Page 66 of Fast and Dirty

“He can’t hang,” Agnes adds on again as I’m given a goodbye smooch.

I’m oddly not tired at all and opt to hang back with everyone else. It must be the lingering high of the day’s success.

“Aww West, come on,” Hunt howls after his retreating form. “Don’t leave me alone with all the ladies – oh actually, never mind. I’m good,” he chuckles cockily bringing his beer to his lips.

“The only available ones are your cousin and your grandma,” West throws over his shoulder. “So, sounds like a typical night for you.”

“Don’t be gross!” Hattie yells after him.

“Yeah, who says I’m available?” Agnes tacks on.

“Now wait a minute, there’s still Mack-,”

“Make a move on my sister, and I’ll be back with a shovel,” are West’s last words before he disappears.

Hunt shuts himself up with his beer, taking a long slug before diverting. “So were you guys just talking about the Inn?”

“Yeah. Sweet cheeks over there should give a tour,” Agnes vollies.

A dark little creature comes running toward us, just as a car door slams and Toby climbs out of the driver seat looking exhausted.

“I am BatCat!” Aria declares in an excited stage whisper with her arms spread dramatically and now I notice the hood over her head has pointy ears and is accompanied with a little cape made to look like wings. It’s adorable. “I live in the shadows,” she whispers before she slinks over to her mom.

“You’re right,” Toby groans as he approaches. “I can’t get her to sleep to save my life. Please take her back, for the love of God!”

Aria crawls into her moms lap while Toby collapses onto my blanket, taking up West’s vacated spot while Hunt looks over at Mack from his seat.

“You have a child,” he observes. Someone give him a cookie.

Mack’s eyes dart around sarcastically. “Yeah.”

“Where’s Hendrix?” Hattie asks Tobyabout her brother.

“Passed out,” he spits out bitterly. “After the fourth attempt of getting BatCat to go to bed, he bailed.”

“Just shut up and buy that old thing,” Agnes waves her Truly can in the direction of the Inn. “Fix it up and give tours or host parties. That’s clearly your forte.”

“Right…” I sneer. “I’d have to bake biscuits for six years first to save up for it.”

“I’m sure West will loan you the dollar you need to buy it.” Hunt snickers, reaching for another beer.

“Hilarious.” I sing out, trying to shift Toby’s giant head off my lap. “I think I’ll cap this night off on a high note rather than dwell on,”

“No seriously, it’s a dollar building,” Agnes backs up her grandson. “It’s been part of one of those government dollar programs for some time.”

Wait… I’m familiar with those, my father being a real estate tycoon and all. It’s when you can buy an old building for a dollar, but it comes with strings attached, like paying to make it liveable and turning it into a residence or turning it into a lucrative piece of property. Either way, you have to take measures - heavy financial ones - to turn it into taxable income. And that bastard thought I never paid attention during his drunken dinnertime ramblings. Pffft!

“So… wait a minute, how come none of you have pounced on that?”

“Whoever were to buy it would also have to renovate it and get it up and running,” Hunt continues for her. “Unfortunately, I don’t see myself making that much of a commitment. I’d have to ditch my business and I have no interest in customer service and hospitality endeavors.”

“But, so… wait,” I scrunch my forehead as a million numbers, words and facts swirl around me like puzzle pieces. “Oh my God…” I exclaim, feeling like my soul left my body for a minute and just came back to it. Could this really happen?

West

“Babe!”

I’m still under a thick blanket of sleep, but I can feel someone nudging and poking me.

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