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Jan shook his hand.
    “Would you like to join us?” Laura asked.
    “Oh, no, I’m with another client over there,” he said, waving at a table on the other side of the noisy room. “Maybe we could have dinner tomorrow night?”
    Laura shook her head. “I have to fly to London in the morning. “But maybe Jan could…”
    “No, thank you, ” Jan said. “I’m going to be very busy cleaning out the house.”
    “Oh, but you still need to eat,” Erick protested.
    “Thanks anyway, but I’m sure I’ll be too tired to be good company after a long hot day of sorting stuff,” Jan said firmly.
    “Well, if you change your mind,” Erick said, pulling out a business card and handing it to her. “Or call me if any problems come up at the house.”
    He ran a pudgy hand through his thinning blond hair, a diamond ring sparkling in the overhead florescent lighting of the restaurant.
    Jan frowned. “I thought the sale was complete. Why should there be any problems?”
    “Oh,” Erick said nervously, “I’ve been hearing rumors of lawsuits. Seems some of the neighbors aren’t pleased with what is going to be built there.”
    “Why not? What’s wrong with more homes and a shopping center for a small town?”
    Erick shrugged. “Some say it will hurt the little, older shops that have been here a long time. I’d better get back now. If you need me, just give me a call, anytime.” He sidled away.
    Jan frowned at her mother, who was busily eating, pretending not to be concerned. “So you knew there might be more problems with this?”
    “Oh, don’t worry about it, dear. I’m sure most of the talk is just that—hot air that won’t amount to a hill of beans.” Laura gave her a wan smile and sipped her hot tea.
    Yeah, right. Jan’s stomach churned with worry and she pushed away her half-eaten meal. “We’d better get back to the motel. You have to pack and we need to get some sleep . Remember, I have to drive you to the airport early in the morning.”
    “All right,” Laura agreed, finishing off her tea.
    Just then Kyle stopped by their table. After exchanging greetings, he said, “I saw you over here and happened to think of something. How are you getting to the airport in the morning?”
    “I’m driving her,” Jan said. “The garage replaced the slashed tires, so I have my car back.”
    “But that’ll take hours, getting through all that metro traffic both ways,” Kyle said. “You’ll waste much of the day driving instead of working on cleaning out the house.”
    Jan frowned at him. Was he going to be a tyrant about getting the house cleaned out? “I’m sorry, but it can’t be helped. Mom doesn’t drive in the city . She hates traffic and got a cab to bring her out here.”
    “I’ll order a cab to take you to the airport,” Kyle said.
    “Oh, but…” Laura said , her eyes opening wide in surprise . “I thought there weren’t any out this far. The cabbie who brought me out here said so. And he charged me an arm and a leg to come out this far.”
    Kyle laughed. “I’ll bet he wanted you to call him for the return trip, too, didn’t he?”
    “Yes, he did,” Laura said, flushing. “He gave me his card, but…”
    “We have a local cab driver who does regular runs into the Twin Cities,” he said. “I’ll call him and have him take you. Call it a bonus on our deal. That way Jan won’t get behind at the house.” He winked at her.
    Jan eyed him and then looked at Laura . “Okay, Mom?”
    “Why, yes, that’ll be lovely. Thank you, Kyle.”
    “What time do you want him to pick you up?”
    “Five o’clock should be fine.”
    “Will do. Goodnight, then.” Kyle strode away.
    “Wasn’t that nice of him?” Laura asked.
    “Yes,” Jan said, admiring Kyle’s athletic stride as he moved back to his table. Was he really that worried about her emptying the house in time for him to tear it down that he was willing to pay the exorbitant taxi fee from one end of the metro area to the