Page 9 of Maverick

He shakes his head, standing up. "You earned every penny. We took up the VIP spot for hours, and you took great care of us."

"But still, a thousand dollars? That's crazy."

Ransom shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Not to me. Honestly, I don't even think about money anymore. It's just...there."

I tilt my head, studying him. "Must be nice. I can't even imagine what that's like."

"It's a blessing, for sure. But it doesn't solve everything." He looks around the club, then back at me. "Money can't buy happiness, Cadence. It can make life easier, but it can't fill the holes inside you. I'm guessing you know that, since you spend most of your time trying to save the world."

I nod slowly, considering his words. "I guess I always thought if I had enough money, all my problems would disappear."

Ransom chuckles. "If only it were that simple. Trust me, even rich people have problems. They're just different problems."

"Like what?"

He shrugs again. "Like figuring out what really matters in life. When you can have anything you want, things start to lose their shine pretty quickly. So you end up having to learn what drives you."

I bite my lip, turning his words over in my mind. "I never thought about it that way."

"Most people don't. But I've learned that money is just a tool. It's what you do with it that counts." He glances at the doors, then back at me. "Anyway, I need to get going. I’m pretty sure John’s going to be a handful in the car. Thanks again for everything tonight."

"You're welcome. And thank you for the tip. It means a lot."

He nods, then turns and walks out of the club, leaving me standing there a thousand dollars richer.

The soundof the door clicking shut behind me is quickly drowned out by the excited barking of the dogs. They heard me, as they always do, no matter how quiet I try to be. I hurry to the back, my running shoes making squeaking noises on the linoleum.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. I'm here," I whisper, reaching through the bars of the kennels to pet and scratch each one. They wiggle and whine, tails wagging furiously as if I'm the best thing they've seen all day. I get this greeting every time I come back here, and it never gets old.

"How was work, bunny?"

I scream, automatically clenching my butt cheeks. Nan, standing innocently in the doorway screams, crosses her legs and grips the doorway.

"Oh, Nan, you scared me!" I press a hand to my chest, feeling my heart race.

"No shit sherlock. Fuck. I gotta change my underwear. Why the hell did you scream?" she yells.

"You were supposed to be asleep!" I yell back.

"The dogs woke me up. Christ on a cracker." She sighs and carefully uncrosses her legs. "Well, at least I won't have to get up to pee later. So how was work?"

Maybe other people would find it weird that we're going to stand here after she's peed her pants and chat, but honestly, it's barely a blip in our way too intimate relationship. Once you nurse a person through chemo, a little thing like peeing your pants is nothing. "It was...interesting. Remember those guys I told you about? The ones who donated all that money to the rescue?"

"The rich fellas, yeah?"

"That's them. Well, they came into the club tonight, stayed for hours, drank a ton, and left me a thousand-dollar tip."

She lets out a low whistle. "A thousand dollars? For serving some drinks and bar food?"

I nod, still in disbelief myself. "Crazy, right? I tried to give it back, but the guy insisted."

Nan shakes her head. "Young lady, if someone offers to give you that much money, you take it. As long as there aren't any strings attached, I mean. If someone asks you to get naked for it, you run." She sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. "A thousand dollars. Lordy, men and their money. They'll spend it on the stupidest things. Reminds me of your grandpa and all those stupid fishing lures he had."

I grin, remembering the tackle box that always seemed to be overflowing. "He did love his lures."

"Love? That man was obsessed! Every time we went into town, he'd come out of the bait shop with a handful of new ones. Shiny things, feathery things, things that made noise. Said they were gonna help him catch the big one." Nan chuckles, her eyes distant with memory.

"Did they ever work?" I ask, curious. "I don't remember eating much fish."

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