The Misadventures of the Laundry Hag 00 - Swept Under the Rug

equipment and Leo should be by soon to drop it off.”
    Oh the horror. My face must have reflected my opinion because Neil chuckled. “You can rent whatever you need.” He shook his head at what must have been a terrified look. “Or spend the day in the lodge in front of the fire if you prefer. Bring a book and take it easy.”
    Hmmm. Slide down a mountain on my ass in the freezing cold or curl up with a novel and a cup of hot chocolate. Was there really a choice here? “What about my car?” I pushed my hair back from my face and took another hit of caffeine.
    “The good detective already had someone bring it by.” Neil snatched my coffee mug and took a sip. I watched him for a beat and a light bulb went off over my head.
    “Ah so that explains the sudden urge to go skiing.”
    “What?” He lowered the mug and blinked at me innocently. Too innocently.
    “Can’t keep Maggie in the house, so you’ll take her out of town?”
    He scowled. “Can’t a guy just want to spend a day doing something with his family?” If I didn’t know better, I might have thought he was sincere.
    “I’m sure that’s part of it, but …”
    He blew out a breath, the veins on his neck bulging visibly. “Fine, I want to get you away from this craziness for a bit, sue me.”
    “Not likely, I do your books, remember pal?” And those books backed up his story about the overtime. Since Neil’s paycheck was deposited electronically, I didn’t have an actual hardcopy of the hours he’d logged, but from my estimate the day before, the money was all there. Maybe Neil hadn’t been lying to me; maybe I was just paranoid because of Sylvie and Eric’s situation and Dr. Bob’s innuendos. Wouldn’t be the first time my imagination backfired on me.
    He kissed my nose. “I’m going to get the boys up. Can you be ready to go in an hour?”
    “Not a problem.” I said, fully relaxing for the first time in days. We’d do our family day and tomorrow, I’d confess my shamefully suspicious thoughts in front of Neil and Dr. Bob as penance. Finishing my coffee, I literally rolled out of bed and trundled down the hall to the miraculously unoccupied bathroom. Several fists pounded on the door while I worked shampoo into my hair, but I ignored them.
    Humming, I toweled off and flipped on the vent fan to abate the steam. Brushing my teeth, drying my hair and braiding it so it wouldn’t get in my way if I did attempt to ski, only took a few minutes and I swathed myself in a super thick bathrobe before vacating the room.
    The pounder turned out to be Marty. “Jeeze, hag, take all day why don’t you?” He griped as he pushed me into the hallway, slamming the bathroom door in my face.
    I dressed in a turtleneck that I seldom wore because it made my head look gigantic and a bulky cable knit sweater layered on top. Fleece jeans and heavy knee-high socks completed the ensemble. I might par boil in the outfit, but I refused to spend another second underdressed in the bone-cracking cold.
    Leo had appeared and helped himself to coffee. He sat, dishing with Penny who was wolfing down about half a loaf’s worth of French toast. Josh and Kenny were physically present, but their eyes held the distant look of preteens who hadn’t gotten the requisite fourteen hours of sleep.
    “Hungry?” Neil asked as he flipped sausage patties onto a plate.
    “You’re cooking?” I stared dubiously at the spread. I thought for sure it’d been Penny’s doing. “What’s the occasion?”
    Neil shrugged good-naturedly and turned back to the electric griddle. I caught Leo’s stare, but said nothing as I took the sausage to the table.
    “So the Dragon Lady is on her way to torture the city of New York. She’ll be gone for a couple of days.” Leo informed me as he slid a steaming mug of—bless him—fresh, nontoxic coffee in front of me.
    “Hmm,” I said, reaching to fork up a slice of French toast, but Kenny snatched it first. “Work or pleasure?”
    Leo rolled his eyes. “You know Laura takes no pleasure in anything unless it involves breaking someone’s spirit. But I think this would fall under the category of relaxation. She went with a friend. Ralph is ecstatic; he gave me the day off. I’m sure he’s going to use the empty as an excuse to order all sorts of fatty take-out and watch CNN all day.”
    “So, do you have any plans?” I asked as Neil set down a fresh batch of French toast. He cast me an indecipherable glance but turned away before