Page 22 of Kinsey

By dinner time, they were all together still and eating at a nice restaurant.He’d been getting better about ordering in nicer restaurants by listening to David and his brothers.When they wanted steaks, they went to a steak house, and if you were at a seafood place, you didn’t necessarily want to order steak.They might be better at the seafood.Like he thought before, he wasn’t stupid, but he was a little naïve about how to get things to work for him.These bits and pieces of information were going to make him better at keeping his money, too.

Going home that night, he was happier than he’d been in a while.He’d made some major mistakes, but they were all ones that he could fix now before he started throwing money at them to get them fixed.He was all for getting a condo like his brother and maybe even sharing one—it wasn’t as if they couldn’t live together again.But he was going to be more careful with everything in his life, and he was doing that tonight.

Tomorrow he was going to talk to an attorney about different things that he’d had questions about.He’d never had this much money on a scale like this, and if he kept doing things by the seat of his pants, he was going to be broke again.He didn’t want that feeling ever again.

David told him the secret to having money all the time was to balance it out with money coming in as it was going out.He didn’t understand that until he told him what his wife had told him.

“You can set yourself up in a house right now and think that you’d never have to worry about money again.And even if you only paid your mortgage once a month, you’d be just fine with the interest you have coming in on your money.But is it enough interest?Do you have it set up so that the money goes back to the big pot, or do you have little pots that need to be fed?You know, like utilities.A car payment.Is the car going to last you as long as the truck did?That’s a no if you’re wondering.They don’t make them like that anymore.But these little pots have to be fed or they’ll die too.Figure out what kind of outgoing money you want and how to make that happen so that you have income, too.You don’t have to get a job, but keeping your money is hard work, and you have to deal with it every day.Asking questions and doing something now before it’s too late is the best way.But if you just get some answers and never do anything about them, then you’ve just wasted your money on something else.Understand?”He said that he did, for now.“Good.That means you’ll have more questions.I should have thought about you guys and having money right now.I’ll set the six of you up with some people that will help you grow what you have so that even twenty years from now, you’ll still be considered wealthy men with smarts.”

He’d thanked him a great deal about that.He was going to listen and take notes, too.Raphael said that he didn’t want to make the same mistakes that he’d made, and Wylie thought that he was all right with that.He had made some mistakes, but he was well on his way to fixing them, too.

“You guys can stay with us until you get things squared away.”He thought his brother was joking until he realized that Kinsey didn’t joke when it came to things about life.“There is plenty of room.We’re going to be having some work done on the house, but like I said, there is plenty of room for all of us.”

“I might take you up on that.I hate the house that I’m in.I’m going to have someone come in and look over the structure of it and see if it can be fixed.Then I’m going to rent it out so that I can have it off my back for a while.”He asked about condos.“I’m not sure about that just yet.I never would have thought of people being that close to us all the time, and us not being used to it.I think Raphael had it right in saying that we’re like old men with no wives who are sort of set in our ways.We have to work up to having neighbors.”

The next morning, a construction crew showed up by way of David, and he was told that thehallway wasn’t going to structurally hurt them if they tore it out.he had them do that and to upgrade the kitchen.Kinsey had told him that an upgraded kitchen would bring in the bigger renters rather than ones who would bail on him in a few months.Not that higher renters meant that he’d get the cream of the crop, but he stood a better chance of getting someone who would appreciate the house more than most.

His first time with the attorney was in just over an hour, and he and Raphael decided they could get breakfast out and not disturb the construction crew that was already tearing out walls.He might take his brother up on his offer simply because he didn’t think that he could handle all the mess that was going on.Besides, David would be close, and he could get things answered without hoping to run into the older man.

Bodi and Gleason met them at the little restaurant and had a meal with them, too.He realized that he didn’t know where everyone was staying until then.Apparently, they were all renting rooms at the local B&B until they figured out what they were doing.Ara and Kinsey were going to meet them at the offices and get the training they all needed.

~*~

Meggie waited for her turn at the bank counter.She didn’t have much to do today and was looking forward to it.She was going to go with a realtor to figure out some condos for the other men, and then she was free for the rest of the day.She hoped they’d stay with them while they were getting their feet wet, but she could also understand why they’d want their own space, too.They were going to live in a condo together until they each found a home.She didn’t think that was going to work, but she had to give them credit for trying to make it work for them.

