It was still hot, and she wouldn’t let it get cold while her mother berated her for some perceived slight.
They stepped outside and took a few steps down the sidewalk before her mother turned. “Bronwyn Elena Elizabeth Pierce.” She’d been full-named. It was on. “Why are you not in your office?”
Bronwyn could remind her mother that she was the one who worked far more than full-time hours. She could have pointed out that it was rich being taken to task for her work ethic by a woman who had never worked a day in her life. Or she could have asked her whyshewas slumming it in town when The Haven currently hosted this year’s Oscar winners in both best actor and best director categories.
But her mother didn’t give her time to do any of that.
“I came to see you during normal business hours,” she continued, “and you were not there.”
“Clearly.”
“Do not sass me, young lady.”
“Mother, if you could get to the point of why you’ve chased me down, that would be great. I’m enjoying coffee with friends this morning, but I do have appointments that I need to return for.”
“I received a phone call that you were seen walking into SPQ Construction this morning at 8:45. Why were you there?”
Bronwyn took a sip of her coffee. A tiny rebellion that only worked because her mother would rather hike naked than cause a scene. “I was there to meet with Cal, Meredith, and Mo.” Truth was always the best policy.
“Why?”
Another sip. Her mother had no right to any of this information. “Why not? Cal couldn’t join us for coffee. It’s easy to park in his lot. Meredith doesn’t have patients until ten thirty. I got to see Carla. It was a win-win.”
“But why are you in town at all?”
“Mother, this is ridiculous. Did you really drive into town because you think I’m hobnobbing with the lower classes again?”
Her mother’s eyes widened. If she’d been wearing pearls, she would have clutched them. “Of course not. I came to tell you that your grandmother is sick.”
This wasn’t news. Her grandmother had been near death for the past decade.
“The doctor called this morning. The scans show that her cancer has spread. It’s everywhere. There’s nothing they can do. The hospice nurses are coming this afternoon.”
That was new.
Six
Twenty-Two Years Earlier
Bronwyn sat at the large dining room table with her hands in her lap. Her ankles were crossed. Her shoulders were back.
Grandmother Pierce eyed her with approval. “Excellent. Now what do you do when the server brings the salad?”
The etiquette lessons had been going on for a year, and Bronwyn rarely misstepped. She knew how to handle every piece of silverware, understood which glasses went with which beverages, and knew where to put her napkin if she needed to leave the table midmeal.
