Page 58 of Housebroke

“Two very good things. A lot of women don’t realize how strong they are until they suffer some kind of major crisis or loss. When my husband died, I thought my whole world was going to crumble around me.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” She stirred the ground beef while she talked. “You know, when Scott died, I didn’t deal well with it.”

“Does anyone when they lose someone they love?”

“True. But I had the boys and my friends, and they helped me to realize that I couldn’t mourn him forever. And he’d have hated that for me. So little by little, I started to find joy in my favorite things again, and discover new things to love.”

“I’m so happy to hear that.”

“I’m sure you went through something similar with your divorce. I’ve had friends who went through a divorce, and they said it’s like a death. You get married, you have all these hopes and dreams for forever, and you don’t get that forever. It’s so unfair.”

Lisa had just summed up Hazel’s heartbreak in one simple sentence. “That’s so true. It was devastating. Our marriage wasn’t perfect, but I had no idea he was such a bastard who was cheating me out of half of what I was entitled to.”

“Like you said, a good lesson to learn.”

“Very true. And now I’m standing on my own—well, sort of—but I will stand on my own again, thanks to Linc, who has given me a place to stay and a chance to save money so the dogs and Ican move into a place of our own as soon as he’s done with the house.”

Lisa added spices to the ground beef, along with tomato sauce, then continued to stir while Hazel put the tomatoes and lettuce on a platter.

“How will you feel about moving out?”

“Oh. You know, it’s just a temporary place to live, so we’ll be fine.”

“And Linc? How will you feel about leaving him?”

She didn’t know how to answer that, because her feelings for Linc were a giant batch of mixed-up. “Honestly? I don’t know. I like him—a lot. He’s been very good to me and he’s very easy to be around. But our relationship from the beginning has been so... unorthodox.”

“Really? How did you and Linc get together?” Lisa asked as they worked side by side prepping the food.

“Oh, well. That’s kind of a disastrous story.” She filled her in on staying at Ginger’s house, not knowing that her friend had sold it, and almost beaning Linc in the head when he showed up that first night.

She waited for Lisa to be horrified. Instead, she laughed. “Wow. That was some intro, wasn’t it?”

“It was something.” She took a sip of her wine. “I’m sure I scared the hell out of Linc. I thought I was either going to get arrested or tossed out on my butt on the street. But then I explained the situation, Ginger verified it to Linc, and he calmed down. And then I calmed down. And then I cooked him dinner.”

Lisa let out a sharp snort. “You cooked him dinner?”

Hazel shrugged. “I was hungry. Anyway, he liked the food I made, so he suggested the dogs and I stay there—temporarily—and I suggested that I could cook for him so he didn’t have to eat takeout every day, and I could earn some money since I didn’t have any.”

Lisa slanted a sympathetic look her way. “Your ex really put you through it, didn’t he?”

“A lot of it was due to me not paying attention to what was going on under my very nose. That won’t happen again.”

“Good for you.”

“Sorry to lay my messy backstory on you right off the bat, Lisa. Sometimes I blurt.”

Lisa laid her hand over Hazel’s and smiled at her. “You’re frank and forthright and honest. I like that about you. I like you.”

She exhaled, relieved to know she hadn’t totally burned any bridges with Linc’s mom.

She started the beans, then checked on the rice. While she was at it, she found some corn on the cob so she decided to grill it for roasted elote. Then she made guacamole and salsa.

Lisa leaned against the kitchen counter to watch her. “I can see why Linc enjoys your cooking.”

“Oh, God. Am I doing too much? I didn’t mean to take over your kitchen. I’m so sorry.”

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