Page 74 of Cheap Shot

“How’d your meeting go?” Sebastian asked his sister later that night after dinner. Harper had been tucked into bed, and he’d read her two stories before she finally dropped off to sleep.

Now, he and Brie were washing and drying dishes by hand. The kitchen had a dishwasher, but it was old and wasn’t working properly. Sebastian didn’t have a clue how to fix it. Harper and Brie lived in a small, somewhat shabby duplex that had seen better days. Brie had ended up with it in the divorce.

Sebastian had been glad she hadn’t had to move Harper out of the only house she’d ever known, but much of the place was indesperateneed of repairs or upgrades and unfortunately, Brie didn’t have the money to hire anyone to do them.

Sebastian had offered. Or, more accurately, begged and pleaded, but Brie had only allowed him to pay for a few fixes that directly impacted Harper. Damn her for being so proud.

Brie sighed, her gloved hands dangling in the warm, soapy water. “Well, I don’t know.”

“Okay?” he said, not entirely sure what that meant. How could shenotknow if the meeting had been good or bad?

She glanced over. “So, I met with Pete and Kathy.”

“Your director and department manager, right?

“Yeah. It turns out, Kathy is going to be retiring soon.”

Sebastian grimaced. “Shit. She’s been so accommodating about your schedule too. Are you worried about who will take over after?”

“I was at first,” Brie said. “Because you’re right. I don’t knowwhatI would have done otherwise. The fact that I can do the transcription from home and attend most meetings virtually has been a godsend with Harper.”

“But?”

“But Pete wants to offer me Kathy’s position.”

Sebastian brightened. “Oh shit, really? That would be amazing.”

“Would it? I mean, yeah, I definitely could use the extra money”—she gestured around the kitchen, water dripping onto the cheap peel-and-stick tile floors below—“but I’d have to work on-site at the hospital a lot more. How in the hell am I going to make that happen?”

“Well, what kind of timeline are we talking?” Sebastian asked.

“Kathy is retiring at the end of June. They want to have someone lined up and ready to train by April. Pete said they’ll try to hire internally first, but if no one gets the position, they’ll open it up to the public.”

Sebastian frowned. “Damn.”

“Yeah.” She plunged her hands into the water again and started furiously scrubbing a plate. “I mean, I think Harper will be going to kindergarten in the fall. We have to assess where she’s at this spring, but at least as of now, that’s what the plan is. But even then, she’s still going to have a ton of appointments, and I don’t know how I can do it all. But then when I think about what I could do for her with more money, I’m torn, you know?”

Sebastian frowned, polishing a glass before putting it in the cupboard. “Okay, let’s take this one step at a time. Do youwantthe job?”

“Yeah, but Harper?—”

“Set your concerns about Harper aside for a minute,” he said.

His sister gave him a look.

“I know, but just for a minute. Close your eyes and imagine you didn’t have Harper to worry about or bills. Imagine some scenario where it wasonlyabout your happiness. Would you want a management position?”

Brie made a face but closed her eyes. “Yeah,” she said slowly. “I think I would. I like what I’m doing now but it can be kind of … isolating. I would enjoy being in an office more and I’m good with people. When Kathy was out with a broken foot a few years ago, I ran a lot of the day-to-day departmental stuff with Pete overseeing and Ilikedthat.”

She opened her eyes. “But it still doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do it all. I can’t take on more responsibility at work without shortchanging Harper.”

“Okay, but that’s a logistical issue,” Sebastian pointed out. “You want the jobandit would benefit you and Harper.”

“I suppose.”

“So logistics are easier to work around than it being a bad fit or forcing yourself into a job you’d hate,” he pointed out.

“Says the guy who is struggling with his own logistics,” she shot back, flicking water at him.