Page 32 of Royal Agenda

The hair on the back of Grace’s neck stood up. She had a sinking feeling she knew where this was going. However, she didn’t know how to stop the flow of the conversation without being blunt and possibly rude.

“That would be wonderful, Nancy. Do you have someone in mind?” Samantha asked.

Grandma beamed. “My granddaughter is a professional genealogist. She’s more than qualified to not only teach your class but the advanced and specialty classes as well.”

Grace was so shocked by the pride in Grandma’s eyes, especially when it was about her, that she momentarily forgot she didn’t want to teach genealogy classes. She’d taught a class when she was a Ph.D. student, and motivating the middle-grade students drained her energy.

Study after study showed that knowing your family’s names three generations back grounded children and helped them say no to drugs, smoking, vaping, and underage drinking. She’d wanted to take the power of genealogy right to the kids. Only, they made it so much more complicated than it needed to be, and they whined about reading cursive. She’d lasted one semester and gladly didn’t sign up for another.

Samantha pressed the folders into her arms. “Sounds like you’re the perfect woman for the job. These are their records. Class starts upstairs in fifteen minutes. Thank you so much.” She hurried away before Grace could form a complete syllable. “Wow—Samantha can move,” she mumbled. Especially given those Mary Jane heels she was wearing.

When Grace turned back to the table, everyone who had been staring at her suddenly became interested in their food, the floor, or the children playing in the pool with their grandparents.

“Uh,” she glanced down at the arm-load of folders to see a class schedule. It would be a shame to let a class go to waste. Maybe she could fill in this one time and then talk to Samantha about finding someone else to teach the class–er, she noted the dates and times—classes.

“Can someone show me the computer lab?” she asked.

Grandma hopped up. “I’m finished here. I’ll take you up.” She dabbed the corners of her mouth and dropped the napkin on her plate.

A few minutes later they were in a room with tables lining the outside walls. There was a large, empty table in the middle of the room. Grace set the files down there and began turning on the computers. Looked like she was stuck inside today.

Ten

“We came to keep him company.” Don motioned to Harry.

“This is fine with me.” Ryker motioned to the waiting chairs. “This should not take long.”

Harry shifted in his seat as Ryker worked. He kept flipping his arm out from under the cape and checking the time.

“Do you have an appointment?” Ryker finally asked. No one had ever been so eager to leave his shop before, and he was slightly offended. “Perhaps you are meeting someone to pick up a treasure?” Harry was fond of buying things around town at a bargain and reselling them for what they were really worth. He had an eye for quality and antique items.

“I have a class. It’s my first time, and I’m nervous.” He checked his watch again, then glanced at Don and Walt.

“Perhaps your friends will go with you,” Ryker offered in an effort to get him to hold still while he worked. The man was as jumpy as a bed bug.

“We’re not going,” Walt said determinedly, folding his arms and settling deeper into the chair. He reminded Ryker of his younger sister when she rebelled against their bambinaia.

“You go with him,” Don commanded, pointing a sausage-sized finger at Ryker. Could fingers have muscles?

Ryker straightened his spine. “I cannot. I have appointments.”

Footsteps sounded in the hall. Don stepped out and came back in a moment later. “Your next two appointments decided to reschedule.”

Ryker’s phone beeped, and the scheduling app told him that his next hour was clear. What in the world?

“Hey, we have three more minutes,” Harry motioned to his head. “Don’t skimp on the aftershave either. Virginia likes it.”

Ryker's lips twitched, but he managed to hold back his chuckle.

“Don’t laugh. You’ll have a woman to keep one day, and you’ll see how good it is when she looks at you like you’re ten years younger and her hero.”

“I would like that very much,” Ryker admitted. All three men perked up. “But I am in no place to provide for a family, sí?”

They frowned in unison.

Harry huffed and unfolded and refolded his arms. “You make it work, man. When we got married, we didn’t have two dimes to rub together. I learned how to find deals and fix things up. It was a challenge, and you do it because you want to be her man.”

If women only knew the efforts their men went to to ensure their happiness.

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