Page 36 of The Gift
“All the time,” I agreed. “It’s constant. Creepy,really.”
Julian elbowed me in the stomach. “So what are you guys up to?” heasked.
Theo shrugged. “Hangingout.”
“Where?”
“I dunno.” Theo raised his eyebrows. “Wherever.”
“Mom know where youare?”
Theo heaved a sigh that nearly rattled the walls. “Not the exact GPS coordinates,Dad.”
Julian sighed and I grinned. He really did do a good father impression. I was kinda impressed. Really, Julian hardly talked about his family at all. In the Venn diagram of things we discussed, families were outside the shared loop. But seeing him interact with them, I was starting to think I was missing a big part of who Julianwas.
“Have you thought about asking Hen whether Sam can work at the hardware store with you?” Julianasked.
Theo shook his head. “Hen requires parental permission and Sam’sdad…”
“Hardly comes to town,” Sam said, stepping into the conversation smoothly, holding a box of pastries. “Ready,Theo?”
“You know, I might have a job for you,” I found myselfsaying.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You? What kind ofjob?”
Smartgirl.
“The manual labor kind,” I said. “There’s a huge shed out on my property and it’s got a bunch of stuff the last owner left behind. I wanted to clean it out and repurposeit.”
Julian gave me side-eye and I shrugged. It wasn’t a lie. I’d thought about it. Once or twice. And then promptly forgotten. But if Sam needed a job, maybe I couldhelp.
She glanced at Theo, who nodded eagerly. “We can clean it out and I can borrow Fran’s truck to haul itaway.”
Sam turned back to assess me, sucking on a tooth the whole time, likeIwas the one looking for a job. “How much money are wetalking?”
I shrugged. “Five hundred bucks?” Seemed a fair, if slightly generous, price. “Half up front, half when you’redone.”
“No way,” she scoffed, backing up a step. “Listen, I’m not into… whatever you’re offering. Okay? I want an honest job for honestmoney.”
Julian bit his lip and Theo said, “Sam, really? He’s Jules’sboyfriend, mydude.”
“I have no clue how much shit costs around here,” I explained, when she glared at me. “I figured that’s a decent wage for a dirty job done in the cold. Besides, there was a time when I didn’t have much money either, and someone helped me out.” I remembered all too well what the last few months before my eighteenth birthday had felt like, and I’d wanted for a lot more than concert tickets. “Let’s say I’m paying it forward. Or I can pay you less, if youwant.”
Something about her face as she looked at me—maybe the way she was half kid and half adult, half pixie and half tough—stirred up a strange feeling of protectiveness in me. I knew what it was to be neither one thing nor theother.
She glanced at Theo, then back tome.
“Fine,” she said, tossing her ponytail. “We’rein.”
“Great. Stop by Monday for the key and I’ll show you where the shed is. You can basically set your ownhours.”
“Okay,” she agreed, still reluctant, like she was trying to spot the trap. Her reaction was so unlike the typical O’Leary over-friendliness and so much like my own cautious nature that I had to fight a smile. “Thanks. And thanks again for the snacks, Ash.” She gave Ash a brightsmile.
“Yeah, nice to meet you, Daniel! See you on Thanksgiving!” Theo called. Then to Sam, he whispered, “My mother is going tolose her mindwhen she hears I met Daniel before shedid.”
The teens departed and Julian turned to me. “You are asoftie.”
“Nah. It’ll be good to get that job done,” Isaid.
