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I didn’t have a choice, did I? The house needed repairs. I needed that inheritance to even keep it running. They knew they had me, knew I couldn’t refuse. I would have gotten a job on my own eventually. There was nothing wrong with doing this.
But there was just something so wrong about giving in. To them and their petty games. “Where?”
“Your grandmother’s business,” Mama said.
I curled my nose up at the thought. “The matchmaking company?”
“Don’t say it like that,” Daddy said. “It still does incredibly well. Especially with all the changes your cousins have added.”
Mama waved a teasing hand forward. “Yeah. Just don’t tell them we said that.”
“No. Of course not.” I rolled my eyes. They were worried about me telling my cousins they thought they were doing well? But they weren’t too worried about blackmailing me?
“So? What’s the answer?” Daddy asked.
“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”
“Excellent!” Daddy said, and ushered Mama toward the door. “You start first thing Monday morning.”
What the fuck had just happened?
I walked my parents to the door and made a mental note to change the locks immediately. I had two days left to prepare for my first day of work. I could squeeze in some maintenance, pick out a kick-ass outfit, then make my way into the company. My cousins wouldn’t want me around, so I’d probably be gone within a week anyway.
Then it’d be back on track to fixing this money pit and figuring out whatever my real calling was.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Daddy turned around to face me. “You have to keep the job for ninety days. You can’t get fired, can’t quit. No rule breaking. Got it?”
I’m cursed. Did I break a mirror or something?
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Yes.” Mama reached across us and lightly pinched my cheek.
“Have fun, honey.”
Chapter Four
Hunter
“It just isn’t fair, you know?” Vanessa said. “We’ve done all the heavy lifting, and she’s the one who walks away with everything.”
I shifted in my seat, glancing around to see how many people were actively listening to our conversation. Vanessa was loud enough to be heard in Jackson. There was one couple pretending not to listen, though the occasional glance and smile they stole in each other’s direction as my sister’s voice hiked another octave higher told a different story. Another group passed a scowl or two my way throughout the course of the meal, to which I could only answer with one of my most charming smiles. And a pair of old women who were old enough to be my grandparents did little to hide the fact that they were listening at all.
From the looks of it, they found the conversation more amusing than anything else they’d encountered in the past decade.
But I’d sat through almost an hour of Vanessa’s complaints already. It was getting old. How many times did I have to hear about the dreaded Lyndsey Saunders who stole the livelihood right out from underneath my sister and her husband, Kyle’s, noses? I scanned the outdoor seating area for our waitress.
The sooner I got out of there, the better.
“Hunter,” Vanessa snapped. “Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes. Evil blonde,” I said. “Stole all that you deserved. Got it.”
“You should care a little more about this,” Vanessa said, nearly slamming her hands into the table in a fit of rage. She was two seconds away from becoming a full-blown, adult-sized toddler. “I’m your sister. You should be taking my side.”
“Your side of what?” I asked.
“This argument.”
