Page 9 of Arse Over Irish Teacup
“It’s okay, Lauren. I’m fine,” said Beth. She wiped her eyes and put on her best brave face.
“Fine? None of us are fine.” Lauren elbowed past Danny. Not because she needed to but for the sheer pleasure of it. “We aren’t supposed to be fine. Not today. You sit down for a couple minutes while I get the portrait. Everything else is all set. Do you need help with anything or are you ready to go?
Beth nodded her head as she emptied her lungs. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”
“Do you want a cup of tea before we leave? We have time.”
“No, I’m all right. Let’s just get the picture and get going.”
Lauren shoved a chair in front of the fireplace then climbed on, trying to get portrait down from the wall but it was stuck. Danny stood there looking the other way with his hands in his pockets probably eyeing the silver. What a gentleman. “Hey, Danny with the ugly BMW, stop standing there looking like you’re waiting for a message from God and lend me a hand with this.”
He looked to the fireplace and scrunched his brow. Hanging above it was a portrait of a man that hung upside down. He was about to ask about why it hung that way but worried what the answer would be. What sort of kooky family was this anyway? He got the picture down then asked where she wanted it.
“In the back seat of my car that’s parked behind yours—if it’s not too much trouble.” Lauren suspected that most things would be too much trouble for Danny boy.
“No problem.” He lifted the portrait and carried it outside, placing it on the back seat.
Lauren and Beth came through and Beth locked the door behind her.
“Do you want to ride over with Danny?” Lauren asked.
“Ride? Where?” Danny asked.
“To the church.” Lauren answered then turned her attention back to Beth. “Why don’t we have Danny follow us? Drew has the kids in the other car so it will be just us.”
Beth nodded.
“The funeral is at Saint Mary’s on Pringle Street. Do you know it?” Lauren asked Danny.
“Yeah, I know it.”
“Okay, we’ll see you there.”
Danny didn’t dare to argue. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was an authentic Fabergé egg inside the china cabinet. So if attending the old broad’s funeral was the price for that egg, so be it. He hustled to get his BMW out of the way before Lauren-the-ball-buster rammed it.
Lauren opened the car door for Beth and held it as she got in. “I don’t know about this one, Beth. He has that sideways mouth talking thing and has a cocky smirk.” Bethany got in and chuckled for a brief second. “Then again, he showed up today. I have to hand it to him.”
Beth didn’t mention the pretense he’d used. After all, maybe he felt he’d need a good excuse to offer his sympathies. Not all men were comfortable with situations like this.
ChapterFive
“Beth?”Lauren cried. “My God! Are you okay?” Somehow Beth had ended up at the bottom of an open grave. Lauren wanted answers, but first she needed to get her out of there. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m okay. Just shaken up.”
Lauren sat on the edge of the gaping six-foot hole and reached for Beth’s hands. The two friends clasped hands and Lauren pulled. “What happened?”
“He just dumped me!” Beth started climbing the dirt wall of the grave. “He only showed up today so he could case Gram’s house!”
“What?” Lauren roared.
Poor Bethany, who was halfway out of the hole, was dropped. But with her fists balled and snarling with the strength of her rage, Lauren plucked Beth out as if she were a feather. Then whirled around to Danny.
He’d managed a little preliminary research on the possible Fabergé egg only to turn up disappointing results. As for what else he saw, sure there were a few pieces of silver but nothing in the house was worth the hassle. Now, he had a raging lunatic in his face. “I—I?—”
“You’re pathetic!” Lauren lunged, warning him. “You and your stupid, ugly sports cars! This is Minnesota, land of snow, ice and salt! How long can you drive them? A month? I’ve got news for you shithead, Beth wouldn’t sell so much as a single spoon to you! Now, you’ve got two choices. You can walk away or you can limp away! I’ll count to three!”
He jumped back, shielding himself with his hands. “Okay, okay, easy! I didn’t want to upset her! I thought I’d be able to slip away and she wouldn’t ever see me again!”
