Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 70629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
"Good,” she says. “I need a partner." I’m about to tell her something, and she puts her hand up. “I don’t know how to bake, but I know how to run a business."
"I don’t know how to bake,” I say. “All these things are just—"
"It’s a talent you can’t teach." She laughs. “Do you know how many times Charlotte tried to teach me how to make apple pie because it was Ethan’s favorite?" She puts her hands on her hips. “And Olivia, she’s started more kitchen fires than she cares to admit."
"It’s just … I don’t," I start to say. “I don’t live here." Also, I think of the money I have in my savings that I don’t want to dip into.
"You can change that," she tells me. “I’ll put up all the capital, but we would still be fifty-fifty partners."
"Um," I start to say.
"I’ll take back five percent yearly until it’s all paid back,” she says.
"What if it doesn’t make it back?" I ask her. “What if you invest all this money and it’s a flop?"
"Oh …" She shakes her head. “Ye have little faith." She looks around now. “Ye have little faith."
Chapter 23
Reed
"Ready?" I ask Sofia as she puts on her Rubber boots. After Hazel left, I finished cleaning the kitchen while Sofia colored. She made sure to tell me what needed to be done. I was just the adult supervisor. She got dressed and made sure she brushed her teeth before walking down the stairs.
"Ready, Freddy,” she says, turning to look at me. She slips her hand in mine, and I walk out of the house and open the back door to the truck. “Where is my seat?" she asks, and I look at her. “I need a booster seat," she tells me, “or else I’ll fly out of the car and die." I almost laugh because I can see Hazel telling her that.
"I don’t have one. But we can walk over to my house,” I say. “And then take the golf cart to Grandpa’s." I look at her, waiting for her to okay this plan.
We start walking toward my house. “You have a house here?" she asks.
"Not really,” I say. “It’s my mom and dad’s." I look over at her as we walk, her little legs moving fast.
"We don’t live here either," she tells me. “We live in a condo."
"Do you like living in a condo?" I ask, trying not to laugh that she knows that word.
"It’s okay. Sometimes we go to the beach," she tells me, and you can tell from her voice that she’s excited about the beach. She goes on and on about how she swims and that she took swimming at home. When we make it to my house, she looks up at the house. “You live in a big house." She looks around and walks toward the golf cart.
I pick her up and set her down, then get into the driver’s seat. I put my hand over her hand when I start to drive. She looks around, and when we get closer to the barn, she starts to fidget in the seat. When I stop the golf cart, she squeals out in excitement. “Are we going to ride horses?" she asks, and I can tell she likes the horses better than the beach.
"I think we can,” I say, getting out of the golf cart and holding out my hand for her. She grabs my hand, and we walk into the barn. She walks past the stalls, and I stop at the stall where her horse is in. "What do you think of this one?" I ask, and the horse comes toward us. I pick her up in my arms as the horse sticks her snout out of the stall.
"She’s pretty," Sofia says, and she follows my lead when I rub the horse’s snout.
"Well, well, well." I look over to see my grandfather coming toward us. “If it isn’t the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen." He stops in front of us. Sofia just smiles at him as she rubs the horse.
"Uncle Reed said we can ride horses," she informs him, and he just nods his head.
"Is that so?” he says, putting his hands on his hips. "This is interesting,” he says, and I just look over at him. Sofia is not even noticing what he’s saying.
"Hazel asked me to watch her." I avoid looking into his eyes. Instead, I watch Sofia. “We were friends before I left." I look at him and see the questions in his eyes. “It’s fine."
He just nods. “So are we going to saddle her?" he asks me, and Sofia just puts her hands together and laughs.
"I think that’s a yes." She smiles and nods her head. I put her down now. “Don’t move,” I say, walking over to the wall and grabbing a saddle. I keep one eye on her the whole time, making sure she’s okay. "Now," I say, walking to her. “We are going to saddle her so we can take her out."