Chapter 17Hennessy
Chapter Seventeen
HENNESSY
I try to put it out of my mind for the rest of the night, but it’s damn near impossible, and that’s pretty frustrating because there’s too much to do for me to waste time figuring out Bryan Truitt’s latest mind games. As it is, we don’t get everyone out and the place cleaned up until after two in the morning. And by then, we’re all exhausted—physically, mentally, and emotionally. This was the first event we’ve done without Pops, and despite the insanity of the night, I think we all felt his absence acutely.
Up in the apartment, the four of us are in our pajamas, agreeing that a sleepover is in order. The only person unhappy with that decision is Win, who objected to a solid eighteen hours with his own child on principle. I nearly choked when I heard James tell him to “man up and be a father” to his son for a change.
Walker has been sorting the cash bar money while Bailey tallies the credit card receipts. Jameson is adding up the piles, one by one, as they’re handed to her. When the last number has been punched into her desk calculator, she rips the long white piece of register tape and examines the totals.
“Okay, so…we’re adding the bar tabs, the admission tickets, and the chili entry fees. Both Carly and Donovan have asked not to be paid for tonight, though I insisted they keep the service tips. Bailey and Walker have both put their tips back into the total as well—thank you for that, by the way. You two worked your butts off tonight,” Jameson notes as she looks at them over the top of her reading glasses. My two youngest sisters nod and smile.
“So, that leaves us with a net profit of…” She pauses to do her version of a drumroll.“Five-thousand-eight-hundred- dollars.”
We all look at one another, unsure of what to say.
“I know this is going to sound stupid,” Bailey begins, “but how much were we hoping for? I mean, is that good or what?”
I start to chuckle. “She’s right; we never did discuss what our goal was…and I’ve never done a chili cook-off before. So, is that a good amount? Or did we just get our butts handed to us?”
Surprisingly, it’s Walker who lays it all out for us.
“Well, I was projecting a crowd of seventy-five to eighty, and about ten entrants. We doubled the attendees and exceeded the entrants by fifty percent. On top of that, the average bar tab was about fifty bucks, and the tips were right around twenty percent. I had conservatively predicted a net profit right around 3k. So, yeah, we kinda kicked ass tonight,” she says so earnestly that I’m not smiling anymore. I’m staring at my sister with undisguised shock…and appreciation.
“Wow, Walker…that’s really impressive,” Jameson says quietly from next to me.
She shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s just something I do. I like numbers and trends. I’m acing my economics classes this year.”
“Still,” Bailey says before we can fall too far down the well of awe for Walker, “it doesn’t seem like much compared to what we have to raise. What’s that, like six percent? We’ve got ninety-four percent left to raise? That kinda sucks.”
“I know it seems like a drop in the bucket, but keep in mind that just a few hours ago, we had a hundred-thousand to raise. I’ll take six-thousand toward that.”
They nod their agreement.
“Hey, what about that Bryan Truitt?” Jameson says in a hushed, dramatic whisper.
“What about him?” I ask, suddenly afraid someone saw something in the back hallway. Not that there was anything to see…
Walker smacks a palm to her forehead. “Jeez! Can you believe him? And that Father Romance—I wanted to strangle him with his rosary beads.”
“Now, now, let’s not be blasphemous,” James chides her with a wry smile.
“How’d you like his outfit?” Bailey asks. “That’s one I picked out for him. Brings out his dark features, right?”
I sit up and gawk at her. “Are you saying you went over to the Inn and actually helped him pick out his clothing?” I suddenly feel queasy.
“What? Ewwwww! No way! He’s like ancient. Besides I’m not stupid, I don’t go to men’s hotel rooms. God, Henny, Pops raised me, too, ya know,” Bailey reminds me indignantly. “It was one of the outfits he bought from me at Campbell’s.”
My alarm dissipates, and I experience a pang of guilt for thinking something like that about…who? My sister…or him ? Thankfully, Walker jumps in before I can examine that question too closely.
“You never did say, Bailey, what was he like with you?
Was he a total jerk or what?” Bailey shakes her head.
“No, he was really nice, actually. But he did try to pump me for intel.”
“Intel about who?” I ask, a little too quickly. “Did he ask about me?”
A broad, knowing smile crosses my sister’s face. Crap.
