Page 9 of Daddy's Little Matchmaker

“But then you only get half the money from the sale.”

Connor shrugged. “I’m okay with that. The work you do was important to Mom. If we sell, you can take your half and open a new shelter in a better location.”

Tessica frowned. “But it’s your Mom’s house. Don’t you want to keep it in the family?”

“Since the house was renovated, it doesn’t really hold any sentimental value for me. And besides, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with a failing business for five years.”

“I get that. Neither do I.” She leaned forward. “That’s why I have to make it profitable.”

“I’m not sure how you plan to do that when my mom ran it for ten years without a profit.”

Tessica picked her fork back up. “Fiona never tried to make it profitable because she didn’t care. She had plenty of money to subsidize the business as long as it was close to breaking even.”

Connor sighed. “I don’t want to give you false hope if I’m going to sell it anyway.”

They were quiet for a few moments before Tessica said, “Have you ever thought about moving back here? Your grandkids are getting older, and you’re missing out on their childhoods.”

He scowled. “You sound like my mother.”

Her cheeks heated up. She couldn’t help being motherly in all aspects of her life. It came naturally to her, and normally shewouldn’t think twice about it. But Connor’s tone made it clear he thought she’d overstepped. Maybe she had. Sometimes her inner Mommy came out, even when she wasn’t at a club or in a scene. On the flip side, her inner Little never made an appearance accidentally.

“Sorry,” she said. “I just know I would do everything in my power to be near my grandchildren, if I had any.”

“I can’t say I’ve never considered it,” Connor admitted. “Especially now that Michael and I are getting along better.”

Tessica nodded. “It’s easier to get along with your kids once they’re adults. Some of those teen years were pretty rough with my boys.”

“I can’t imagine having twins. One was hard enough.”

She chuckled. “Your sisters are twins.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have to raise them. You’re a twin, too, right?”

“That’s right. That’s how Erin and I became friends back in high school. Your sisters were the only other set of twins in our freshman class.”

“Did being a twin make it easier for you to raise twins? Having an inside look?”

“I don’t think so. But who knows? Maybe it was easier, and I didn’t realize it.”

After a short pause Connor said, “It would be nice to see my grandkids more. But my whole life is in Juneau.”

“I get that. It’s hard to make a big change like that once we get older and set in our ways. Getting divorced forced me to move eight years ago. Otherwise I’d still be living in the same house. But honestly, I’m so much happier now. I’m glad I had to move.”

Connor nodded and put a bite of food in his mouth.

“Give me two months to make it profitable. If I can’t, then I won’t complain when you sell.”

“It’s not about the money, it’s the house. If no one lives up here, it’s just wasted space. And I absolutely don’t want to deal with renters.”

“If things go well, I could expand the shelter to the upstairs. Maybe even pay you a small rent.”

Connor sighed. “Do you really think you can make it profitable in two months?”

Tessica perked up and nodded. “I do.”

“How?”

“Number one, online advertisements. This house is on a residential street, so not a ton of people drive by. The shelter needs a new and improved website. I need an easy way to upload images and info on every animal we have up for adoption. Something I can update every day without too much technical know-how.”

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