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She leaned back, her eyes narrowing. “Huh? What does that mean? Did he say something to you?”
“Oh, er.” I scratched at my neck, realizing I’d accidentally said too much. “No, nothing. Not really.”
“Rust, you’re a horrible liar. He saidsomething to you. I can tell. It’s written all over your face.”
I hesitated. Why lie about it? There wasn’t any harm in letting her know her dad cared for her, was there? “Okay, look. He might’ve said he’s a little worried about you.”
“What’s he worried about, though?” she asked.
“You’re his little girl and you’re out in the world on your own, you know?” I began. “It’s natural a father is going to worry. But really, all he wants is for you to do well in school. And he was a lot more comfortable knowing you’d be working for me instead of that restaurant, so you’d have more time to study.” I added, “He cares for you, Isabelle. A lot.”
“He sure knows how to show it, too,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Eager to change the subject, I popped off my lounger. “One last thing. Let’s go back inside.”
I led her into the kitchen again, where an envelope stuffed full of cash was clipped to the refrigerator. I gave it to her. “Here.”
“What’s this?”
“Your payment. I figured we’d start at five hundred a day. Does that sound alright?”
Her nose wrinkled as she opened the envelope and thumbed through the wad of cash. “Wait. You’re giving mefive hundred dollarsa day?”
“Is that not enough?”
“Rust, that’s waytoo much!”
“That’s what I paid my dog sitter in Winnipeg …”
“Honestly, I feel wrong taking your money at all. Your place is like a retreat. Heck, I feel like I should be payingyoufor letting me stay here.”
She tried giving me the envelope back, but I refused to take it.
“Don’t be crazy. You’re helping me out. You haveto take the money. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? I need a dog sitter, and you need a job that lets you focus on your studies?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a deep breath. “Rust …”
“Yeah?”
“Can we talk?”
“Sure.”
We sat at the high chairs by the center island. She looked at me, a pensive look cresting her lips. Something was clearly weighing on her mind. Her leg bounced as she built up the confidence to tell me what was bothering her.
“It’s kind of a secret, okay? If I tell you, you can’t tell my dad.” Her big eyes pleaded with mine. “Promise me you won’t tell Dad?”
Oh boy.That put me in a bad spot. What if she was in trouble? How was I supposed to let Johnny know how she was doing if I’d promised not to tell?
But I figured, if Johnny had a choice, he’d at least want meto know what was going on with Isabelle, instead ofneitherof us knowing.
“I promise,” I said, having convinced myself.
“The thing is …” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I’m actually not in school anymore.”
“What?” I asked, stunned. Johnnyalwaysbragged about what good grades Isabelle got, ever since she started grade school. Hell, I remember how proud he was when she’d skipped the third grade. “You dropped out?”
“Yeah.”
