Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90164 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
I toss the pen down and rub my eyes, take my hat off, and scratch my head.
“Shit, I guess it’s back to the drawing board. I’ll put out another ad. I’d like to have two more hands hired before June.”
“We’d all like that,” Lucky says with a chuckle. “But those boys today wouldn’t have fit in, and none of them had the build to do the work. They’d just be exhausted, and likely hurt, every day. That’s not what we need.”
“You’re right about that. We don’t need it. Hell, three of them admitted that they applied for the job because their dads made them.”
Lucky winces. “I’ll ask around again to see if anyone I know is looking for work.”
“I appreciate it. I’m going to go see how it’s going with my mom and Erin. Erin applied for the bookkeeping position.”
“We like her,” Lucky says as I stand. “Now, she’s someone who fits in.”
“Yeah.” I grin and settle the hat on my head once more. “She does. I’ll come back out here in a bit.”
Lucky nods and walks away as I climb into the Jeep and set off for my folks’ house. Erin and Mom are walking out of the house as I pull in, both of them smiling and happy.
That’s a good sign.
“Oh, hey, Rem,” Mom says as I walk toward them. “Erin and I were just finishing up here.”
“How did it go?” I push my hands into my back pockets so I don’t just immediately grab for Erin and kiss the hell out of her.
“It went well,” Mom replies, looking over at Erin happily. “I even gave her a little quiz, and she passed with flying colors.”
“It wasn’t an easy quiz, either,” Erin says with a laugh. “I might have started to break out into a sweat.”
“You did great,” Mom reaffirms and wraps an arm around Erin’s shoulders. “She’s accepted the position, and we’d like to dive into training on Wednesday.”
“Wow, that’s great. I’m glad that you had a good meeting.”
“Oh, Joy,” Erin begins, “would you mind giving me a ride into town? My car is done, and I’d like to pick it up and bring it out to the ranch before I have to pick the kids up from school.”
“I can do that,” I offer before Mom can reply.
“Oh, I know you’re busy,” Erin begins.
“I can take an hour and help you with this. I think it’s the least I can do.”
“That’s perfect because I have to get ready for my book club. I’m hosting tonight,” Mom explains. “It’s my turn. I’ll see you Wednesday morning, Erin.”
“I’m excited,” Erin replies and then follows me over to the Jeep. “Seriously, your mom is the absolute best. She’s so dang smart. I didn’t realize that she’s continued to further her education every couple of years because things change so fast in the world of finance, and she’s totally on top of it. I liked her a lot before, but now I think she’s the shit.”
I snort at that as I pull onto the highway.
“My mom is totally the shit. So, you still plan to use the Suburban when you have the kids, right?”
Erin immediately nods. “Oh, yeah. I know that you’re the most comfortable with that, and honestly, I like driving it. It’s so big. It feels very safe, and that makes me feel better, too.”
“Good.” I reach over and take her hand, lifting it to my lips. “I want to keep all three of you as safe as possible.”
She grins over at me. “I get that. I’ll drive the big car. But I definitely have to get my vehicle and pay Brooks.”
From the number of cars in the parking lot at Brooks’s garage, I’d say the man isn’t hurting for business.
“Hey, Erin,” Brooks says as he wipes his hands on a rag. “Remington.”
“Brooks,” I reply with a nod.
“Wow, this is a little more than we thought,” Erin says as she looks at the invoice. “Cars are expensive to fix.”
“They’re ridiculous,” Brooks agrees. “But she’s in top shape now and should last you for many years. I’ve warrantied all my work for a year. If anything happens between now and then, you just call me, and we’ll fix it.”
“That’s pretty great,” Erin says with a nod before passing Brooks her credit card. “I’m just glad it didn’t happen when I was on the freeway between here and Seattle. That would have sucked.”
“Big time,” Brooks agrees with a smile as he runs her card.
When the bill is settled, all three of us walk out to where Erin’s car is waiting. It’s actually a small SUV and doesn’t look all that old.
“This isn’t a beater,” I say with surprise.
“No, I don’t drive a beater,” Erin replies.
“I admit, I had the same reaction,” Brooks says with a laugh. “No, it’s a good car. Sucks that you were just outside of the warranty, though.”