Page 74 of Her Summer Hope

“But it’s going to cost me fifteen hundred dollars,” she said, rubbing her eyes.

They burned and felt so heavy. She had almost no time to spend with the kids before she had to head over to Kyle’s and she couldn’t waste it sleeping.

“That…that…ambulance-chasing charlatan!” Helen shouted, truly angry.

“What’s a amblance-chaser?” she heard James asking Ellie in the background.

“It’s someone who chases ambulances, duh,” Jackson provided helpfully. “What’s a charlatan?"

"A charlatan is a con man or a swindler,” Ellie whispered. “A fraud.”

The two women were momentarily distracted by Ellie and they looked over their shoulders at the trio.

“Ellie, where did you learn that?” Madison asked, a bit impressed.

“Your romance books, mom. They have an alarming number of rakish con men in them.”

Madison felt her face burn and she was very alarmed, wondering exactly which books Ellie had gotten into. She was going to have to store them in the attic. Would she need to have the talk with Ellie later?

“You can learn anything from books,” Ellie added simply.

“Not everything,” Helen whispered behind her hand, wiggling her eyebrows.

Madison snorted tiredly and tapped the old woman with the back of her hand. “You are too much.”

“I’m not nearly enough, dear,” Helen said, turning to lean back against the couch again. “Not these days, anyway.”

“Well, Mr. Ellison is the best in this part of the state. I guess he can charge however much he wants,” Madison said finally, mentally rationing her paychecks. “He said I can pay half upfront and half when it’s over.”

“Well, that’s better than nothing,” Helen sniffed. “I ought to have a word with him anyway. Imagine charging you that much.”

“I’ll have to use part of what I saved up for taxes, but as long as I keep working, I can have it put back before they’re due.”

She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the respite.

“You can’t keep working seven days a week and full-time for five of those!” Helen complained. “You have no time to rest.”

Madison waved that off. “I can sleep when I’m dead.”

“That’s my line,” Helen grumbled.

∞∞∞

That evening, she was back at Kyle’s working on the meal.

She was standing in the pantry that was beginning to feel as familiar to her as her own, scanning the shelves for a container of couscous that she swore she had seen earlier in the week.

The naan bread was ready, the hummus was blended, the chicken was roasted and shredded, the green onions, bell peppers, and almonds were chopped, and the raisins and dressing were ready. All she needed was the couscous and it wasn’t exactly jumping out at her.

Maybe the top shelf?

She dragged the step stool away from the wall near the door and over to the far side of the small room. The shelves spanned the room from floor to ceiling, and the top shelf was still almost out of reach.

She stepped up to the very top of the stool, feeling foolish for being nervous about it. She was barely three feet off the ground. The tiled floor wasn’t exactly soft though.

She stood on tiptoes and moved a box of pasta from the front of the shelf with her fingertips, finally spotting the tops of the couscous containers. Jimmy must have moved them to the back when he was looking for something else.

“Gotcha,” she whispered as if they were particularly elusive prey.

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