CHAPTER
16
I fired a stunned looked at my mother. Her benevolent smile conveyed knowing approval, and my dad admitted that he’d hatched the plan after I’d received Mary’s troubling call, phoning both Tugg and Tally while Mom and I were shopping.
While I appreciated his efforts and certainly didn’t want to appear ungrateful, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about the unexpected proposal. Part of me was anxious to jump on the story, but it didn’t seem right to abandon my family. I protested to no avail and should have kicked up more of a fuss, but the arrangement solved a host of vexing problems, so it was hard to be upset with them. Before heading home, I hugged and thanked them all for their generosity and confirmed plans to meet for breakfast.
Hours later, as Tally and I lay cud
