Cuttersville for the duration. It was really the most affordable option. Hell—only option. “Do you think I can get a part-time job here? Maybe do those ghost tours or something?” Even if he made a few hundred bucks while he was there, it would help him pay for the gas back to Chicago.
The seriousness of his situation started to dawn on him. He had no savings to speak of and he still owed a year’s worth of payments on his car. Sweat broke out in his pits, and his hands went clammy.
“Shelby hasn’t run those tours in years. She’s too busy since the twins came along. And while there was a spike in business after Darius Damiano had the Murphy house on his TV show, the last few years haven’t been very lucrative for tourism here. I guess every ghost gawker in the Midwest has already checked us out.”
Well, shit. “Is there a cell phone store or something I can work at?”
“You should talk to Boston. He’d be more helpful with that than me.”
Reality was definitely sinking in with
Titanic
-like speed, and it bit the big one. He was going to be living in his grandmother’s vacant house on Swallow Street. This wasn’t exactly where he had pictured himself at thirty-one years old.
“By the way, the house needs cleaning up. In exchange for free rent, you need to paint the main rooms on the first floor and redo the landscaping out front.”
Seriously? He guessed it was only fair, but at the same time, he felt like he was being fleeced just a little by his own grandmother. “Fine. But you supply the paint.”
“Of course. So Shelby says you’re sniffing around Piper Tucker.”
Brady sighed. Was this worth free rent? He wasn’t sure. It didn’t help that he
had
been sniffing around her. He’d sniffed
and
buried his bone. “I am not sniffing around Piper. She was at Shelby’s last night babysitting. It was a coincidence.” That he happily took advantage of. “But what would be the objection to me dating Piper, by the way? Shelby acted like I was a convicted child molester.”
“Piper is Danny’s daughter.”
Well, that was stating the obvious. “It’s kind of insulting, you know. I’m getting the message loud and clear that no one thinks I’m good enough for Piper. If I were interested. Which I’m not.” He was offended. So maybe he was a thirty-one-year-old unemployed guy living at his grandmother’s, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He had charm. He was nice enough. He worked hard. Sort of. And he had good biceps. Brady reached for his gran’s drink, suddenly feeling the need for fortification. He took a big swallow and choked. “Holy shit, Gran! That’s whiskey.”
“Of course it is. I’m diabetic. I can’t have all that sugar in lemonade anymore, so I water it down.”
“Except whiskey isn’t water.” Brady coughed again. The burn fed down into his lungs. “Christ. That’s whiskey with a shot of lemonade.”
“Oh, don’t be a wimp. And no one is saying you’re not good enough for Piper. But you have a life in Chicago, and she deserves the right man for her.”
“Who, Gandhi?” There was no man who could live up to the ideal they all seemed to have. He suddenly felt sorry for Piper on top of his personal irritation. She was going to have a hard row to sow when it came to dating. There wasn’t going to be much approval for any man she chose.
“I thought he was dead.”
“Speaking of dead people.” Brady turned in his chair so he was facing her better. “Did you know I have the same name as the dude who was murdered in the white house? Rachel’s fiancé?”
“Sure, I knew that.”
Of course she did. “And you never bothered to tell me?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Well, why do I have the same name? Was he a relative? Was I actually named after him or was it just a coincidence?”
“He’s like a great-great-great-great-uncle or something like that. As for your first name, I don’t know if it was intentional or not. Your mother was a twit. It seems a
The seriousness of his situation started to dawn on him. He had no savings to speak of and he still owed a year’s worth of payments on his car. Sweat broke out in his pits, and his hands went clammy.
“Shelby hasn’t run those tours in years. She’s too busy since the twins came along. And while there was a spike in business after Darius Damiano had the Murphy house on his TV show, the last few years haven’t been very lucrative for tourism here. I guess every ghost gawker in the Midwest has already checked us out.”
Well, shit. “Is there a cell phone store or something I can work at?”
“You should talk to Boston. He’d be more helpful with that than me.”
Reality was definitely sinking in with
Titanic
-like speed, and it bit the big one. He was going to be living in his grandmother’s vacant house on Swallow Street. This wasn’t exactly where he had pictured himself at thirty-one years old.
“By the way, the house needs cleaning up. In exchange for free rent, you need to paint the main rooms on the first floor and redo the landscaping out front.”
Seriously? He guessed it was only fair, but at the same time, he felt like he was being fleeced just a little by his own grandmother. “Fine. But you supply the paint.”
“Of course. So Shelby says you’re sniffing around Piper Tucker.”
Brady sighed. Was this worth free rent? He wasn’t sure. It didn’t help that he
had
been sniffing around her. He’d sniffed
and
buried his bone. “I am not sniffing around Piper. She was at Shelby’s last night babysitting. It was a coincidence.” That he happily took advantage of. “But what would be the objection to me dating Piper, by the way? Shelby acted like I was a convicted child molester.”
“Piper is Danny’s daughter.”
Well, that was stating the obvious. “It’s kind of insulting, you know. I’m getting the message loud and clear that no one thinks I’m good enough for Piper. If I were interested. Which I’m not.” He was offended. So maybe he was a thirty-one-year-old unemployed guy living at his grandmother’s, but he wasn’t a bad guy. He had charm. He was nice enough. He worked hard. Sort of. And he had good biceps. Brady reached for his gran’s drink, suddenly feeling the need for fortification. He took a big swallow and choked. “Holy shit, Gran! That’s whiskey.”
“Of course it is. I’m diabetic. I can’t have all that sugar in lemonade anymore, so I water it down.”
“Except whiskey isn’t water.” Brady coughed again. The burn fed down into his lungs. “Christ. That’s whiskey with a shot of lemonade.”
“Oh, don’t be a wimp. And no one is saying you’re not good enough for Piper. But you have a life in Chicago, and she deserves the right man for her.”
“Who, Gandhi?” There was no man who could live up to the ideal they all seemed to have. He suddenly felt sorry for Piper on top of his personal irritation. She was going to have a hard row to sow when it came to dating. There wasn’t going to be much approval for any man she chose.
“I thought he was dead.”
“Speaking of dead people.” Brady turned in his chair so he was facing her better. “Did you know I have the same name as the dude who was murdered in the white house? Rachel’s fiancé?”
“Sure, I knew that.”
Of course she did. “And you never bothered to tell me?”
“Why does it matter?”
“Well, why do I have the same name? Was he a relative? Was I actually named after him or was it just a coincidence?”
“He’s like a great-great-great-great-uncle or something like that. As for your first name, I don’t know if it was intentional or not. Your mother was a twit. It seems a
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