"I couldn't sleep, so Delores was kind enough to bring me home," Ace lied. Not giving his mother a chance to question him or thank Delores, he quickly asked, "What's this about Janice leasing the house? I thought you were going to renovate it into a bed and breakfast."
"Yes, that was the plan, but Janice made an offer we couldn't refuse," Mary sighed. "With your dad retiring early and the costs of maintaining the estate, we had to think practically. The hefty rent she offered just made sense. We signed a five-year lease. It all happened so fast that we didn't get a chance to ask for your opinion. You're okay with it, right?"
She watched her son carefully, knowing how much he had wanted their whole family to move into the bigger house. But financially, this was the better choice—at least until her husband figured out how to manage the estate properly.
