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He glanced at the computer. “I take it back. It’s the locationandthe museum-grade desktop computer.” He tapped the side of the CPU. “How old is this thing?”
“Older than me probably, but it works.”
“You’d get faster service at the DMV.”
The screen finally changed to the desired page. “There you go!”
West leaned over to examine the contents. “This is your bank account.”
“Correct.”
“Where’s the rest of the money?”
I pointed to a number on the screen. “There.”
His eyebrows inched up. “You can’t be serious.”
“You sound like Nana Pratt.” Speaking of the elderly ghost, I hoped she wouldn’t be offended by my additional request for help.
“There’s no sense in having a budget when you’ve got no money to spend,” he said. “Why on earth did you buy this heap of blue stones if you were that short on cash?”
“Because I have no financial sense, okay? I learned a lot from my grandfather, but Pops skipped over the money lesson.” Mainly because we didn’t have much of it, and my foster families had even less.
“That amount will maybe last you through the winter, depending on how much heat you use.”
“Only enough to keep the pipes from freezing. I’ll use the fireplaces and wear layers. It’ll be fine. I bet I can go another six months.” Assuming nothing major broke between now and then. Goooood luck, Lorelei.
West shook his head. “You like living on the edge, don’t you? Because I can’t think of another reason you’d subject yourself to this.”
“I’m doing a small job now that will help tide me over.” I closed the window. “Thanks for your input.”
“Let’s figure out how much you need to earn on a regular basis to keep living here.”
I eyed him closely. “Are you going to give me a lowball number that guarantees failure?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you told me before that you don’t want me in Fairhaven.”
He rubbed his rugged jawline. “I guess I did say that, didn’t I?”
“Have you changed your mind?”
“Not really.”
“Okay,” I dragged the word out slowly. “Color me confused.”
“I’m a complicated guy. What can I say?”
“I say this with the utmost respect, but I think you’re a pretty simple one.”
He clenched his jaw and sucked the air between his teeth, making a faint whistling sound. “Fine. The bottom line is that you’ve been more of an asset than a liability, so I’m willing to roll with it, but the minute that changes, so does my attitude.”
“Noted.” I glanced at the sleep log. “Thanks for stopping by. I think we’re done here.”
“I’m not trying to be a hard ass, Lorelei.”
“No, I can tell you manage without any effort at all.” West didn’t know who I was, but it was clear his alpha senses told him I was trouble. They’d been telling him since the day I arrived in Fairhaven, and he had no intention of letting me forget it.
