Page 49 of The Fall

As soon as we walk in, a greeter smiles at us from behind a lectern. “Welcome to Cypress Lane. What are we looking for today?”

“We have an appointment with Sharon.”

The greeter nods. “I’ll let her know. In the meantime, there’s coffee, water, tea and snacks on the table over there.”

The boys are already there, loading up their pockets. Cam gasps and races over to them.

“Stop acting like no one feeds you. One snack for each of you, that’s it.”

Tate frowns. “Aw, Mom. They’re free.”

She just looks at him, unblinking. He unloads his pockets and Sam does the same.

“Sorry, Mom,” Sam says.

A middle-aged woman comes walking toward us with a confident smile. Her grayish blond curls are unruly and she’s wearing a leopard-print shirt.

“Mr. Kelly, welcome to Cypress Lane.”

“Thanks.” I shake her hand and walk over to the snack table. “This is Cam, Tate and Sam.”

“Very nice to meet you.” Sharon shakes Cam’s hand and smiles at the boys. “You kids help yourselves to as many snacks as you want.”

Tate side-eyes Cam. She ignores him.

“I’m excited to help you refurnish your home,” Sharon says to Cam. “I thought we could start with living room pieces?”

Cam gives me a baffled look.

“Here’s the thing,” I say. “Your couch could be better in the comfort department. And I figured if I got you a new couch, it wouldn’t match the rest of the house. So Merry Christmas—I’m buying you new furniture for your whole house.”

She gapes at me. “You think my furniture is crappy?”

That wasn’t the reaction I was going for. Shit. This was supposed to make her happy.

“No, not at all. I just wanted to do something for you and I figured you’d like this.”

Her shoulders sink slightly. “If you want to get a new couch to sleep on, that’s fine. But you should take it with you when you’re done sleeping at my house.”

Sharon’s smile fades. She regroups, looking back and forth between us. “Hey, why don’t we just go take a look at the living room pieces and see what you think?”

Cam gives me a look as she follows Sharon. I think she’s pissed. What the hell? I thought she’d jump into my arms. It goes to show how bad I am at all this, I guess.

“Everything we make is solid wood,” Sharon is telling Cam as I follow them. “Everything comes with a lifetime warranty.”

Cam shakes her head, turning so both Sharon and I can see her. “The furniture is lovely. It’s not that. I just don’t feel right about this. We’re only looking at couches.”

Sharon’s eyes widen with panic.

“Please,”she says in a pleading tone. “I really need this commission. My dog has to get his anal sacs removed and it’s two grand.”

Cam’s lips part with surprise and she looks at me. I shrug, not knowing what the hell to say.

“Seriously. He’s leaking yellow pus all over my carpet and furniture. It’s disgusting.”

Cam closes her eyes for a second and when she opens them, I see she’s fighting a smile. There’s my opening.

“Let’s do this for Sharon.” I move to stand next to the salesperson. “And for...what’s the dog’s name?”

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