Sitting in a large leather recliner, a glass of cognac in one hand and a fancy television remote control in the other, Peter Van Husen sighed with pure happiness. All he needed was a cigar and someone to rub his feet and he'd be in heaven. There was no doubt about it: Peter liked living in Schuyler Manor. Who wouldn't? The house was huge, there was a full-time maid who brought him BLT's around the clock and he was with Mavis whenever he wasn't at work. Of course, he also had to deal with Tyler and Tiffany but Tyler seldom came out of his room except to sneer at Peter every so often and Tiffany had set up permanent residence in the den where there was a gigantic television set and a bar stocked with junk food. From what Peter could tell, none of the members of the Schuyler family liked spending much time together. They all seemed to prefer alone time.
Even Mavis.
Peter frowned, his cloud of happiness deflating just a little. Two weeks had passed since he'd moved in with Mavis and while Peter loved his new lifestyle he had the feeling that his new other half wasn't quite so sold on the idea. Mavis had begun making snipping comments about where he dropped his socks at night and rolling away from him in bed much too often. It had gotten to the point where Peter felt the need to remind Mavis daily that she'd been kidnapped and that his being there was not only for fun between the sheets but also for her protection. Mavis seemed to be buying that line less and less. Just that morning she'd pointed out that there was a top notch alarm system in her house and that if anyone did try to kidnap her, he or she would have to get past Rosanne, Tyler and Tiffany to do it.
Peter tried not to take Mavis's less than subtle hints personally. She'd been through a lot with Ron so naturally it was going to take her a long time to really and truly trust him and to believe that he wasn't going to run around on her the way Ron had. He wasn't that kind of a man. Well, maybe Chelsea wouldn't agree with him but that was different. Chelsea had gotten boring over the years; Mavis could never be boring.
"Peter?" Tiffany came into the library, surprising him. "Where's Aunt Mavis?"
"She's taking a bath. Why?" Peter eyed Tiffany a little suspiciously. Although the teenager was a lot easier to take than Tyler, she still wasn't anyone he'd want to be caught on a sinking boat with. The kid had the survival instincts of a shark.
"I need to borrow her car."
"You'll have to wait and ask her."
"Can't you just tell her?"
"Tiffany, I can't make that kind of a decision for your aunt. Why don't you borrow Tyler's car? I think he's home tonight."
"Tyler needs his car. Why don't you let me borrow your car? I'm just going to the mall."
"Sorry but I don't think so. You aren't on my insurance."
"So who's going to know?"
Peter had to admire Tiffany's nerve. The kid had hit her own mother in a car accident, had a stack of moving violations half a foot high and she thought he'd loan her his car? Not likely. "No, Tiffany. I don't loan my car to anyone."
Tiffany perched on the arm of the sofa and stared at Peter. He shifted a little uncomfortably under her gaze. He always had the feeling that Tiffany was about to say something to him, to accuse him of something and to do her best to humiliate him right out of the house. "Did I ever tell you about the time that I just happened to be in the square downtown one night and I just happened to see you and Aunt Mavis making out in your car? It was quite shocking, really pretty disgusting. I wanted to tell Uncle Ron about it but I didn't want to upset him." Tiffany smiled sweetly. "I never told anyone."
"Well, there really isn't anyone for you to tell now," Peter pointed out. "The whole town knows that Mavis and I are a couple."
"True," Tiffany agreed, "but your wife might like to know how long your little affair with my aunt has been going on. It might be some good ammo for your divorce."
Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys. "Be back by ten."
"Thank you, Uncle Peter. I can see why Aunt Mavis is so crazy about you." Tiffany grabbed the keys and scooted out of the room.
"Be sure you put gas in it!" Peter called after her. He returned to his cognac and took a bracing sip. It was a good thing he never had any children with Chelsea. He really didn't like kids.
"Mr. Van Husen?" Rosanne appeared in the doorway. "Your wife is here to see you."
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