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twenty
Laney Abercrombie didn’t take well to being told “no.” She never had. Brenda and her grandmother knew that it was just a matter of time before she pulled her next power play. The two of them pored over their finances to make sure CeCe could go back to her room at Home for Seniors if Laney followed through on her threat to stop paying for it.
One day Alicia Moore, the director of the home, called and informed them that CeCe’s payments had stopped at the time of the fire. After the home was declared safe for residence again, her autopays hadn’t resumed. When Alicia called Laney, she’d refused to commit to starting them up again.
“She wants to know what my plans are,” CeCe told Brenda after she hung up.
“You can always stay here,” Brenda said for the millionth time. “I love having you here.”
“You do for now, sure. But what if I start needing more help? It’s best if I make the move now while I still have all my marbles and can pee by myself. Besides, I like it there with my cohort. All my friends have already moved back in. So has Bryce, and I don’t get to see him nearly as much when I’m here. I’m afraid they’re going to give away my spot if I don’t go back soon.”
CeCe was so worried about it that she was having trouble sleeping. It made Brenda furious, but she’d already had a huge fight with her mother and knew it was time to cool things down rather than starting in again.
She needed to figure out a way she could afford it herself, along with the social security payments that her grandmother received. Unfortunately, elementary school teachers in rural areas didn’t make much money.
Galen offered to help out. He went to Conor Gault for advice, and wound up transferring his savings, which had built up because he never spent any money, into an investment fund. “You can borrow it, interest free, or I can take out a line of equity on my house,” he told her. “I don’t know what any of that means, but Conor says I can swing it.”
But she refused to become financially dependent on anyone except herself. Granny had drilled that into her, although her own financial savvy could use some work, judging by the current situation.
Then one night, over pizza at Mariano’s with Kendra and Jason, a lightbulb went off.
That was one of the surprise benefits of dating Galen—his friends. Jason Mosedale was one of his best buddies; he’d recently gotten together with Kendra Carter, who used to run her father’s restaurant but was now relaunching her own business. Brenda and Kendra clicked right away, and before long Brenda felt comfortable enough telling her why her grandmother hadn’t yet moved back to the senior home.
“My mother’s trying to force her to move closer to her. She’s…well, control freak is close enough. We’re trying to come up with another way to cover those payments, but it’s tough out here for a fourth-grade teacher.”
“You need a side hustle,” Kendra told her, in the confident manner of a successful businesswoman. “Sometimes the side hustle brings in more cash than a regular job.”
Brenda screwed up her face. “I can’t do anything that’ll put me in trouble with the school.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not talking OnlyFans. I have a friend in Minneapolis who sells custom nail designs on Etsy. She makes a killing.”
“I’m not really artistic—” She stopped abruptly as that lightbulb went off.
“What? You just thought of something.”
“I…write a little bit in my spare time.”
Kendra clapped her hands together, her face lighting up with delight. “Tell me it’s something sexy.”
Next to her, Jason broke off his fishing convo with Galen and draped an arm over Kendra’s shoulder. “Did I hear my name? Did someone say ‘sexy’?”
Kendra, her brown eyes shining, gave him a teasing kiss on the cheek. “This is girls’ talk, no men allowed. Besides, we could be talking about that babe sitting over there next to Brenda. You know, the one with the face you can actually see now.”
Brenda loved the way pink crept up Galen’s cheeks. He was still working on the perfect balance of facial hair, allowing his beard to grow in, but not take over his face.
Kendra winked at Brenda. “Side hustle, girl. That’s where it’s at. If you need any help, I always have time for friends.”
Friends. It felt so good to be forming new friendships, although of course no one could ever replace Maura.
Kendra introduced her to Gina Moretti, one of her oldest friends, who also happened to be besties with Carly Gault. Through Carly, she met her gorgeous sister Bliss, and her brother Conor, along with his adorable girlfriend Emmaline. All of a sudden she seemed to have friends coming out of her ears.
After giving Kendra’s side-hustle suggestion some thought, she ran the idea by her grandmother.
CeCe was in the midst of grooming Olaf, which, oddly enough, he loved. He shivered every time she dragged the comb through his silky coat.
“Oh, yes!” Granny dropped the comb in her excitement and clapped her hands. “Let’s do it! You should start with that sexy one. That’s my favorite.”
Brenda’s mouth fell open as she picked up the comb. “What the hell, Granny? Have you been reading my books all this time? How?”
