Page 18 of Could Be Worse

I drummed my fingers on the table. “You own it?”

“Yep.”

“What do you want to do with it?”

“We can discuss that later. When can you meet me?”

“Um…” I dialed into the Barbie movie my girls were watching in the living room. What about them? It was Wednesday. The teenaged girl across the street, who I used when Nana couldn’t babysit, was at school.

“Is today no good? Are you working out of town?”

“No, no. I’m home with my girls. Nana used to watch them when I worked.”

“Oh.” He fell silent for a beat. “Bring them. It’s dirty inside the building, but we’ll all keep an eye on them.”

“We all? You mean, you and me.”

“And my daughter.”

“Your daughter is coming with? Ain’t she in school?” It was just about lunch time. I was sure his girl was in high school.

“Not Lexi. Sadie is home, visiting from New York. She can help wrangle your girls.”

“Oh. Okay. How about we meet at one? I need to feed them lunch.” I had never met his kids, just heard about them from Nana.

“Sounds good. See you then.” The call ended.

Very interesting. I half wondered if Nana had told him I was having some financial troubles. Why else would he call me? I wasn’t the only construction company in the area. Maybe since he knew Nana, he wanted to give me a chance.

Except, I wasn’t sure I wanted to get involved with Zander. He was a biker in the Knight’s Legion MC. They basically ran the town—and the rest of the Upper Midwest, for that matter. There were clubs in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, and Illinois.

With my little girls to protect, I steered clear of bikers. Nana thought I was silly and too overprotective. Maybe, but Cat and Tori depended on me to make smart choices.

But you really need the work.

I did, so the smart choice was to meet Zander at the warehouse.

An hour later, I parked my truck behind Zander’s. He must’ve been inside, because I didn’t see him or his daughter.

“Where are we?” Cat asked from the back seat.

“A place Daddy might do some work to. I don’t want either of you running around inside, okay?”

“Okay,” they said in unison.

“Be on your best behavior.”

“We will,” they sang.

I smiled as I got out and went to unbuckle them. They were so darn cute with the sweetest, squeakiest voices.

“All right, let’s go in.” I put Tori on my hip and took Cat’s hand. Tori was a little smaller than Cat, so it was easier to carry her.

The door suddenly opened, and Zander greeted us. “Hey there. Come on in.” He patted Cat on the head and gave Tori a wink.

“This place is huge.” I scanned the area and noticed the back of a woman with brown hair. I assumed it was Sadie, Zander’s daughter.

“Yep. I think it would make a fantastic dance school.”

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