Page 97 of Passion at the Lake

“Whoa, ripped off? Who did that?”

I didn’t want to get off track. “It doesn’t matter. The point is, I need this hotel job so I can afford burgers by the lake while I get back to my real job, the good-paying one I can do better than most guys.” I scooted the laptop closer and repeated my pitch. “You could, too, if you’re determined enough.”

Her gaze drifted to my car and back again. “Okay. Say I want to learn to do what you do. How does that work?”

“Before you get to the top of the ladder, you have to put your foot on the bottom rung.” I tapped my uniform again. “There is no easy way. I can get you a job at the hotel, so you can earn enough for your first courses, and I’ll tutor you as well.” I didn’t scare her by mentioning that I’d have to do that remotely from Florida.

She looked back toward my car, but didn’t respond.

I lifted a fry at her. “If you’re tough enough.” I thumbed back toward the ordering counter. “Or you can get a job here working with Todd.”

Her nose wrinkled. “He’s gross.”

My sentiment exactly.

After another bite of her burger she said, “I’m tough enough.”

And now I could see a way to free up the time I needed to get back to my keyboard.

After she touched her scar again, I couldn’t hold back. “How’d you get that?”

She pulled her fingers away. Her eyes watered.

I waited. I wasn’t giving her an easy out. She’d said she was tough.

She ran her finger along the scar again. “Car accident. My mom was driving.” She sniffled. “She was drunk. She was drunk a lot. Mom and Dad divorced after that. Dad said I wasn’t safe around her anymore, and I went with him.”

I nodded. She had to be tough after weathering that. I offered a hand across the table. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t take it. “No. It’s okay. Stacy’s pretty cool, and it turned out to be the best thing for Mom too. She got sober, got a job with the county, and we even started hanging out a little again. But then...” She slumped and twisted her drink.

I sipped my Coke.

“She drove off the cliff up on Ridgeline Road. They say she’d been drinking again—so she did it to herself. I’m never drinking and driving. I can tell you that.” She clenched her fist, released it, and the tension drained from her face as she straightened up. “Getting back to the car. You bought it with just your computer earnings?”

“I had to put in the hours, but yup, keyboard work bought that car, not housekeeping.” I could see excitement in her eyes as they traveled back to the R8.

“When can I start?”

“As soon as you call Stacy and clear it with her.”

She grunted her disapproval. “I’m old enough to do what I want.”

“And you’re also old enough to take someone else’s feelings into consideration. Just because you don’t have to ask her doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to her. Stacy’s important to your dad and deserves to be treated that way.”

She nodded sheepishly.

“You can let me know after you talk to her.”

For the rest of the meal, Tally asked more mature questions about how my consulting worked than I expected. And when we’d both finished our food, she thanked me politely before walking off down the sidewalk.

I smiled as she went. Even though I hadn’t gotten any project work done over lunch, if I could free up some time by signing Tally on at the hotel and cutting back to half a shift there myself, I could count this as a win. Clara and Boone had wanted to add staff, so I should be able to sell it.

On my drive back to the hotel, it struck me that for the second time since arriving in Clear Lake, I’d met someone whose life had been touched by death. I pondered that on and off as I worked the afternoon cleaning rooms, but at the end of the day, I found a smile on my face after my phone rang from the bottom of my purse.

“You were right,” Tally said excitedly when I answered.

“I hope that’s not a surprise,” I joked.

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