Sisters by Choice (Blackberry Island #4)(25)

She laughed. “I don’t know. We’ve already had sex.”

“Yeah, but that was just bodies. You’re able to disconnect the pleasure from the person. Knowing who I am is different and for you, it’s too soon.”

What? She blinked at him, but before she could even formulate a question or figure out if he’d just insulted her, she was outside on his front porch and the door was closing in her face.

WTF? She thought about ringing the bell and telling him he didn’t get to talk to her like that or act like that, only she couldn’t articulate what, exactly, he’d done wrong. Or if he was wrong about any of it.

Fine. Whatever. She’d had great sex and now she could get on with her life. Dugan, Shmugan. She had a company to run.



Chapter Seven


Heather logged on to the community college website and clicked to review her final grades. Even though she was sure she’d done well on her final, she was relieved to see an A listed next to each class. Hard work pays off, she thought as she logged out. At least her GPA was intact. Hopefully it would only take through the summer for her to save enough to return to school. Depending on how things went working for Sophie, maybe she could give up her weekend job, or even her early shift at the Blackberry Island Inn restaurant. If she could get by on a single job, she could muscle through three classes a quarter, getting her that much closer to transferring to a four-year college.

Of course before that happened, she would have to pick a major. She was leaning toward graphic design but couldn’t get a handle on the job market. There were lots of opportunities, but most of them required experience. There were plenty of internships but they were for college students. She’d thought about majoring in marketing instead, with a minor in graphic design, but that would add to her time at college. Right now she wasn’t paying that much per unit but when she went to a four-year college, the price seriously went up. Still, it would be worth it, she told herself.

She glanced over her shoulder and made sure her door was closed, then typed in the address for the Boise, Idaho, city website. As always, even looking at the pictures made her happy. She’d gone there with Gina and Daphne back in high school and had liked everything about the town. Ever since, she couldn’t stop thinking about what her life could be like there.

Boise was far enough away to get her out of range of her mother but still close enough that she could drive home in about eight or nine hours. Doable, she thought, heading to the Boise State University website. They offered marketing as a degree or a minor. The graphic design program was incredible. Maybe she could get a bachelor’s of fine arts in graphic design with a minor in marketing. If she moved to Boise for a year, she would qualify for in-state tuition.

She should have done it while she’d had the chance. Six thousand dollars had been plenty. All she’d had to do was tell her mother she was leaving and go. Only, while that sounded so very easy, it wasn’t something she seemed able to do. And now, with zero savings, she was starting over again.

At least she had a good job, she thought, typing in ClandestineKitty.com. When the logo came up, she smiled. She loved the simplicity of it, the curve of the cat’s tail and the balance of the larger K.

Sophie had her act together, Heather thought. She would never let someone else dictate her life. She’d created a company from nothing and it was growing every day. Heather should watch her more closely and figure out how she was always so confident.

She logged out of the website and went to her favorite graphics program, then opened the CK logo she’d scanned in a couple of days ago. She had some ideas of different ways to use the logo in personalized products. CK Industries had mugs and T-shirts, but those were generic. What if a customer wanted to combine the cute logo with, say, a picture of her own cat?

She’d captured a couple of stock cat pictures and now centered them on a mug. She layered the CK logo on top and started playing with the scale of each, only to realize the picture was too detailed to work on a mug. She pulled up her quilt pattern program and transferred the picture and the CK logo to that. Better, she thought happily. It would take some modification to make it work, but there were definite possibilities. When her cell phone rang, she didn’t bother glancing at the screen before answering.

“Hello?”

“How’s my favorite granddaughter?”

“Grandma!” Heather saved her work, then closed the program and turned away from the screen. “How are you? How’s the weather? It hasn’t been too bad here. Cool but not raining like it usually does in spring.”

“It’s perfect here. Sunny every day and it’s starting to get hot. I’m turning into a lizard in my old age because I love the heat. How did you do in your classes?”

Heather grinned. “I got A’s.”

“That’s my girl. I’m so proud of you. What are you taking in the spring?”

Heather shifted in her seat. “I’m, um, not going to be taking any classes. I want to save some money, so I’m working full-time for Sophie.”

“But you’ve been saving money. I don’t understand.”

Heather had no idea how to explain it to her. Of all people, her grandmother, Amber’s mother, would get the problem, but Heather still felt that by bringing up what had happened, she was being disloyal.

“No,” her grandmother groaned. “What did she do this time?”