Rory (Hope City #7) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,75
large kitchen and living area. Rory’s father, Colm, was coming in from the backyard, garden gloves and pruning shears in his hand. Sharon was stirring a pot that smelled deliciously like homemade spaghetti sauce, and a whiff of toasted garlic bread wafted past.
“Erin said you two gave her a ride home, and I’m so glad you decided to have dinner with us!” Sharon beamed toward them before adding, “Sandy, honey, would you get some plates, and Erin, can you drain the noodles?”
“Damn, Mom, we just walked in and you put us to work?”
Turning toward Rory, Sharon lifted an eyebrow. “And since when did my children expect me to wait on them hand and foot?”
“She’s got you there, son.” Colm walked back in from the laundry room, his hands now empty and obviously washed.
Soon, the five of them were enjoying the meal, conversation flowing as it always did in the McBride house. Sandy never felt like the newcomer, the McBrides having a way of enveloping others into their family.
“How’s the apartment hunting going?” Sharon asked.
Sandy blinked in surprise, looking toward Rory. He blushed and shot his gaze toward her as well.
“I’m still looking.”
“You should consider buying a place instead of renting,” Erin said. “Of course, I’m still living here so I’m hardly one to give advice.”
“You don’t want to buy unless you’re sure,” Colm threw out. “A one-year lease gives you more time to decide.”
“You could get a roommate,” Sharon added, then scrunched her brow. “But then you have that now, so I suppose that doesn’t make sense.”
Stunned that he hadn’t mentioned looking for a place to live, Sandy lifted an eyebrow as she watched him squirm.
“Let’s talk about something else,” he begged.
“Perfect,” Sharon chirped. “I wanted to ask Sandy about the Partridge Tower. Is it almost finished? And is it as glamorous as the article in the newspaper indicated?”
Caught in the middle of a large bite of spaghetti, she quickly chewed, swallowed, and took a sip of water while Sharon apologized.
“I’m so sorry. The kids complained that I would quiz them about school right when they were trying to eat!”
Laughing, she shook her head. “My grandmother always told me that a lady would never take a huge bite of food. Apparently, that’s one of her lessons that I ignored when presented with your amazing spaghetti.”
She took another sip, then said, “The Partridge Tower is going fine. In fact, so much progress has been made recently that a grand opening is scheduled soon. Not all the condos and offices will be finished, of course, but the Partridges want to have a formal affair so that they can show off several of the model condos and offices to hopefully encourage others to begin buying or renting. For me, I’m almost finished with all of the offices. The ones that are not currently under lease will not be decorated until clients have signed paperwork. My biggest issue now is looking at who’s doing the inspections for the city.”
Seeing the surprised looks from Colm and Sharon, she quickly added, “I know that’s not my job, but I want to make sure everything’s done the right way. I’ve been looking into Perkins Electrical, finding some interesting articles about their shady past.”
“You’re looking into it?” Colm asked, his brows raised.
Shrugging, she said, “Well, Bekki King gave me a little information, and I took it and ran with it. Probably a waste of time, but I hate the idea of shoddy work, or even faulty work, to hinder what I’ve put in to make these offices exactly what the clients need.”
“I remember Perkins very well,” Colm said.
“Dad, I never even thought about that. Of course, when you were with the FBI, you probably had to deal with some of that.” Rory shook his head and looked toward Sandy. “Dad’s career was mostly spent here in Hope City.”
“The articles I read gave some history into old-world politics and organized crime here. It was fascinating,” Sandy admitted.
Having finished his last bite, Colm leaned back in his chair, quiet for a moment as he appeared to gather his thoughts. “To understand the influence of organized crime in our city today, you have to look back at its history. The history that’s not unlike most large cities in America, especially those with major ports on the Eastern seaboard, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Norfolk. For close to two hundred years, Hope City was a major port of entry for people who crossed the Atlantic Ocean, with many deciding to stop