Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“I don’t know.”
“It should be fun. I’m assuming it is going to be fun. They won’t try to hurt you, and I think they’re hoping to make it up to Leanna. Warden’s not happy. He freaked out, didn’t think the traitor was so close to home. I have no idea how much of this I’m supposed to be telling you.”
Tanya laughed. “Are you okay?”
“Me, I’m fine. I mean, I think that had to be one of the scariest moments of my life, and I did get shot about a year ago. I nearly died, but I didn’t see that one coming. This, I saw coming, and wow, yeah, that was freaky. I have never felt anything like that.” She closed her eyes and pushed those thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind. She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t want to even know about it. “Anyway, let’s not talk about me and instead talk about you. So, you’re invited to the barbeque and I will warn you, if you come, and that is entirely up to you, I’d go out for the day, take Leanna, because Kim wants to apologize and make it all better. You know.”
Tanya laughed. “I barely know this woman.”
“But Kim knows what a monster Warden can be, and they don’t keep secrets from one another, at least I am assuming they don’t. They might, I don’t know.” They walked through to the kitchen and Tanya pulled out a seat for her to take.
Petal slid into it, pulling her sunglasses from her hair.
“So, what do you say, will you come to the barbeque?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got Leanna to think about, and I’m not even involved with the club and look what happened. I can’t risk that. I have a baby to think about.”
“You’re pregnant?”
“No. I’m talking about Leanna.”
“Yes, yes, I get that.” She laughed. “I totally get that.” She pressed her lips together. All children were still babies to their parents. “Look, I’m not saying this is easy, it’s not, but if you are still looking for a job, and I know there’s not a lot of what you’re looking for out there, it’s open for you.”
Tanya slid a drink in front of her and Petal took it, lifting it to her lips and blowing across the surface. Silence fell between them but it wasn’t uncomfortable. She saw Tanya was thinking.
“I know. I’ve looked and there are not a lot of jobs.”
“How come you’ve never pursued your whole electrician thing?” Petal asked.
“I don’t know. Well, I did do it for awhile but the guys and the jobs, when I turned up, no one was happy I was a woman. They had someone check my work, which was costing them double, and with Leanna it was just easier to get a steady job at the DIY store, and now at the diner.”
Petal looked toward Tanya. “Do you like electronics?”
“Yes and no. I like being able to fix my stuff, and I also have this weird thing that when I learn something new, I want to be qualified to do it. Does that make sense?”
She smiled. “That sounds awesome.”
Tanya reached across the counter and pulled out a book that had notes sticking out from every angle. “And that is why I am also leaning to plumb. I got a leak underneath the sink, and the cost of some of these plumbers is outrageous, and they were taking too long. Some of them were more interested in flirting, so I borrowed a book from the library, fixed it myself, and now I am taking a course in plumbing.”
“This is cool,” Petal said, flicking through the book, none of it making any sense. “My dad tends to fix everything.”
“Yeah, well, when you don’t have parents around and you’re tired of being ripped off, you go for the next best thing.”
Petal took a sip of her coffee. “I’m looking at going back to college.”
“Oh, yeah, have you picked your course or what you want to learn?”
“Well, seeing as I’m part owner of the diner and help run it, I wanted to take some kind of business course, you know, to see.”
“Well, the local college has all kinds of short-run courses where you can test your hand at different lessons. Hold on, let me grab the catalogue for you.”
Tanya left the kitchen and was gone for a couple of minutes. Petal watched as she came in carrying a booklet with the college logo on it.
“Here you go. Have a look at that. It has all the courses, from tester courses to longer-run semester courses. It’s actually a good college. They also do evening classes, and the teachers are solid as well. They don’t make you feel dumb. You know, like back in high school.”
“Ah, yes, I had a few of those.”