Free Catia (Starkis Family #6) by Cheryl Douglas Page B

I want to say thank you.” I was leaning against the counter, facing her, my arms and legs crossed.
    “For what?”
    “Being so amazing.”
    Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head. “You’re being silly. Where is this coming from?”
    “Maybe it’s the fact that the girls have been giving me a run for my money lately. Makes me realize I didn’t always make life easy for you and Dad when I was growing up.”
    “No, you didn’t,” she admitted, shaking her head. “But that was your job. You were a kid trying to figure things out, trying to make your own way in the world. That’s what you were supposed to do. Dad and I knew that.”
    “And that’s what Elsie and Em are doing? Just trying to figure things out?” I knew with my mother, her musings always came with a not-so-subtle message.
    “Sure, but they’re just babies.”
    “Who are going through a hard time,” I said, sighing. “I just have to be patient, right?”
    “You got it,” she said, patting my cheek and giving me a warm smile. “No one ever said being a parent was easy. But I don’t think I have to tell you the rewards more than make up for all the grief they’ll cause you.”
    “No, you don’t.” I glanced out the window and noticed the door to my old man’s shop was closed. “Where’s Dad?”
    “He went out for a walk before lunch. The doctor told him he should try to do that every day, you know, because of the high blood pressure and cholesterol.”
    “How’s that going, by the way?” I asked, sitting at the table when my mother set my plate and hers down. “Are the meds helping?”
    “They sure are.” She winked. “Now, if only I could stop baking this stuff.” She broke off a warm piece of bread and popped it in her mouth. “I know I shouldn’t, but I just can’t seem to help myself. And you know your dad has no willpower. When I bake it, he eats it.”
    A vision of Catia popped into my head. Maybe I could blame lack of willpower on heredity. “I wanted to ask you a favor.” I moaned after I tasted a bite of the sandwich. Damn, that was good.
    “Sure, anything.”
    “I have a friend who’s interested in taking piano lessons. She has her own piano, so I’m assuming the lessons would be at her place at least some of the time. She lives across the street from me actually.”
    “Oh, that’s nice,” she said, offering me a plate of her homemade dill pickles. “A neighbor of yours?”
    “Actually, she was a friend before she was a neighbor. A business associate, really. At least it started out that way.” When my mother looked at me intently, I took a huge bite, taking my time to chew. Babbling was unlike me, so naturally I’d piqued my mother’s curiosity.
    “This wouldn’t be the girl you worked with last fall, would it?”
    “Yeah, as a matter of fact, it is.” I reached for my water, hoping she would let it go at that.
    “I thought she moved back to Chicago before the project was even finished? You said you had to bring one of your own project managers in to pick up the slack.”
    “Yeah, well, she left, and now she’s back.” My mother didn’t normally pry, but I could tell she wasn’t ready to let this go. “She’s working for me, in fact. Wendy hired her.”
    “Without your knowledge?” my mother asked, frowning. “That doesn’t sound like her.”
    My mother and Wendy had developed a friendship over the years since my mother often popped into the office with fresh baked goods for my staff. Since she and Wendy were about the same age and had a lot in common, they sometimes went out to lunch or coffee to chat about their families and shared hobbies.
    “I guess she knew what she was doing.” I hated to admit it, but given how much happier I’d been in the short time since Cat’s return, I suspected my employee knew better than I did about what was best for me. “There’s no denying Catia’s qualified, maybe even overqualified, for the job.”
    She took a bite of her sandwich. “I