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)
“I have never seen one of these,” Dan told her.
She smiled at him. “Me neither before I got one. I have a JP Morgan Reserve credit card too, but that’s for business. You wanna see it, it’s laser-etched palladium and gold, and it’s pretty cool looking too.”
He did want to have a look, and she passed that one over as well. When he looked up at her, he smiled. “I feel like I’ve learned something today.”
Hannah beamed at him. “Never judge a book by its cover?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning,
And with that, she leaned forward and offered him her hand. Nice to see how fast he reached to take it.
On the way to the restaurant, Hannah explained to me that she was thinking of selling Mabon candles in September because so many people had said to her at Lammas that they wished they had known that she made them.
“Everybody who saw me drop one off to someone, wanted one.”
“So you’re thinking you want to charge for them?” That had never occurred to her before.
“And send the profits to different animal rescues—yeah.”
“That seems to me a good use of your magical gifts.”
“I think so too.”
When we came to a stoplight, she turned and looked at me. “Do you think I should have gotten myself a super crappy car and used the rest of the money to pay off the mortgage on our house?” she asked softly, biting her lip. “Are you disappointed that I made a selfish purchase?”
“Do you think what you did was selfish?”
“Maybe,” she whispered.
“You saved up, love, and no one can say you haven’t worked hard for Aaron.”
“But I don’t work as hard as other people.”
“I always think, when people say things like that, that working hard is something different for everyone.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, your father talks to a million people in a day, from his office, and he makes sure that he chooses the right people to make good decisions and lead, but he isn’t on the street every day anymore. So, does he work hard?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Your teachers, when you were in high school, and now the ones in college, stay in one room all day and try and get you to learn something. Do they work less than a fireman?”
“No.”
“I think the roofers who put on our roof were some of the hardest-working people I’ve ever seen, but so were the amazing doctors and nurses who worked in hospitals during Covid.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that if you’re giving something all you have to make it great and do the best you can, then that’s work in my opinion. You’ve done your best for Aaron, and he sees that.”
She nodded.
“And would your father have let you drive some beater?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about him.”
I laughed, and she joined me.
“No way Sam Kage’s daughter gets into a deathtrap.”
“That’s valid. He wouldn’t have allowed that.”
“Neither would I.”
“True.”
“So you saved us a large expense, and now we can focus on getting Kola something.”
She shook her head. “No, Kola sees no point in another car as Jake’s piece of crap is still running even if the doors stick and you can’t roll down the window on the left side.”
“I hate that car and I have no idea what it actually is.”
She grunted. “And imagine what he would trade that in for.”
“Something worse, I’m sure.”
“My money is on a VW van from, like, nineteen seventy-five that Jake thinks is epic and Kola will find the charm in and Harper will like because that’s what Kevin Costner drove in Field of Dreams and he loves that movie.”
“Oh,” I said, sighing. “I love that movie too.”
She rolled her eyes.
“It’s a good movie.”
“It’s not Bull Durham, but it’s better than others.”
“No, I mean it’s not just a good Kevin Costner movie, it’s just a good movie period.”
“I stand by my earlier comment.”
I shook my head at her.
“I just—I do want to help you pay off the mortgage and––”
“The year your father retires, it will be paid off,” I told her. “That’s how we planned it.”
She looked surprised.
“Your father and I have actual plans, you know, of retiring.”
“You’re not going to retire in another state, are you?”
I chuckled. “No, dear. We’re sticking here with you and your brother.”
She sighed deeply. “Okay, good.”
“But we don’t need you to help with the mortgage unless you win the lottery,” I said, giving her a pointed look. “If that happens, I want it paid off and I want a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon because I think they’re very pretty.”
“Deal,” she said, smiling at me.
There was valet parking at the restaurant on W. Maple Street, and Hannah explained to the nice young man that the car was new and only she had ever driven it and that it was pristine and she would check it after dinner and God help him if there was even weird dirt anywhere.