AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That bad?” I asked, remembering she had a first date.
“His picture was from at least five years ago,” she grumbled. “I don’t care if a guy’s losing his hair as long as he embraces it. Shave it all off. It’s hot.”
“No embracing?” I asked, trying to imagine this guy she’d swiped right on in a dating app.
“Comb over. Or more like Homer Simpson’s three strands of hair. There was no embracing. Of me either.”
I crossed the kitchen, set my hand on her forearm. She smelled like Lily of the Valley, her favorite scent. “Sorry. There’s a guy out there for you.”
“I’m thirty-five and I know every guy in Hunter Valley. They’re either too old, too young or too wrong.”
She was right. Pickings were slim around here, not that I was picking.
“Or I’ve done their taxes and know their bottom line. You’d be surprised who shouldn’t be driving around in an expensive SUV.”
For college, I’d had a full ride scholarship. Everything was fully paid. I never liked living in the dorms, but I didn’t turn down free housing in Boston. I worked as a math tutor to pay for food and incidentals. While I’d returned home broke, I didn’t owe student loans either.
I got the job with James Corp and the inn project two weeks after I returned because I was qualified, and the position was hiring immediately. I’d been socking away the paychecks ever since. I wanted to move out as I was sure Lindy wanted her little sister out of the house after having it to herself for three years.
Looking back, I was sure she hadn’t found a guy because of me. She’d been twenty-three when she became the mother to a ten-year-old. What guy that age wanted a tween to raise?
For now, and until we wanted to strangle each other–or she found a guy she wanted to bring home–I’d stay in my old bedroom.
“That’s a good thing then,” I told her, trying to give her dating challenges a positive spin. “You can screen out the over spenders before the first date.”
“Hello!”
We turned toward the front door when Mallory called out. She came into the kitchen carrying a box of donuts from Deerdorfs, the local shop that was ah-mazing.
“I brought your favorites,” she said, lifting the lid and grabbing her own favorite, a cruller with strawberry glaze. She gave my sister a once over, then said, “Cute nightie, Lind.”
“Thanks. I’m up three pounds. No way am I eating a Boston cream,” Lindy said, crossing her arms over her chest as if to keep her hands away from grabbing one.
I had no such issues with weight or self-control. Besides, I ran this morning and could definitely use some sugar. I grabbed the one with the rainbow sprinkles Mal had gotten for me and took a big bite. The donut dissolved on my tongue. Heaven.
“Did you figure out how to solve the problem from last night?” she asked me, arching a brow.
“What, a math problem?” I wondered, chewing the sugary confection.
“Right. Math problem.”
Oh. Oh. She was talking about Maverick.
“Still working on it,” I said, wanting to end the conversation. Until I had clear answers, and knew for a fact my job wasn’t over, I wasn’t sharing any of it with Lindy. The last thing I wanted to do after what we’d just talked about was to be fired for inappropriate behavior. After dropping out of college, then that, Lindy would lose her shit.
I did get a side eye from her though. She might not be as crazy good at math as I was, she was an accountant and knew how to use a calculator. She also knew we were up to something, because knowing Mallory, we usually were.
“Go get ready,” Mallory prompted, licking glaze off her lip. “The parade starts in thirty minutes.”
“You’re going to the parade?” Lindy asked, surprised.
I hadn’t been in a couple years because I’d been in Boston and hadn’t considered going this morning. I was now.
“You should come with us,” Mal offered.
Lindy shook her head. “Work. Tax extensions. IRS letters.”
While Lindy worked for a company in town as their in-house accountant, she also took on side clients. She worked all the time and carried her laptop around with her as if it were an extension of her body.
