Page 6 of There I Find Happiness

Not someone like Norma Jean.

He tried to make himself think nice thoughts about her. Somewhere, someone could truly love her for who she was. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, that man wasn’t him. Still, he shouldn’t wish ill on her, and he said a small prayer that she would find a wonderful lifetime love for herself. As long as it wasn’t him, he had to tack on at the end. Sometimes God worked in mysterious ways, but in this case, God wasn’t going to work in any way. Not between him and Norma Jean.

Apparently not between him and Sally either, although Peter wouldn’t mind if that happened.

“Hey there, beautiful day,” he said as he came upon his brother and his wife.

They both looked up and smiled at him.

“You can join us,” Eleanor invited.

Franklin gave her an annoyed look, and Peter understood Franklin didn’t want his time with his wife interrupted. Even for his brother.

“Thank you, I think I will,” Peter said, smiling a little at the annoyed look his brother gave him as he sat down. He wasn’t planning on staying long, just long enough to ask for his brother’s advice.

“Would you like some lunch?” Eleanor asked, seeming pleased that he joined them. She truly was a wonderful woman, and he wasn’t quite sure what she saw in his brother.

“No. Thanks. I’m not hungry, and I really am not going to bother you long,” he assured her. But she didn’t look relieved, which made him think that maybe she didn’t mind his company that much.

Sally was her friend, and it was kind of tempting to ask her to put in a good word for him. Or at the very least, to try to make a good impression so she’d say something nice about him.

But that wasn’t his mission for today.

“How are things going on the farm?” Franklin asked casually, talking about business the way the brothers often did.

Their parents had been big business people, and they had inherited a sizable nest egg.

Peter just couldn’t get interested in the business side of things. He’d much rather work with his hands, and his inheritance had enabled him to get a good start on farming. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to make sure that his business was profitable. That much had been drummed into his head since he was in diapers.

“I need some help with my finances. I think I’m profitable, but—”

“But you never could tell the front side of a spreadsheet from the backside.”

“There’s a backside?”

His brother laughed. “Like I said. Clueless.”

“And I know it. So, now that I’m established, and I have things working pretty well, I need to hire someone to help me figure things out. Do you know any good accountants?”

“In other words, do I know any accountants who still have hair that they’re able to pull out because they’ll need it if they’re going to be looking at your spreadsheets?”

“Yeah. Pretty much. I’d like to have an accountant with hair, although I don’t discriminate against bald people as a general rule.”

“Good to know,” Franklin said, rubbing a hand over the top of his head which had much less hair on it than it used to.

Peter smirked. They’d both taken after their father, who had been bald by the time he was fifty.

Peter didn’t particularly care, except he figured that would make him less marketable and if he wanted a wife, he probably ought to get one while he still had hair to help him, since he needed all the help he could get.

“So, can you point me in the right direction at least?”

“I actually know someone right now who’s looking for more hours. With the slowdown of the tourist season being over, I think they’ll be able to give you at least twenty hours a week. Do you think that’ll be enough?”

“It’ll probably hurry me to keep someone busy for twenty hours, once they get everything figured out. Although, getting things figured out could take until next summer, which might give someone a good job in the off-season.”

“All right then. I’ll talk to them tomorrow and let you know. Actually, if they’re interested, I might just go ahead and send them out.”

“That’s fine. They can look me up on the farm. Or give them my number. Or send them to the office. It’s up to you. I’m usually at the office in the morning after the work’s done, and I try to make myself stay there until lunch, although I’m not always successful.”

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