“Oh, I get it. You wanna know if the cute guy was talking about you,” Bailey teases. “Yes, in fact, he did ask a few questions. And, I’ve gotta say, Henny, you could do worse.”
“She has done worse,” Walker groans. “And that’s not saying much.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I reply flatly.
Jameson is watching me closely. A little too closely… and it’s making me nervous.
“You know, Henny, I forgot to tell you…” she says, effectively ending further commentary on Bryan Truitt.“You had a call earlier at the pub. Guy said he was your neighbor. He wanted to let you know your plants were okay.”
Damn. I shouldn’t have ignored FWB’s last few texts.
He’s just checking in on me to make sure I’m okay.
“Oh yeah. I’ll give him a call in the morning,” I say, not offering any further details. Not that that keeps my nosey sisters from asking.
“So, is he like a friend?” Bailey asks. “No. Like Jameson said, he’s a neighbor.”
She sighs in exasperation and looks at me as if I’m dim. “Not that kind of a friend,” she explains. “A special friend. A friend with benefits…”
All three of our heads spin to stare at her.
“What? God! I’m not a baby,” she protests. “Plenty of girls at school are already…you know. And I hear things.”
I glower at her.“I hope hearing is all you’re doing, Bailey Irish O’Halloran.”
“Puhhhh-lease. The boys at Mayhem High are so gross.
Besides, I’m waiting till I’m in love. Really, really in love.”
“You are?” Jameson asks, sounding pleasantly surprised and more than a little impressed.
“Duh,” Bailey says with a roll of her eyes. “So what about the neighbor guy?” she persists. “What did you say his name was…?”
I laugh and shake my head at the same time.
“I didn’t. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to sleep. James and I will share the big bed, and you guys can take the twins, okay?”
They nod.
“You were great. Pops would’ve been so proud of all of us,” I say, giving each of my sisters a kiss on the head before staggering off.
I’m not sure how long I’m asleep when Jameson comes to bed, or how long she waits to talk to me.
“I’m thinking about leaving Win,” she whispers, probably unsure I’ll even hear her.
I turn onto my left side so that we’re facing one another in the center of the bed.
“Are you okay?”
She nods. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Can I do anything for you?”
She shakes her head. “No. Not yet, anyway. I’m still just thinking. But I had to say it out loud to someone, you know what I mean?”
I do. But I find a different way to give her my answer. “I think I might… God, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I
think I might kinda sorta like Bryan. A little. Maybe.”
I’m expecting a lecture on “sleeping with the enemy” and am stunned when, instead, her face lights up like a Christmas tree.
“Really?” she whispers excitedly.
I nod more assuredly and smile now, emboldened by her apparent approval.
“Oh, Henny…I think that’s insane and wonderful!”
“Right?” I agree—thrilled that she gets it.“It’s a horrible idea. Terrible. Stupid. Insane. But I can’t help it…every time he’s around, it’s like my pulse goes into overdrive. Tonight he…”
“What?” she asks breathlessly across our pillows. “What did he do?”
“He kind of…cornered me in the back hallway. He just kept coming closer and closer until we were almost touching. And then he whispered in my ear.”
James starts to kick her feet as she stifles a “squee!” The last thing we need is the other two crawling under the covers with us, demanding to know what’s going on. We had quite enough of that when Jameson and I were teenagers and pesky younger sisters Walker and Bailey wanted in on everything.
“Tell me, tell me, tell me!” she insists.
“He said he can’t stop thinking about me,” I whisper into the darkness between us.
“And?”
“And I can’t stop thinking about him. But I’m afraid to let myself go there. I mean, what if he’s just trying to get me to sell to him, James? What if…what if he’s just using me? I just don’t think I could take it right now.”
She’s quiet for what feels like a long time, her green eyes glittering every time they catch the moonlight streaming through the bedroom window. I can tell she’s studying me and my every feature.
“Hennessy. I don’t know this guy…and neither do you. Not really, anyway. But you’ve got the best instincts of anyone I know. And if your gut’s telling your heart that there’s something there, then I’d put money on it. Besides, what’ve you got to lose? We’ll either raise the money or we won’t. He doesn’t really have any control over that situation. At this point, our fate is in our own hands.”
She’s absolutely right about that. In more ways than one.