Jake's Biggest Risk (Those Hollister Boys) Read Free

turned out to be a jerk it didn’t mean his folks were the same, but she’d rather not open
that
can of worms.
    She said goodbye and they headed to Luigi’s. Aside from the supermarket freezer case, it was the only place to get pizza in Mahalaton Lake, since large restaurant chains hadn’t discovered their small corner of Washington. Aside from Luigi’s, they had Elizabeth’s Tea Parlor, the Lakeside Bar and Grill, McKenzie’s BBQ, Pat’s Burger Hut, three cafés, a bakery, a deli and the Full Moon Bistro for natural-food fans. If you were looking for anything exotic, you were out of luck. Of course, in winter there was both a coffee cart and restaurant at the ski resort, but few people in town went up there to eat.
    “Hello, Danny,” called Barbi Paulson, Luigi’s delivery driver, as they came through the restaurant’s double doors. It was before five and the place was still empty. “Didn’t you want me coming out to the house with your Friday-night pizza?”
    “I was at Grandma’s,” he explained, “so we’re having pizza on the way home.”
    “Glad to hear it.” Barbi gave him a wink. “I don’t want to lose my best boyfriend.”
    “Nuh-uh.”
    Danny skipped to the arcade tucked into a side room of the restaurant. It was a bright, cheerful place that was scrupulously clean and maintained. Hannah had played those same games as a girl, her mother’s objections notwithstanding. Luigi hadn’t bought anything new for the arcade in years, saying a classic was a classic.
    “You sure got a great kid,” Barbi said.
    “I’m pretty fond of him.”
    “And he’s real smart.” The other woman grinned, but her smile faded and she leaned on the counter, the bangles on her arms clattering on the polished wood. “I’ve been thinking about you being a teacher and all. You know I never finished high school.”
    Hannah nodded, recalling that Barbi had dropped out of school to get a job. Though only thirty-two, she’d already had a rough life between a hard-drinking father and a mother who’d died when she was nine. People in Mahalaton Lake weren’t always comfortable with the way Barbi dressed, but they admired her honesty and how diligently she worked.
    “Anyhow, Luigi keeps bugging me,” Barbi continued. “He says I got to get a high school diploma because you can’t get anywhere without one. Luigi treats me great, but it sure would be nice to have one job, instead of these part-time gigs all over town.”
    “You might earn more with a general equivalency diploma,” Hannah agreed diplomatically. It was hard to say what would make a difference in Mahalaton Lake, but statistically, graduates did better financially than dropouts. “I can check when the next exam will be.”
    “I already got the schedule.” Barbi fidgeted with the bangles on her arms, looking embarrassed. “But right now there aren’t any night classes to help study for the damned thing—that is, the test. And I wondered...I know you do tutoring and stuff. I’d pay, of course,” she added hastily.
    “I’d be happy to help you study,” Hannah assured her. “But as a friend. I wouldn’t want to be paid.”
    “That isn’t right,” Barbi protested. “You got a kid to support.”
    “What isn’t right is the school board failing to offer enough adult courses.” It was something that deeply irritated Hannah. “But I have access to the study materials and we can go from there.”
    Barbi chewed her lower lip so hard that most of her bright red lipstick disappeared. “I don’t know.”
    “I do,” Hannah said. She’d been lucky to have parents who’d encouraged her to get an education and were there to help if she needed it. Offering the same support to a friend was the least she could do. “I’ll call when I have everything together. We’ll have fun.”
    “Barbara,” Luigi hollered as he came out of the kitchen. “That pizza is ready for delivery.”
    “Gotcha.”
    Barbi left with the insulated pizza bag and