Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55271 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Good. The same can’t be said for Ledger. So much like his father, eating, breathing, and sleeping that damn roofing company of his,” she grumbles.
“Tell me about it. And Ella is working for him. Double ick. Does no one else need a job in this town?” I raise my eyebrows at her, knowing Ledger is going to be in a lurch come the end of the day. “Maybe you should work for him. The phone call I overheard made it seem like no amount of fun.”
“You want me to work for my son? Are you trying to make me see my hair stylist every four weeks instead of the usual six? No thanks.” I laugh. She’d do it, and we all know it. “And what did Ella do now that he might need a new secretary?”
“It’s a long story. I hope you have a few hours.” The rest of my day is clear, minus making a trip to the grocery store. With Ledger being at my place, the food he stocked us up on is dwindling. Two turkey BLTs and half a bag of chips for dinner was basically a snack for him.
“Honey, I’m retired. All I have is time.” She opens the door for us. Walking inside is like going through a time machine. Everything is the same, which is pretty damn perfect since fashion and design make their way back in a perfect circle.
“Good, you’re going to want to hear this. Though, you know who probably knew everything all along?” I ask her back, walking behind her until we make it to the kitchen. The round table still sitting in the middle, light shining brightly through the bay window, the walls a creamy yellow.
“Mrs. Marble. She knows everything, including the fact that Ledger picked you up at Hank’s, where your Tahoe stayed until closing time. The woman has eyes all over town.” We laugh. She gets around easily, knows the small town of Orange Blossom’s comings and goings, even when the trash men are later than usual to pick it up. One day, we’ll all be just like her—older, retired, still hot rodding around in her cherry-apple-red car with the sunroof open, all while watching and listening for the latest news.
“If I have time today, I think I’ll stop by her place, too.”
“She’d enjoy that. Sun tea?” she asks. I nod, wiping my sweaty palms down the front of my skirt. I’m not sure if it’s the right or the wrong thing to do, telling Heather about Ella and everything she’s put Ledger and me through, but I’ve already opened that can of worms.
“Thank you.” She bustles around the kitchen, grabbing the pitcher of tea, glass with yellow lemons all over it. Ledger’s mom always steeped it in the windowsill above the sink. Tea bags, hot water, a heaping amount of sugar and sun was all it took to brew, pour it over ice in the mason jars she’s collected throughout the years.
“You’re welcome. Before we get into the drama, tell me what finally brought you home.” The past is erased. She’s not pissed about me never coming home, never calling her, texting, or any of the likes. It’s like a clean slate, no time has passed, and she loves me, much like Hank. God, I love the two of them.
“Well, I knew Alabama wasn’t going to be home forever. On a whim, I applied for a job at Repair and Restore, R & R, in town. I was surprised. All I did was send in my resume, they called me back, set up a time to have a meeting with them via a Teleconference, and I was hired on the spot with a two-week notice to get home before my first day.” It took me a week to get things settled with Nelle, not wanting to leave her in a lurch with the apartment and dealing with my job at the time. They were reluctant to let me go, and I had to work double time to close out my projects in order to feel comfortable with leaving in a week. That’s why I hit the ground running when I came back. The donation truck came earlier this morning, loading everything I set aside in bags, and the furniture in the house that could be put to good use instead of collecting dust. I still have to go through the shed and head into town to see Mr. Flay. Now that I’m home, it’s time to put my trust to good use. It sits in the bank doing nothing but gaining interest. Thankfully, Montgomery was smart, invested wisely and took care of the monthly bills after Momma passed away. One day, I came home from school to find our house had no power, which also meant no running water. Ledger hadn’t moved in at that time, so it’s not like I could run next door to ask him, and the neighbor who lived there before wasn’t the nicest. I called Montgomery. He came flying home, called the power company, paid the bill, and took over everything since then. He was wise beyond his years, putting a few things in place. The house was paid off well before he passed away. And just because we had money from our parents’ passing away did not mean he spent it like it was water. Mont had mine put in a trust until I turned twenty-five. He bought me a used car, nothing fancy or expensive, buying more for safety than anything else. It sucked to lose my family, but I was fortunate that he had it set up to where I wouldn’t fall flat on my face our lose our family home should I want to keep it, which I do, even if I refuse to move into the master bedroom. Since the only time I touched any money was during college days, there’s now a pretty penny, and I’d like to help others who aren’t as fortunate as me.