Down to Business (Business Series) Read Free Page A

hung over the bed. It was an inspirational quote that read: accept your past without regret, face your future without fear.
    My throat tightened with emotion and I smiled.
    “So, you love it, right?”
    “I do, thank you.” I turned and hugged her tight. “I love that quote.”
    “I found that at a thrift store and I thought of you when I read it.” She smiled and squeezed me.
    “It’s just what I needed.”
    “It’s the truth. It’s time for you to stop living in the past.”
    “Yeah, I’m going to try.” I looked over my shoulder hearing my grandmother complain about the stairs.
    “Ready to kiss them goodbye?” she asked with a smile.
    “You have no idea.”
    We walked back out to the living room to find Grandma at the dining table and my mother going through one of my suitcases.
    “Mom?” I frowned. “What are you doing?”
    “I was making sure I put that first aid kit in your bag… I also packed you a few of my own scarves in case you need extra ones.”
    “I don’t think I’ll need extra scarves, it doesn’t even really snow down here.”
    “Where is that damn first aid kit?” she snapped. “I swore I put it in this suitcase.”
    Lindy and I exchanged a glance and I walked over to my mother and calmly took her hands out of my suitcase. She looked up at me and the frustration in her eyes turned to resignation.
    “I’ll buy another one, Mom. I’m twenty, not two. I’ll be fine.”
    “I’m going to miss you so much, Auti,” she whispered and pulled me into a tight hug.
    “I’m going to miss you too, Mom.” Tears invaded my vision unexpectedly and my chest ached. Maybe I would miss her more than I thought.
    She stroked my hair and sniffled. “Call me every day like you promised.”
    “I will.” I whispered back and fought off my unshed tears.
    “Do you have a bathroom? All this driving messes up my plumbing,” Grandma said.
    “Yeah, down the hall, first door on the right.” Lindy answered with a laugh.
    “You have toilet paper in there don’t you?” Grandma asked as she hobbled past her with her cane.
    “Can we get something to eat? I’m dying of starvation,” Josh groaned.
    “I was planning to stop someplace nearby,” Mom said, dabbing the corners of her eyes with her fingers. “Grandma needs to eat to take her pills.”
    “Are you excited to be a senior this year, Josh?” Lindy asked my brother, who had made himself comfortable on her sofa.
    “Not really. High school fucking blows. I can’t wait until I get to go to college.”
    “Watch your mouth.” Mom chided.
    “College is no joke either,” Lindy said. “You don’t have anyone to hassle you to go to class. It’s easy to fail.”
    He shrugged and tossed the gossip magazine he was looking through back on her coffee table. “I’ll probably never get to go to college anyway. Autumn got lucky because she got a scholarship. I’ll just be a line cook at Malones for the rest of my life.”
    “You say that like it’s a terrible thing, Josh,” Mom said. “You’re getting experience. Maybe you can be a chef someday.”
    “Oh yay,” Josh mocked. “I’d rather be getting experience in other areas. I hate cooking.”
    “Well, I hate cleaning,” Mom said, after she zipped my suitcase back up. “But I still clean up after you don’t I?”
    Grandma came back into the room and looked at all of us. “Are we leaving, Lori? It’s almost dinner time and I need to take my pills.”
    “Yes Mother, we will leave in a minute,” Mom said turning to Lindy and I. “Did you girls want to come to dinner with us one last time?”
    “You act like you’ll never see me again, Mom.”
    “It feels like it’s an eternity until Thanksgiving.” Mom frowned.
    “I’m not hungry, I’d rather get settled in.”
    “Are you sure, Auti?” she said, petting my arm. “You barely ate this morning, you were so anxious to get on the road.”
    “Yeah, I’m great. You guys go ahead.”
    “Well, okay. Make sure you call me