“Can I ask you about the Pennington brothers?”She said, sure but told her that she wasn’t going to give her phone numbers.“That’s all right.I just wanted to see if they have all that money from the sale of their farm?Do you know if they’re looking for dates?”

“I think they’re just getting used to having money right now.”She didn’t answer either question about the money or dates.That seemed too personal.“I’d like to put my future husband on my accounts.”

“You have to do that with Mr.Howard.He does all that stuff.”She got her accounts deposited and was stepping away when she grabbed her arm.“You didn’t say if they were dating or not.Me and the girls always thought that they were good-looking, and now that they have money, it makes them all the more appealing.If you know what I mean.”

“I believe that I do.”Glancing at the name tag that was on her blouse, she made a mental note to talk to Mr.Howard about her.She had a feeling that Candance would cause trouble if the men were ever to open an account in the local bank.Not that she’d steal from them, but she wouldn’t put it past her to blab around how much was in their accounts if someone were to ask.Or even not to ask.

Getting Kinsey put onto her accounts was a lot easier than she thought it would be.After telling him that he’d have to come into the bank sometime and sign off on the cards that would be required of him, she was ready to go.But she did stop long enough to talk to Mr.Howard about Candance and her inquiries about the Pennington family.

On her way home, she made a note to talk to the men about women and their ways.They weren’t stupid, never that, but all they needed was for some woman to latch onto them who needed their family boosted up with some extra cash, and that would be terrible for them.She would talk to Kinsey first and ask him about it.Perhaps they knew what sort of women she was talking about and already knew what to look out for.

After getting her things put away, she checked on the destruction of the kitchen.It was going to be a mess for a lot longer than it would start to look like a kitchen again.Alice said that she’d not realized how outdated the room was until she was talking about a new refrigerator.They even had an intercom system in the room for phone calls that were routed through the room for the family.

Kinsey was out with his brothers today at an attorney’s office.They were learning all kinds of things that someone with money all their life would have known.She was just going to sit in the library when the front doorbell rang.Going to the door, she was surprised to see Rosie there.

“Nothing is wrong.”She said she had to say that when she was making a call at someone’s house.“I usually say that when I’m also out making calls about teenagers.You know, no one is dead kind of thing.”

“Come on in.”Rosie said she felt stupid now for coming to talk to her.“It’s all right, Rosie.I’ve known you since first grade, you can come to me anytime.”

“Is Wylie dating anyone?”She had blurted it out so quickly that she noticed her face turn red.“I’ve had this major crush on him since he was a senior and I was a sophomore.And I knew you’d be honest with me about what you think about me asking him out.I’m not doing this because he’s suddenly rich, but he might be dating more now that he doesn’t have the farm taking up all his time.My friend used to date him—I was so jealous of her, but I found out that he’d been canceling on her all the time because he had to work.I like a man who knows his priorities when it comes to family and work.”She laughed.“I’m making a mess of this, and I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

“I don’t know whether he’s dating or not.They’re pretty private about that.”She invited Rosie in for some tea, and she told her that she was on her lunch break only.“I can ask him, but I think that it would be better if you were to ask him out.I know that he’s getting used to things, and it might be good for him to have a normal date.”

“Candance lost her job today.”Well, that was good news.“I had to escort her home because she was too upset to drive.She mentioned that all she wanted to do was get some big money from the Penningtons.She didn’t care which one.Startled me a bit if you want to know the truth.I hadn’t thought of them having the money so much as the time it would be freeing up for them.”

“She said the same thing to me.”Rosie assured her that Candance didn’t know who had told on her.She’d apparently been talking about them all day to anyone who was at her window.”Shaking her head, she laughed a little.“Ballsy if you ask me.Trying to get a man to take her out so that she could hit him up for a loan to buy herself a house for them together.”

“I didn’t know she had been planning that far.”Rosie said she had to run.“Ask him out, Rosie.Just like you did when you got here.Tell him about the crush and how you’ve been waiting for him to have some free time, too.”

“I believe I will.”She was gone in another few minutes, and Meggie had to laugh.Candance had been fired for wanting to make a play for one of the men, and she’d been in there to add one to her accounts.She wondered what she’d say about that.

She spent the rest of the day figuring out paint colors for the bedrooms.When five o’clock rolled around and she’d not heard from Kinsey, she decided to have herself something to tide her over as she’d skipped lunch.Just as she was putting away the peanut butter after making herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, the front door opened, and she could hear the men talking.

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