For about five minutes.
Then banging on the door demanded an answer.
“Ana,” a high voice called—loudly—through the glass. “Can I come in? Rían says I always have to ask you for permission first, and that I can’t barge in just because we’re sisters. So, can I?”
After rinsing my hands, I hustled to greet my second unexpected guest, curious what brought her rushing over when she ought to be selling her tartlets to the unsuspecting masses. “Come on in.”
“Here’s your cut.” She offered me a stack of dollar bills. “That ought to cover your expenses.”
Taking money from a child left a bad taste in my mouth, but I was stuck. Goldie was all business, and she left me with no choice but to accept the cash and her firm handshake. I would have to consult Rían tonight, get his two cents on what I ought to do. Maybe I could open a joint money market account or high yield savings account and invest my profit from future ventures to gift her when she graduated high school. A college fund, if you will. Bake sale profits wouldn’t stretch far in the grand scheme of things, but it would be a good learning experience for me too.
Until the moment Carmichael hit me, I’d had a safety net. If I had a slow month, I had a parent with the means to help. If I required a bailout for any reason, I could have asked for a loan. And, if the worst had happened and GSG failed, I could have gone home. But even if I could forgive him for raising a hand to me, I would never forget what the Sartoris had done to Sloane, my parents, and so many others.
To protect my future, I needed to get serious about weaving my own safety net.
Maybe Rían could help me with that too.
“Thanks, Goldie.” I tucked the money in the register for safekeeping. “How did it go?”
“I sold out in ten minutes.” She shrugged as if it was no big thing. “Liam is great at juggling fireballs.”
“Liam juggled fireballs?” I gawked at her. “That’s how you drew a crowd?”
“He was trying to impress Sloane,” she informed me. “I told him she thought fire was cool and he ought to show her some of his tricks if he wanted her to pay attention to him.”
This child wasdiabolical. I loved it. But it did make me wonder. “Why would he want to do that?”
“He’s a boy.” She took stock of her surroundings. “Who knows what they’re thinking?”
I was starting to wonder the same thing about Sloane. The park was on the other side of town from GSG and my house. How had she ended up there? “Did Sloane talk to Liam?”
“Yeah.” She tapped a finger against her bottom lip. “She even bought a tartlet from me.”
About to ask what they discussed, as I was certain she had eavesdropped and probably even taken notes for future reference, I caught myself before crossing a line into Fayne territory. I couldn’t very well hold a grudge when Fayne used me if I turned around and did the same to Goldie.
“That was nice of her.” I gestured for her to follow me into the break room, where I offered her a bottle of water, figuring her throat must be sore from hocking her wares. “What’s your agenda for the rest of the day?”
“I’m going to play at Gran’s.” She drank deep, smacking her lips. “She set up an obstacle course for us to train on in her backyard. Rían finished assembling everything yesterday, and he promised I can go first.” She picked at the peeling label on her bottle. “Do you want to come watch?” She rolled a small shoulder. “It’s okay if you’re too busy. We’re not really sisters yet, so you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
Unable to turn down a rare show of vulnerability from her, I took her hand. “I would love to.”
“Rían said not to pester you.” Her fingers were cool in mine. “I didn’t, did I?”
“No.” I drew her against my side like it was the most natural thing in the world, and when she looped her arms around my thigh, I couldn’t swallow past the tightness in my throat. “I’m glad you invited me.”
The moment lasted precious seconds before Goldie released me and bounded into the waiting room.
“Jess?” I hefted my bucket into the nearest sink. “I’m heading out, so let’s dump our buckets and lock up.”
“Oh.” Her gaze followed Goldie, her shifter senses guaranteeing she heard the whole thing. “Okay.”
We worked together while Goldie spun in circles until she got dizzy then hit the floor, giggling like a loon without a single complaint. Had I smacked down that many times, I would have gotten a bruised tailbone for my troubles. Granted, I was working with more padding than she had, so there was that.
Maybe five minutes later, I could tell the clock had run down, and Goldie was itching to leave.
“Okay.” Goldie bounded over to me, snagging my hand. “Ready?”
“You were born ready.” I ruffled her hair, amazed to find her leaning in for more. “Let’s go.”
