the toaster.
“Oh, dear, just what City Hall needs, another scandal. They re-ran that jerk manhandling you again this morning. Your station got a rating boost out of your pain and suffering.” Her mother muttered under her breath.
Bekki chuckled. Her mother always cursed under her breath to keep her children from hearing it. “What was that?”
“Nothing. So, did you dredge up any dirt?”
“Well, after I told Killian I suspected his company of illegal business practices and he shut me down and put me in my place, we started looking at what was bothering me with the information I had. Pass me the butter, please?”
Her mother handed her the dish and cracked the eggs into a small bowl. “He put you in your place?”
Bekki snorted as she buttered the toast. “Oh, hell yeah. He was livid.” She put one slice on each plate. “I had to do some fast talking not to be thrown out of his office on my ass.”
Her mother cleared her throat and fussed, “Language.”
“Sorry, but Mom, in my defense, I had the work I was doing on Councilman Davis, and then when Rory and Sandy told me about Perkins Electrical, it seemed to me that if a small company contracted by these larger companies had people in their pockets, and the Councilman was asking for bribes, why wouldn’t the corruption be at a larger level and benefit the big players?” She made the toast and her mother worked on the eggs as they visited.
“Big players like Ganas Construction.” Hannah lifted an eyebrow at her. “Let me get this straight, you accused Killian of what exactly?”
“Oh, you know, the standard—corruption and graft.”
Her mother’s laugh floated around the kitchen. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, yeah, I did. So, as you can imagine, he has little use for me. Although, I must admit I love poking at that guy. He’s so easy to wind up.” It was a childish habit she’d formed somewhere along the line. If a guy couldn’t hang with her on an intellectual level, then she wasn’t sticking around. No matter how good looking they were.
“And after all that he still came by last night?” Hanna stirred the simmering water into a fast swirl and dropped in the eggs. The swirling water and a tiny bit of vinegar to the water always made perfect poached eggs.
“He did.” Bekki took a sip of her coffee. Ambrosia.
“Why? Did you have an appointment to talk about the story?”
She wrapped her hands around her mug and closed her eyes for a moment. “Nope. I asked him why he was here once or twice. He told me not to put too much thought into it. His dog, Duke, laid beside me until dinner arrived.” Bekki sat down at the table. “I really like that big, hairy dog.”
Hannah placed an egg on top of each slice of toast and carried the plates to the table. “Sounds to me like you like Killian, too.”
Bekki sighed. “Mom.”
“I’m not meddling. I’m just making an observation. I think all the Ganas brothers are wonderful. If there’s something between you and Killian, go for it.”
Bekki snorted and cut into her egg and toast, making the bites smaller than normal to pass her bruised lip. “Thanks for the permission.”
“You are most welcome. Now, what are you going to do today?” Her mom picked up her knife and fork.
“I have a lot of paperwork I’m going to wade through, but not until I get a hot shower. Who knew falling on a tripod could make a person so sore?” She rolled her shoulders back and winced.
“Your headache isn’t any worse, is it?” Her mom reached over and put her hand under Bekki’s chin, turning her face so she could see the damage. “That’s a heck of a shiner.”
Bekki tipped her chin out of her mother’s grasp and hummed an acknowledgement. “I haven’t looked yet this morning. I spent ten minutes taking off my makeup last night, trying to be careful not to push on the bruises so I wouldn’t make them worse.”
A quiet tinkle of bells sounded from down the hall. “Crap. Forgot my phone. Whatever. It can wait until we’re done with breakfast.”
“How was Killian able to help?”
She shot her mother a cutting glance. “What are you talking about?”
“You told me you had to talk fast in order not to get thrown out. He’s been here twice that I know about. What is he helping you with?”
“Oh, well, he basically explained how doing things legally benefited the general contractor because it garnered return