A widowed businessman returns early to his quiet mansion, ready to confront the housekeeper, but what he sees changes everything

and showed her their paintings, which she praised with genuine affection — whatever else she was, Elaine loved her granddaughters without qualification — and for an hour the conversation covered the easy ground of family update and news. But Owen knew his mother, and he knew the difference between a postponed conversation and an avoided one.

After lunch,continue reading …