Miss Mullins reluctantly places it in my hand and I deflect their attempts at further conversation and turn back to Uncle Robert. Once I get settled back into the seat, I look at the appraisal again, just to make sure I didn’t misread it or imagine the number.
Nope. Still huge. Still five figures. Still a fucking engagement ring.
“Holy shit,” I say again. “This is enough to buy . . .”
It’s more than my car’s worth. It’s more than I was trying to save up for a down payment on my own bar. It’s more than Hunter was asking me for on Monday.
Holy shit. We could buy the lodge.
Morgan
* * *
“There you are.” Bailey’s voice comes from the house, where I’ve left the back door open. Princess, who was snoozing underneath my chair, startles awake and lurches to her feet. She ping-pongs off three of the four chair legs before she zeroes in on Bailey. If Princess were a Great Dane, I probably would have ridden her up the stairs of the porch.
Bailey opens the screen door before Princess busts through it and they greet each other with enthusiasm.
It’s chilly today, and Princess and I must have been out here for a few hours, since Bailey said she’d be here at three. We alternated between napping (Princess) and reading (me) and playing fetch or tug-of-war.
True to his word, Uncle Robert didn’t just send me a list of books to read, he sent me the e-books as gifts. He said he got help from one of his daughters to figure out how to do it, and then I had to figure out how to accept the gift and get it open on my phone.
So I’m spending my Friday before work reading a book that claims it’ll teach me how to be rich by some guy that’s got a Netflix show.
I turn the screen off and put the phone in my pocket, following Princess to greet Bailey. “Hey, thanks for coming by.”
“Of course.” Bailey’s bent down, Princess leaning against her legs, nearly knocking her over. She’s wearing her hair up, a full face of makeup, and a crisp button-down shirt.
And beneath that are sweatpants and sneakers.
“You didn’t have to dress up for me,” I tease.
“Ha,” she says. “I had a meeting right before this. On Zoom.”
“Ah,” I say, and lead her inside. Something smells good. “Did you bring food?”
Princess runs headlong into the house, running a circuit around the first floor. You’d think I didn’t just spend all day wearing her out.
“Yeah. Silas made lasagna last night and I haven’t had lunch. I brought enough to share.”
“Have I told you you’re my favorite best friend’s girlfriend ever?”
She rolls her eyes and tells me I’m her favorite bartender, and we tease each other while we heat up lunch.
Bailey was a shy kid, and Hunter was overprotective. She struggled to fit in when we were growing up, mostly on account of some assholes bullying her for her size.
“What’s Silas up to today?” I invited him to come too, but he was busy.
“House showings,” she says as we settle at my little kitchen table. “Is this a Rory weekend?”
“Hell yeah it is.”
“Still don’t know why she comes to town?”
I shake my head. “No clue. It makes me wonder if someday she’ll just never come back. I’ll only have fond memories of her scowl to keep me warm at night.”
Bailey rolls her eyes. “Along with any of the town’s single women.”
“I’ll be too heartbroken,” I tell her, putting a hand over my chest and trying to affect an air of a broken heart.
