Page 52 of Defensive Indifference

“What if I fail?” I whisper, throat closing with tension.

“What if you don’t?” Layne asks. “The odds are better that you succeed given your determination with Sparkly’s, raising your son, and providing a future for him. I’d bet my money on you any day.”

I bite my lip and look at the photos again. This could be life-changing for Dustin. He would have amazing experiences, so many people to love him, and a mom who isn’t exhausted all the time. It probably wouldn’t interfere too much with his baseball games, and I’d have much more flexibility.

“If you need something to seal the deal, we looked into the city codes. You can legally run your truck right in front of that apartment complex that got you and your neighbors kicked out of your building.” Sarah Beth crosses her arms and shrugs. There’s a defiant streak in her that I already like, one I see in myself sometimes.

I laugh and slide the photo sheet back to her. “Okay, then. How do we do this?”

Layne’s smile widens. “I’ll have the lawyer draw up the partnership paperwork and send it over to you. Koa said he’d have his lawyer look over it to make sure we all agree what’s fair. After that, we’ll purchase the van and have it retrofitted for your needs, decide on a menu, and get things scheduled.”

Whew, how long will all of this take?

I no sooner start worrying about income when Layne hands me an information packet. “If you’ll fill that out, we can send you the signing bonus once the contract is finalized by both parties.”

I glance at the paperwork, noting the sum they have offered will pay rent for several months. I breathe the biggest sigh of relief I’ve ever had and relax. Maybe, just maybe, everything is going to work out this time. Maybe God does hear my prayers, and all He’s needed all along was for me to release control.

“Oh, what about an employee to help me? Koa mentioned you might be open to that?”

“Of course. I think he said your employee’s name is Annie?” Layne arches her brow, so I nod. “We can offer her a standard employment package and leave her under your guidance if that is agreeable. She can fill out this application, but I can see no reason why we wouldn’t want her on board.”

“Perfect. Thank you.” I slide the paperwork into my portfolio just as there is a knock on the door. Ender peeks his head in with a guilty grin.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Leo called. He said something about pink hair dye, and that is way over my pay grade.”

“Oh, for grace sakes. That child. Excuse me.” Sarah Beth chuckles and heads out of the meeting, while Layne stands. It seems this is all that was needed, which is a huge relief.

“Why don’t we head out and see what the guys are doing? They’re probably still arguing about hot dogs.” Layne leads the way, but my footsteps are lighter. Everything seems brighter. I can hardly believe this has happened, but I’m so very grateful it has.

On the patio, Layne is proven right, only now Koa has joined the fray. I grasp his elbow to earn his attention and almost catch a flying hot dog to the face. Hot dogs rain down around us, mostly cooked, some burned, and half of them land in the dog-bone-shaped pool. Layne squeals and covers her head, while everyone else stares at the floating dogs—the meat kind—in the pool.

“What…what happened?” I realize I’m frozen in place, hands out as if I’d intended to catch something, staring at the grill.

“I’m not sure,” Koa admits.

Spencer’s guilt-riddled grin tells a story, but I’m not sure it’s going to be believable even though half of the incident took place right in front of my eyes.

“I can explain,” he says while holding a singed beach towel. “I was walking by, wrapped my towel around me, and I guess it caught the corner of the grill. Next thing I know, hot dog rain.”

“But…how?” Ender asks, looking down at the still intact grill.

The men get to work solving the mystery, but as for me, I mark it up as a case that cannot be solved without a copious understanding of physics. Since physics takes time I don’t have, I shake my head and look up at Koa.

“Looks like we’ve reached an agreement, but I’m due back home in an hour to relieve Annie from babysitting.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I should have told you to bring Dustin.” He grasps my upper arm and leads me away from the hot dog catastrophe. “Do you want me to drive you home? Maybe we can pick him up and you can come back, enjoy the…” He motions toward the disaster. “Well, enjoy whatever I order to be delivered since that seems to be the end of the cookout.”

“As nice as that sounds, I’d really like a quiet day alone with him. It’s been a hectic few weeks, you know?”

“Sure, I get that. Still, I’d like to take you home rather than calling the car back.”

“You have company. I’ll just call a cab.”

Koa shakes his head. “That won’t do. Actually, you need a car, and I have a lot of extras. Let me get you keys to—”

I hold up my hands in absolute firmness. “Definitely no. I am not driving one of your cars. They cost more than my whole business.”

Koa chuckles. “I really don’t care what you do to them. I care about you having safe and reliable transportation, so you’re going to take one of them if I have to glue your rear end in the driver’s seat.”