BooksBarbecue
Back The House Party
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. April 2008
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. Author’s Note
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. About the Author
  57. About the Publisher

Maja frowned. “I didn’t know it was maxed out. I mean, doesn’t it have a really high credit limit?” The card was a perk of working at Foxfield Barnes. It had come in handy when they were sourcing high-end appliances for the house.

“I didn’t realize quite how much we were spending on everything,” Ted said. “We went a little crazy. But don’t worry, it’ll just take a few days to clear. In the meantime, use this.” He pulled out his wallet and handed her a credit card that she hadn’t seen before, with her name on it. “I keep this line for emergencies,” he explained.

“Emergencies?” she asked. “Are we in an emergency?”

“No, of course not. You know what I mean. Things are just a little tight right now, with the house and everything. And you know that they slashed bonuses in the last two quarters. It’s just a weird financial cycle.”

Maja nodded, feeling stupid. She’d also lost track of what they were spending on the house. There had been so many expenses, between subcontractors, materials, and city and county fees. She knew that they had already spent down most—all?—of the construction loan, and that Ted was putting things on his credit card. She had just assumed that he was paying it off each month.

“Are we in trouble?” she asked.

“No, babe, no,” Ted replied, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I’m taking care of everything.”

“Hey,” Maja said. “That reminds me. Was there an issue with our last payment to John? The officer on the case asked me about it. I guess John told him we were behind. I said it must be a misunderstanding.”

Ted frowned. “That doesn’t sound right,” he said. “But I’ll check on it. Hey, it’s late. Let’s get some dinner. Chinese?”

“Sure,” Maja said. “But do you want to go through the credit card charges first? I want to get a handle on what’s already been paid for.”

Ted looked at her. “It’s been a long day,” he said. “Can we do it tomorrow?”

Maja was also tired, and to be honest, she wasn’t looking forward to having Ted look too closely at how much she’d spent the previous month at Design Within Reach when she was ordering the dining room chairs. “Good idea. We’ll figure everything out in the morning.”

She relaxed against Ted’s shoulder and tried to put the business about the new credit card out of her mind. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, everything was, but she was happy enough to put it off until tomorrow.

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