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because the football quarterback she’d had a crush on had taken it, too. But she hadn’t been studious enough to earn the position of the awkward, nerdy girl he turned to to do his French homework for him. That had been Teresa Showalter. French class hadn’t taught Allison anything except how to ask someone in French what their name was or where she might find the restroom—and that high school was utterly unfair. It certainly hadn’t provided her with any curse words or clever retorts to lob back at a seething Frenchman.
    So she did the only thing her training as a politician’s wife had taught her—how to make nice with loathsome people while manipulating a situation to skew it in her favor. God knew she’d seen Lowell do that enough, along with every other politician and their spouses she was forced to socialize with. Reaching between their bodies, she wedged her fingers into the palm of his right hand and shook it.
    â€œI’m glad we reached an understanding. I know I didn’t thank you earlier, and I’m sorry for the oversight because, the truth is, even though you nearly drowned me, I’m quite grateful that you didn’t let me or our business burn.” She put the emphasis on
our
, hoping to tap into the possessiveness he felt for the business. “We have a lot of work to do before May and I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to it, with your help—starting bright and early this morning.”
    He wriggled out of her grip. “
Our
business?”
    She smiled brightly. “Good night.”
    And then she shut the door in his face, locked it, and walked away before he had a chance to spew more ugly French curses at her or cast any more angry bear glares her way.
    ***
    Bright and early came far too fast for Allison, but Katie was nothing if not punctual when it came to waking up hungry and cranky. Six a.m. on the dot, as usual. Allison sat cross-legged on the bed in the only furnished room on the second floor, Katie in her lap sucking enthusiastically on her bottle of formula.
    She wished Katie hadn’t been in such a hurry to wean from nursing, because Allison hadn’t been ready to give that up, but, although Katie was normally very easygoing, it was one issue about which Allison hadn’t been able to change her mind. Still, Allison tried to keep the time between them in the morning quiet and special, a few mandatory minutes of peace with her child before the craziness of the day began. She’d started that routine during Lowell’s trial and she rued the hard truth that there would come a day that Katie grew out of needing these early morning cuddles.
    As they sat, she took stock of the room they’d slept in. The queen-size bed had sheets and a blanket, and she’d found a hand towel and toilet paper in the attached bathroom, but little else.
    Her original plan had been to scope out the landing on Thursday evening, then find an inexpensive hotel for the night and return in the morning to meet Cloud Nine’s two employees. She’d planned to ease into ownership of Cloud Nine slowly so as not to interfere with the employees’ established routine, with the idea that she’d apartment shop during the week in advance of next weekend, when the truck delivering the mobile storage unit carrying the contents of her old house was scheduled to arrive from Buffalo, along with her sister and brother to help her move it all in.
    When she’d arrived, she’d been delighted to find that Cloud Nine’s office was a converted house, with a second story that included a furnished bedroom—
furnished
being a loose term. Lowell had failed to mention that. But staying here saved her the expense of a hotel room, which she really couldn’t afford. Hence, why she’d attempted to stave off the house’s chill by getting a cozy fire going.
    She supposed she could have returned to her parents’