Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Mrs. Gathright was writing, but when he said the word money, she interrupted, spreading several pieces of paper from out around her, searching for one in particular.
“I saw you guys opened a bank account.”
“We’ve been socking away money. I was able to put all the back payments from social security in there,” Levi said, pushing his half-eaten plate forward several inches, and rested his forearms there as he spoke.
“And you’re working two jobs still?” she asked, lifting her very direct gaze his way.
“Yes and no. At the beginning of June, I got laid off at the clinic. Medicare cuts forced the clinic to downsize about three-quarters of the assistants. Linda—” He hooked a thumb toward her house next door. “Her company needed some temp work. I’ve been doing that four days a week, about twenty-five hours or so a week. That’s coming to an end, so I’ll find something else to do until we leave.”
“But you’re still at the club… Is it Reservations? Is that correct?” she asked, back to writing on her tablet.
Luke’s head jerked his way. Levi hadn’t been truthful with his brothers about which restaurant he worked at. He had led them to believe it was a dining restaurant. Since Thane had four different locations at the resort, he’d just stayed vague. Levi gave the slightest shake of his head toward his brother and pointed to Mrs. Gathright. They’d talk about this later.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I’m getting a job at the Baconator. They already hired me, and I’m working, but I need my social security card. Levi’s got it coming for me, so I’m gonna put all that money up too. Then me and Levi can transfer in the company when we move to Maryland,” Luke explained, dropping that information out of nowhere before turning back to Levi for verification. “Right?”
Levi nodded at Luke while looking at Mrs. Gathright. She’d stopped writing when Luke started speaking, focusing her gaze on him. She fought her smile when he turned his question to Levi, ducking her head, jotting down more notes.
“I’ve been working some weekends at Castelli’s,” Logan said, leaving out that it had only been a few times over two months. Logan’s school courses required too much homework to do much more than a few hours here or there. “It’s how I paid for my DC trip. I’ll start working for the company when I graduate. Levi knows the owner.”
Luke threw out a not so helpful, “They’re dating. Right?”
All Levi wanted to do was lean back in the chair and cover his face with his hands while telling his brothers to stop talking. They had to work on Luke’s manners and the concept of less is more. Damn.
“We are.” Levi finally nodded.
Mrs. Gathright lifted her head, stared at him for several seconds then looked between the boys, her face growing serious. She started writing again in her journal. She never gave any clue how she felt about him dating anyone, let alone the owner of the company they were all going to work for.
“How’d you like DC, Logan?” she asked, never looking up from her notes.
“It was good. Luke’s gonna like the food. We had this lobster roll thing. We’re gonna try it when we move,” Logan said, then as an afterthought, he added, “We didn’t win. Didn’t even place.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. All right,” she said, finishing her notes. Before she closed her portfolio, she looked back at Levi, lifting the paperwork he’d given her. “Can I take these? I’ll make copies and get them back to you.”
“Sure,” he nodded and finally let out the pent-up breath he’d been holding since the Thane revelation.
“Everything looks in order. I’m proud of you all. It looks like you’re keeping up, and I appreciate your keeping me informed,” she said, tapping the papers Levi had given her. “I’ll need to call Johns Hopkins, but I’m impressed with how well you’ve done. I wish all my cases were this easy.”
Mrs. Gathright gave a genuine smile, looking between them all. It was such a relief that Luke leaned back in his seat and gave an audible exhale, so loud that she laughed.
“I never know how to ease people.”
“You’re fine. It’s us. We’re trying hard to keep it all together,” Levi confessed.
“And you can tell you are. In the beginning of August, I’ll transition your paperwork to Maryland. They’ll be required to follow up like I do. Luke’s technically a ward of California. They’ll do these same types of visits a couple of times a year. I’ll get you the name of your Maryland case worker as soon as it’s assigned.” Mrs. Gathright unscrewed her bottle of water, taking a long drink before placing it back in her purse. “And, Levi, there’s an internship we do in six week intervals. The new session’s starting soon. Fill out the application online then let me know you did, and I’ll go talk to the department head. I’m sure you’ll get the job. It pays twenty dollars an hour, and it’s twenty hours a week.”