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“Wait, what?” she gasps. “Did Ron fire you?”
I nod. “Three times, actually. Twice by text. Once in a phone call.”
“Wow, he is really on a roll,” Wanda observes. “He fired us too.”
“Okay… I guess everybody is free and clear!” Elise announces. “So, I just have to run to the office and check on a couple of things. Should we take a field trip? Go kick some rocks at your new development site?”
“Absolutely,” I smile, watching the light dance inside Penny’s eyes. “Let’s go see what the future looks like.”
“That sounds good,” she sighs, biting her lip gently. “We will meet you there, okay? I have something I need to do real quick at home.”
My eyebrows go up as I watch her look me up and down. This is another excellent part of the Penny Experience. When she is flying high, she is the most beautiful creature in the world.
“Yes,” I agree quickly, daring to take her hand again and pull her to standing. “We will meet you there.”
Chapter 24
Penny
My mind is churning with excitement as we drive, tumbling over itself so quickly that I can barely keep up with the images.
Clay keeps a steady, reliable silence next to me. I know that he wants to talk, but he is holding back right now so that I can savor this moment. This feeling of standing at the edge of the diving board. That moment where I strap myself to the paper airplane. This jumping-off place.
Whatever the right metaphor is, I feel like I’m at the beginning of something amazing.
Every time I start to worry about accepting Wanda’s help, I have to kick that feeling right back onto the sidelines. I guess that was about the thousandth time that she has commanded me to take her money. It’s an investment. It’s not charity. That means she expects to get something out of it too. Okay. I just need to keep remembering that.
It’s a totally new feeling. Construction is something I can handle. Seeking out investors is something I can handle. Relying on someone besides myself… That is going to be a challenge.
As we drive, Clay’s hand drifts over to my seat. His fingers find my fingers and steeple against them, providing me with a strong thing to push against. It’s perfect. I can’t just grind my fingernails into my palms. But I can hold his hand, trace circles against his fingertips with my fingertips.
“You’re doing the right thing,” he smiles with his eyes focused on the road ahead.
I don’t have to answer, I know. He is just telling me what he thinks I need to hear. He is freakishly good at that.
My body is vibrating so hard, I feel like a violin string. I wonder if he can hear me. It’s almost too much. This combination of fear and excitement…
“Okay, the pictures online look like the development is somewhat closer to town. That little town? Stony something or other?”
“Stony Point,” he answers automatically.
“Right, Stony Point. I will need to make some friends over there right away. Do you know anybody?”
“Oh, I might have played golf with the mayor a couple of times. I’ve certainly bought him more than a few drinks.”
“That’s amazing,” I smile, drumming my fingertips against his. Strange how good that feels, how satisfying.
“Are you planning something that’s going to frighten the mayor?”
“Let’s just say I have some pretty exciting ideas I want to try out,” I answer, biting my lip to keep the words from all spilling out at once. “Can’t hurt to try, right? Just go fully green?”
“You can do anything you want,” he chuckles. “It’s your development, Pen. You can go completely off the rails.”
It’s my development, I repeat to myself. That’s just crazy. Not to be sexist, but seriously crazy.
I know we’re driving too fast, but I’m just as eager to get home as he is. With the house to ourselves and Ethan at school, the possibilities are just delicious.
I watch the muscle in Clay’s jaw bounce as he clenches his teeth, his body taut with concentration. As soon as we get to the driveway, he cuts the wheel hard to the right and practically screeches into the garage.
