“I think I know exactly why you asked me to come by and chat,” Grandmother said, holding one of Jovie’s books up for me to see. “Come on over and let’s talk turkey about business, as the kids say.”
Did kids really say that? I didn’t know. I didn’t care.
Cash was gone. His dog wasn’t. And Grandmother was about to find out just how much Ididn’tknow about being a real estate mogul.
Linnercouldn’t come fast enough.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Walking across the room in heels when you’re so scared your knees are knocking is about as easy as building a house of cards in front of a box fan. Yeah, it was about to get messy in a hurry and something was going to hit the floor. I hoped it wasn’t going to be me, but I didn’t hold out much hope.
Not only was Moose hot on my tracks, but Grandmother was waiting for me in the living room. Ever heard of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire? That was precisely what I was doing. I’d been summoned to talk about a book I’d never read, on a topic I had no interest in, with a woman who had a history of not being all that fond of me.
Lucky me.
I burnt the feeling of my queasy stomach into my permanent memory banks, a reminder to my future selfnotto act on any more dumb ideas that might pop into my head.
I’d like to say that I got myself together, stood tall, and strode across the room, but nope. My ankles wobbled, my upper lip glistened, and more of my hair sprung free from its bobby pin prison. I kicked off my ridiculous heels, motivated entirely by self-preservation, and took a seat across from Grandmother. Hopefully my bare tootsies didn’t earn me too many demerits in her eyes.
Mercifully, Moose decided to keep his mouth to himself and flopped down in the middle of the room. He rolled onto his back and went to sleep, occasionally kicking his rear legs in the air. I’ll admit, I smiled a little when I looked at him. He really was cute and wasn’t at all like the dog that had snapped at me when I was little.
This dog was chill—way more chill than I’d been all day.
I didn’t have any plans for becoming all chummy with that fur-beast, but I guessed he was pretty okay. My shoulders relaxed as I watched his breathing ease into a gentle rhythm. Until I looked up and saw Grandmother thumbing through the pages of one of Jovie’s books, that is.
The title looked so dry that I wasn’t sure if the book was meant to teach the principles of real estate or if it was supposed to be a cure for acute insomnia. Either way, Grandmother was engrossed in it. “Some of the information in this book seems a bit outdated to me, but overall, it’s a great resource. What do you think of it?”
What was I supposed to say about a book I’d never read? Maybe Cash’s grandfather had been right when he said that honesty was the best policy. Cash sure seemed to think highly of the advice. I took the old cliché to heart and wondered what an honest answer might look like.
“Well, Grandmother, I was scared that I might actually die of boredom if I cracked open the pages of that book. So, I decided to play it safe and let it collect dust on the side table instead.”Nope. There was no way I could say that. Was there such a thing as too much honesty? I came up with another option as she continued to thumb through the pages.
“What do I think of the book? I think it’s window dressing meant to fool you into believing I’m someone I’m not. I’m pretty much your worst nightmare come true in a grandchild—a free-spirited, hippie-type who wants nothing to do with investment portfolios and real estate holdings. How do you like me now?”I shivered when I imagined what her answer to that question might be. Yep, I was pretty sure therewassuch a thing as too much honesty.
I hurried up and spit out the first safe answer I could come up with. “I haven’t really spent much time reading that book.” I sat a little taller, proud of myself for finding an honest answer that wouldn’t make her storm out of my home and disown me. And make no mistake about it, I was telling the truth. It hadn’t taken me long at all to glance over the cover andreadthe title before decorating my end table with it.
“There’s no shame in that. We all start somewhere,” Grandmother said. “I’m just thrilled that you’ve decided to get into the family business.”
I smiled—awkwardly. What she’d just said wasn’t wrong. Iwasgoing into the family business, just not the family she was talking about. I was following in my mother’s footsteps.
“I have a feeling you wanted to talk to me about the money I promised to each of you grandchildren.”
I gulped. Grandmother didn’t waste time with small talk. We’d gone fromhow do you doto diving into the nitty-gritty in two point seven seconds.
I tucked a curl behind my ear. “It was a really generous promise. And yes, I’d hoped to show you that I’m ready for it.”
“I have to say, I like what I’ve seen so far. Everything in your life says stability. A solid relationship, a studious approach to business, and even the fact that you’ve committed to fostering that adorable dog. Very promising, indeed.”
I’d never seen Grandmother so happy before, and I’d never felt so slimy before, either.
“Do you know why I put conditions on the money, Willow?”
Finally!A question I could answer. I sat on my hand to keep it from shooting into the air like the dumb kid in class who finally knew the answer to a question. “To make sure we were a good investment.” I grinned, way too pleased with myself.
“No.”
My grin drooped, and my posture followed suit.
“Because I care about my grandchildren.”
