I peek over my shoulder to see him drop his hands to his waist and shift from hip to hip. “You’re being childish.”
“I don’t care. You’re not taking it.” I tighten my grip. “How much is he paying you, Mom?”
“Well, I don’t, um . . .”
“I’ll pay whatever he is.” I pop up to see if my bribe is affecting her. Mom scratches her head, thinking about it. “I’ll double it!”
“Get off the couch,” Luke snaps. “It’s mine. Not yours. I paid for it. Come on, Ron. Let’s get it up.”
“I don’t know, Luke. I hate to hurt Rowe.”
“Rowe won’t be on it.” Luke lifts the chaise from the bottom and tips it in a vain attempt to dislodge me.
Clearly, he does not know the power of a determined female. He’s just lucky I don’t have children to protect. If that were the case, his eyes would’ve been scratched out minutes ago.
I clutch the fabric harder. “I am not leaving, no matter what you do.”
“That’s it.” Luke tugs me by the waist, trying to pull me off.
Desperate times call for desperate measures: I begin licking the chaise. No, this isn’t my finest moment. Obviously. But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
“I’m spreading my germs all over it,” I say between licks while Luke tries to detach me from the heirloom. “I’m calling Sally Ray first thing and telling her what I’ve done. She won’t want this now, not after I’ve licked the whole thing.”
“That’s right disgusting,” Ron agrees. He cocks an eye at Luke. “You sure you want this?”
Luke drags a hand through his hair. “Let’s grab the sideboard instead.”
If he thinks I’m going to let him have my grandmother’s sideboard, he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought.
I catapult off the chaise and scamper around him.
Soon as I’m off, he turns back to the chaise. “Let’s get it, Ron.”
I watch in horror as Luke and Ron walk the chaise out the door.
“Mom,” I beg.
“We need the money. I can’t ask you to give up what you have.”
“But I would,” I whimper.
She pulls me into a hug. “It’s just furniture. It’s just things. It’s notpeople.”
I almost crack at that, but when Luke, boots thudding on the sidewalk, heads back this way, lava boils in my gut.
I rush back over to the mahogany sideboard and throw myself on top of it.
I clamp my arms on the sides. “No.”
Luke ignores me. “Grab the other end, Ron.”
“With her on it?”
“With her on it.” I look up to see him nod stiffly. His pointy beard makes him look like a sinister villain in an old cartoon. “At some point she’s bound to get off.”
“I will not.”
“Rowe, be reasonable,” Mom pleads.
