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“Just sell yourself.” Mr. Higginbotham came up beside Lim and spoke over her shoulder.
Chapter 5
“This is a family establishment,” Lim said to him with a haughty note in her voice.
Mr. Higginbotham just laughed. “Not like that. My goodness, I don’t know why your mind would go there.” He looked down his rather generous nose at Lim, giving her a look that said that he was shocked at the filthiness of her mind. “I was just thinking she could be company to whoever buys her for the evening. And she can give them a week’s worth of work.” He nodded, as though to emphasize his point.
“I don’t really have a week to give. I... I do have work I have to do.” It was all on her time though. Owning her own business gave her a certain amount of flexibility. As long as the work got done, she could do it whenever she wanted to. Early in the morning, dinnertime, midnight even if she felt like it. But the animals had to be fed, and her dogs had to be trained. The timing was up to her.
“Don’t give me that. You still live with your parents, and they’ll make sure that you keep your word. Mr. Higginbotham, for once I think you have a good idea.” Lim nodded her head and wrote something down on her clipboard.
“Wait a second. I didn’t agree to that.” Ellen hadn’t thought that they were seriously considering this.
“I think you should. After all, you can’t shirk your duty.” Chalmer walked by, stuck his head in, and made the comment, and Lim nodded in agreement.
Now Ellen wished she would have said something. Because if she said something at this moment, it would really look like sour grapes.
“I’d buy you, but you’re rather clumsy,” he sneered as he walked off.
Like she’d done anything to him. He’d been the one to be the jerk, and somehow it was her fault. Goodness, she didn’t want to get wrapped up with a fellow like that. She had no idea what Shanna had seen in him to begin with.
“I’ll offer you last. Just so you know where you are in the program. And thanks again for your basket,” Lim said, looking down with a smile at Maeve. “I’m glad that some people keep their word.” She shook her head. “You should have been more careful.”
Ellen pressed her lips together so she didn’t say something unkind.
“She was, but now there are two flowers on mine,” Maeve said helpfully, although she didn’t mention that the bucket had been Ellen’s to begin with.
Ellen didn’t want to take that from her either, and if someone was going to have to sell time, it had better be her. She wasn’t going to let her sister go to just anyone.
“It’s about time you got here!” Jan said, coming over and putting her arm around Ellen’s shoulders. “I didn’t think you were ever going to show up. We have so much decorating to do. You are helping, right?”
Ellen smiled at her friend. “How about it, Maeve? Are we helping?”
“You betcha!” Maeve said, and then she pointed over to where a group of girls her age, friends from school, were stacking plates and arranging food on the table. “Can I go help them?”
“You sure can. Just be helpful, okay? No goofing off.”
“You know I won’t. Mom and Dad would be really upset with me if I mess anything up.”
Ellen smiled and returned the hug that Maeve gave her before she ran off.
“I can’t believe how big she’s getting,” Ellen said as she watched her sister jog away.
“I can’t believe how old you’re getting. When are you going to open your eyes and see that there are about seventeen men in this town who would like you to take a second look at them?”
“Seventeen?” Ellen said with a small laugh. “I’m not even sure there’s that many men in the whole town.”
“Sweet Water is a lot bigger than it used to be. It keeps growing, I think in part because of the Olympic training center. Way back when they put that in, they didn’t know how that was going to affect the economy of our little town.” She hooked her arm inside of Ellen’s, and they started walking toward where the tables were set up. People milled around, since it wouldn’t be long until things got started, but they still needed to tape the tablecloths down.
“I guess it’s a blessing and a curse,” Ellen said, not sure where she fell on the spectrum of loving it or hating it. She loved the town where everyone knew what everyone else was doing, although she didn’t like that at the same time. If that were possible. She also loved the small-town familiarity, but having a larger town with more businesses gave a person more options for jobs and economic prosperity, rather than having to move somewhere larger to find a job.
Of course, Ellen could pretty much do her job anywhere she had a pasture for her cows and some way to train her dogs.
But she loved Sweet Water.
“We’re going to call it a blessing. Did you hear that they sold the entire Sweet View Ranch complex? And Ford Hansen is one of the major investors. Of course, you probably already know that because he’s investing along with Travis Feagley, who’s a special friend of yours.” Jan wiggled her eyebrows. And then she lowered her voice even more. “I saw him the last time he was back, and he’s not a little boy anymore.”
“He’s not?” Ellen asked, confused. She hadn’t thought he’d been home for the five years that he’d been gone, and she didn’t understand when Jan had seen him.
