It was—an impressive offer and a lot of work. I wasn’t sure I was entirely qualified for it. Still, he promised me it would be a junior executive salary, nothing more than I’d earn if I were any other newly minted business degree college student.
“But I kind of want to do it. I like the idea of doing good things with the money and—it was through the foundation that I funded Rachel’s grant to study overseas.”
“I know,” he said. “Pretty sure it’s gonna be the perfect job for you, but I have a feeling you won’t keep it part-time.”
I grimaced. “I have to—at least at first. If I’m too tied up, I won’t be able to work with you, and that’s not acceptable.”
His smile wrapped me up in a warm embrace. “Angel, we’ll make the time. I told you, I’m content writing the music. It’s actually been a lot of fun in some ways, now that I’m getting a feel for it.”
Pride shimmered through me. “You’re very good at it too. KC told me she was going to reach out to you about the tour they’re thinking of putting together.”
“They haven’t done an album in a couple of years and their last one was just remixes of some of their older stuff.” He looked thoughtful. “But they write a lot of their own music, so I'm not sure what I can offer them.”
“We can work on that too—together. Cause, I'm a bit of an expert about their music.”
Ian snorted. “And humble about it.”
“Don’t hate. We all have our talents.”
We were still chuckling when we gathered up our jackets. Ian had to get to another class, and I was going back to the brownstone. He walked me to the subway, then, with a kiss and a brush of his gloved hand down my cheek, he turned to head back to school.
I turned over the album discussion and the Paris trip in my head. Then there was the foundation job.
Was I biting off more than I could chew with all of that? The guys liked to tease me about being an overachiever, but I liked to be busy. I liked doing stuff that helped others. But what if I couldn’t balance everything?
I turned that over in my head all the way back to the brownstone. Jeremy was on his way out with Miss Abigail. She had on her little snow booties to protect her paws against the icy ground. She was also dressed in a waterproof windbreaker.
Snapping a picture of the pair in their matching outfits, I grinned at Jeremy. “Want some company?”
“Always, Miss Frankie,” he said with an indulgent smile. “However, we are going to meet with Miss Bradshaw for some hot tea and sandwiches while she has a break.”
“Well, I don’t want to intrude on a date.”
The fun thing about Jeremy was that he could reprimand in such an affectionate and stern tone that you wanted to thank him for it. “You are never an intrusion, Miss Frankie. Do you require some assistance? You look troubled.”
“Probably overthinking,” I admitted, glancing at the time on the phone. “I think I’m going to call my dad and see if he has a half-hour to tell me I’m being ridiculous.”
Jeremy chuckled. “Well, if he does not, I will absolutely make time for you later. There is a proper stew for dinner this evening since you’re all on different schedules today and tomorrow. There is fresh bread as well. I also restocked some of your favorites after the weekend.”
“You're the best, Jeremy,” I told him. “I’ll stop holding you up. If you want to text when you’re on the way back, I can start the kettle for you.”
“That’s very kind, Miss Frankie. I shall let you know.” With that, he and Miss Abigail headed down the block toward the park. I loved that Jeremy seemed to be enjoying the time he spent with Ann. Would he want to move into their own place should this go further for them?
Shaking my head, I had to laugh at myself. Jeremy had been in Archie’s life since he was a baby. He’d been in mine for eight years and we’d lived in the same place for four. Once upon a time, I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out. Now, I couldn’t imagine life without him.
We would cross that bridge when we got there. I wasn’t above begging. I checked my messages after letting myself in and then fired one off to Hank. He answered almost immediately. Thirty minutes and he’d be done with office hours. He’d call me then.
A smile curved my lips as I took a deep breath of the fresh-baked bread and stew scents floating through the downstairs. Hank never made me feel like an imposition, he always answered promptly, and while he might not have the answers, it would help to talk to him.
I was soaking in the bath when he called back. The hot water and the jets had helped unknot muscles I hadn’t even realized had tensed.
“Hey, Dad,” I said, answering the phone before shifting to stretch one leg up to brace against the side. “That was faster than thirty minutes.”
“I had five minutes left on office hours and no one in the hall, so I just closed the door.” He sounded pleased with himself. “Sometimes, you just have to break the rules. Besides, I had a beautiful girl waiting for me to call her back.”
Snickering, I shook my head.
“Too cheesy?” Not that he sounded like he cared.
“You can’t do too cheesy.” Even if I groaned, I wouldn’t complain.
“Excellent, I love carte blanche permission. So, tell me, what’s up with you?”
A sigh escaped me. “I’ve been thinking about going to see Eugene and Patience.” Until I said the words aloud, I hadn’t even realized how much that little nugget had been bouncing around in my head the last few months.
“They alright?” Hank was too good sometimes. Asking if they were alright was not just thoughtful but probably also a gauge of my reactions. “I don’t think you’ve talked to Patience much the last couple of years.”
“I haven’t. I have exchanged a few letters with Eugene. He doesn’t talk on the phone much—he says it’s hard to hear without turning it up and he doesn’t want Patience to overhear because he won’t force me to talk to her.”
Something truly thoughtful about him. Head back, I stared up at the ceiling. “But we’ve been planning the wedding…”
“And you aren’t sure whether to invite them.”
“No,” I said. “I don’t want to invite her.” And I didn’t. “I don’t know that I can ever forgive her for setting Maddy up to be in a position to hurt Archie.”
“To hurt you too,” Hank added, and I shrugged even if he couldn’t see me.
“Maddy wanted to kill him. She didn’t care what happened to me since I wouldn’t play along with the Eddie is my father nonsense.”
“Sweetheart,” Hank said on a sigh. “You’re allowed to be hurt by your mother’s choices. You don’t have to defend them or try to be strong. Just like you’re allowed to not trust Patience because of her choices.”
I appreciated that thought. “But Archie said something a few months ago and I haven’t been able to let it go.” I traced my finger through the water, trying to sort my thoughts. “What if I never make an attempt and I regret it someday? They aren’t young—hell, they seem positively ancient if you compare them to Grandpa Ted.”