Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37426 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 150(@250wpm)___ 125(@300wpm)
“That’s absurd.”
“They mean well, really, but yeah, it is.” He nodded in agreement. “I told them there was absolutely no way I’d ever move back there. That Hope is my home. That helped because most of the people in the community won’t leave the town let alone the county. Moving out of state is unheard of. Coming all the way to Arizona just doesn’t happen. So the prospects dried up and I had some peace.”
“What changed?”
“I don’t know. The community’s gotten bigger so there’re more options. People who haven’t gotten married by this age and want to are getting desperate. There are a couple of widows, and I’ve even heard about a divorcee or two, which is really unusual in the community and explains why they’re being so flexible. Either that or maybe my parents are panicking so they’re trying harder.” He tossed the cloth over his shoulder. “Whatever the reason, they keep finding women who’ll agree to move here and they insist I marry them. Every time I talk to them, I can’t escape the topic. I’m terrified of what’s waiting for me when I get there.”
“Why don’t you tell them you already have a girlfriend?” Todd suggested.
“What girlfriend?” Lucas scoffed. “Palmela Wrighthand or Palmela Handerson from Canada?”
“I thought her name was Laura.” Todd frowned. “Who’s Pamela?”
“It was a play on words,” Lucas said. “Who the fuck is Laura?”
Seamus shrugged because he didn’t have a girlfriend and never had. He wasn’t lying to his parents when he said he wasn’t interested.
“You know, Laura.”
“Uh, no, we don’t.” Lucas swept his hand between himself and Seamus.
“She works here sometimes. Blonde hair. Laura,” Todd insisted.
“Oh, right.” Seamus nodded. “Laura Wearing. She’s one of the bartenders who comes in on busy nights or if I can’t work. I’m not dating her.”
“Oh. I guess I assumed because of how she is with you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Never mind.” Todd shook his head.
“One time, I tried making up a girlfriend, but they lost their minds because she wasn’t from the community and they insisted on meeting her. They said they’d accept a video call immediately, but I’d need to bring her for an in-person visit quickly. I’m assuming so they could scare her off.” He shook his head. “It was hopeless, so I told them we broke up. I’m sure my parents are planning my wedding as we speak, and I’ll have to spend my entire vacation letting them and my not-future bride down easy.”
“I have a solution,” Lucas said, voice haughty. He picked up his glass and tipped it against his mouth.
“What’s your solution?”
“My brilliance doesn’t come free.” He pushed his empty glass toward Seamus. “Get me a refill and cover our tab and I’ll tell you.”
He took Lucas’s glass, put it in the dirty bin, and got to work making him a fresh martini. “I’ve been at this for eighteen years. There’s nothing you can suggest that I haven’t already tried,” he said over his shoulder.
“Then take the deal. If you don’t use my idea, I’ll pay for our drinks.”
“I can pay for my own beer, Seamus,” Todd said. “Lucas, stop it. This is his livelihood.”
“He isn’t hurting for cash, and we agreed that tonight’s my treat,” Lucas said. “That means I’m paying for your drinks, which means Seamus is paying for your drinks in exchange for my genius plan.”
If nothing else, Lucas’s idea would be amusing. “Fine,” he said as he set Lucas’s martini in front of him. “What’s your idea?”
“Tell them you’re gay. If they have trouble finding a woman in that group of yours who’s willing to move to Hope, not a chance in hell they’ll find you a man to marry.”
Chapter 2
“I’m going to have more money for you soon,” DJ spoke into his phone as quietly as he could so nobody in the diner kitchen would overhear him. “Really. I promise. I’m getting paid on Friday and then I’ll give it to you.”
When the threats started spewing, he zoned out like always. He had learned a long time ago that being terrified didn’t do a thing to fix his problems or increase his earning potential. The only way to get through the situation was to make more money and that wasn’t possible if he was an anxious wreck. Eventually, the shouting stopped and the call ended.
“Fuck me,” he mumbled to himself. Then he shoved his phone into his pocket, took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and went back to the sink. He didn’t mind working hard, it wasn’t as if he had anything else to do, but with the insane interest rate on the debt his grandfather had racked up before he died nine years earlier, he didn’t know how he’d ever catch up.
“DJ, when you’re done with the dishes, can you come into my office?”
He looked away from the sudsy water and over his shoulder to his boss Tanner Sellers. “Sure, but do you want me to finish cleaning up after the breakfast rush first? I’m working the midday shift at Strong Brew today and I want to make sure your kitchen’s ready for the lunch crowd before I have to leave.”