Page 46 of Legacy

I turned, walked through the back door, closed it behind me, and pulled my little sister into my arms.

“He has to die sometime soon. His liver can’t hold out that much longer.”

“The things we wish for.”

Both of us ignored the wetness covering my chest as Teagan cried into my arms. My little sister, the fierce one. The one who didn’t cry in front of anyone, still cried in my arms.

And that was just one more reason why my dad needed to go.

And why, if he wasn’t careful, I was going to be the one who made it happen.

Chapter 7

Felicity

Sometimes, the numbers called to me. Sometimes, the numbers made me want to scream in a corner and pretend that they never existed. Sadly, at this moment, I was worried that this was one of the latter times.

I rubbed my temples and stared at the screen. “You can do this. You are numbers. And numbers are set. You understand how to make this work.”

“Talking to yourself again?” I looked up as my boss came in, a small smile playing on his face.

“Yes. I can’t get this spreadsheet to work, and it’s annoying me.”

“Well, back in my day, we used to do everything by hand.”

I rolled my eyes at him and his familiar refrain.

“Was it with the chisel, or did you move on to different sorts of clay at that point?” I teased.

“You youngsters. And I’ll have you know I am decent at a spreadsheet.”

“I do know that. You’re the one who taught me to use this program. You’re hip with the kids.”

“Young lady, the fact that you just said that phrase worries me. Are you no longer hip with the kids?”

“Probably not. I’m no longer a teenager. I don’t understand the lingo some of our friends’ kids say these days.”

“Sadly, it’s been years since I understood anything a teenager says to me.”

“Anyway, I know I can get these numbers to line up. I’m just missing something.”

“Who’s it with?”

“You know the account.”

He sighed and came over to my desk. “She’s just not great at receipts. We both know this.”

“How has the bakery gone on this long and missed so much? These are the questions I have.”

“Because we don’t have another bakery in town. And she’s damn good. She’s honestly a good baker. She’s just not the best businesswoman.”

“I’ll help her get all of her receipts and spreadsheets in order, but honestly, she should have us doing payroll.”

“But that costs a fee, and she’s not a person who wants to spend money on that.”

“Which makes me sad… But maybe you can work your wiles on her,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes.

He barked out a laugh. “We both know that won’t work. I lost my wiles long ago.”