Hide nor Hair (A Jersey Girl Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Jo-Ann Lamon Reccoppa

wadded-up napkin at him. Ken smiled, and I found myself smiling, too.
    The doorbell rang, but everyone was busy joking about stiffs and illegal wagering on a high school level. So I got up and answered the door.
    “Sounds like a party in here,” my ex, Neil, said, standing in the open doorway and poking his head inside to take a look. It was obvious he didn’t much care for what he saw. “Mr. Macho, huh? How cozy! So now he’s got my kids, too? Why don’t you make him pay for the air and the furnace?”

9
    I ushered Neil into the den, far enough away from Ken Rhodes and the kids for privacy, yet close enough for them to hear a loud commotion in case I lost all composure and beat the stuffing out of him.
    “Have a seat, Neil,” I said, businesslike.
    Neil picked up on my tone. “Really? In my own house? I paid for all this, Colleen.”
    I smiled.
    Poor Neil , I thought. He had such soulful brown eyes and thick, brown hair. Bobby looked so much like him, it made my heart ache. But the resemblance between my ex-husband and my darling child was not nearly enough to soften my heart.
    “There’s something you have to realize, Neil. This is my home—mine and the kids. You might have purchased it, but I’m paying for it in sweat equity. You left, not me.”
    Neil ran his fingers through his hair. It was clear he didn’t much care for my newfound assertiveness. “Yeah. Right. So why aren’t you paying for a new furnace and central air if it’s your home?”
    “My lawyer contacted your lawyer. It’s part of the settlement. You take care of the repairs for the next two years. The new units go in tomorrow. I don’t understand why you came by.”
    I detected the slight sagging of his shoulders. Not that he in any way resembled a beaten man, but something wasn’t quite right. I waited for an explanation as he slumped into the sofa cushions. “Your lawyer’s a harpy. I’m shelling out money left and right. Sara called me late this afternoon. She wants a new cell phone and she’ll be driving soon. She said she wants a car! Can you believe it?”
    “She also wants a part-time job after school and needs a way to get back and forth to it. I’ll be taking on the car insurance,” I told him. “This is what happens when kids grow up!”
    I realized my voice had taken on an angry tone. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but something made me go to the windows and push the curtains aside and look out. “I notice you’re still driving that new Lexus. If money’s so tight, why don’t you trade in your show-off car for something cheaper?”
    “I have to maintain a certain image to look successful. Clients wouldn’t have much confidence in a PR man driving a …”
    “… seven-year-old used Nissan Sentra?” I guessed.
    Neil got up from the couch and left, too annoyed to even give the kids a quick kiss goodbye. I knew I had flattened his enormous ego and felt pleased with myself for doing so.
    “He’s mad?” Bobby asked sheepishly when I rejoined Ken and the kids at the table.
    “Oh, no, honey,” I lied. “Your father just thinks the cost of replacing the central air and the furnace is just a bit too high.”
    “Sure, Mom,” Sara said. She had been getting more savvy by the hour since Neil left us to move in with the incomparable Theda Oates.
    “Is everybody finished eating?” I asked, knowing that the kids’ appetites had vanished the moment they heard me yelling. “If you guys still have some homework, you should go upstairs and finish it. I’ll clean up down here.”
    The kids left the table and went upstairs, although not running as they usually did.
    “Did our voices carry?” I asked Ken.
    “We heard a few things. Not too much. The end of a marriage is never easy.”
    I picked up the paper plates and tossed them into one of the empty pizza boxes. Ken gathered the cups and used paper napkins and carried them out to the kitchen. Neil’s visit upset me, though not so much because of his