Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88290 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Harper’s folks were thrilled, so were Jake’s, and when I went with Sam so he could knock on doors and introduce himself to people, I loved it too. It was a charming place for them to live, and they were only, in theory, less than a half an hour from home. Of course that was relative with Chicago traffic, but it was so much better than having them in California I was still so crazy happy.
Back to Sam introducing himself to the neighbors. He went, door to door, passed out his card, and said hello to everyone. As suspected, everyone was very excited to have the son of the chief deputy living in their complex. It’s always good to have people know that Kola could help them by knowing who to call if they were in danger, and that messing with him, or his friends, was a poor choice. Sam always liked everyone to be on the same page from the beginning.
You probably all know by now that the University of Chicago is on a quarter system. Just like Hannah, this year the boys didn’t take classes in the summer, but going forward, they would. So they are all waiting for school to start in September, and in the interim, Hannah is working for Aaron, and Kola has a job at a psychiatric facility for teens where he works with Dr. Kurt Butler, who was his psychiatrist and who is also George’s partner.
Some of you may be new here, and George is my daughter’s bodyguard. You may think, your daughter needs a bodyguard? The short answer is yes. For starters, she’s a bit of a trouble magnet. She gets that from me. But Hannah does a lot of work with billionaire Aaron Sutter’s charity, attends fundraisers and things like that, and invitations have begun to show up for red-carpet events with celebrities. I think it has to do with all her TikTok and Instagram followers. When there are people in the millions checking in to see what you’re doing on a daily basis, you’re going to get noticed. George doesn’t love that people know who she is because it makes guarding her a bit more difficult. But he can always be counted on to handle himself, so I don’t worry.
On Friday afternoon, she and I had to go and pick out her car. Sam and I were going to buy her one, it was time, but she forbade us, as she had money saved up. I had no idea she had all the money for what she wanted, and was surprised when we got to the Honda dealership.
“You don’t want a sportscar or something?”
She turned to me, and her face scrunched up. “No, Pa, I want to be able to take the guys with me places now that they’re home, or my friends and their boyfriends, and how can I do that in some stupid little compact?”
“Point taken. So we’re here to get a sedan?”
The shake of her head told me no.
“What, then?”
“I’m getting a Honda CR-V in Urban Gray Pearl.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a good color, won’t get super hot in the summer and I’ll still be able to see it if it gets covered by snow.”
“I see. Very sensible.”
“There are things I want in it too.”
Of course there were.
Those poor deluded salesmen. I saw them checking the board to see who would get to come talk to us, thinking probably that I was there to get a car for my daughter. Little did they know. I almost felt bad.
“Hey there, folks,” Dan greeted us with a wide smile. He was, I was guessing, about my age, handsome with a bit of a receding hairline and big hands that enfolded first Hannah’s hand and then mine. “What are we looking for today?”
Hannah smiled at him. “I need a fully loaded Honda CR-V, the Touring one, and I need it in Urban Gray Pearl.”
“Oh, well, sounds like someone had something specific in mind, but maybe we should hear from your father here, sweetheart.”
She crossed her arms.
I shook my head. “No, sir, this is her show. It’s her money, so please just get her what she’s asking for.”
“I apologize, honey,” he told Hannah. “But we have some lovely––”
Hannah put up her hand to stop him from speaking. “I have done a year’s worth of research on the exact car in the exact color that I want. I know you have one on the lot, I checked, so I would like to be taken to see it.”
“I––”
“Also,” she said, taking a breath. “My father calls me honey and love, and so does my pa, who’s here with me. My grandfather calls me sweetheart. They’re the only ones allowed. Even my ex-boyfriend only ever called me B, which is a long story but does not now, and has never meant, bitch.”