A Gift for All Seasons Read Online Free PDF Page A

when can you start?”
    He separated the copies from the original, slipped hers into another folder, then set the folder in front of her. “Next week? The weather looks like it’s going to stay decent at least through the middle of the month.”
    “Great,” she said, getting to her feet, then extending her hand, which he took. Another mistake, but too late now. And the sizzling would subside eventually.
    The folder tucked against her side, she started out the door, wanting to get away from that intense, puzzled gaze. But he stopped her with, “I don’t get it.”
    She turned, frowning. “Pardon?”
    “Why you didn’t haggle.”
    “Was I supposed to?”
    “People...usually do.”
    Somehow, she caught the subtext. “Rich people, you mean?”
    She thought his cheeks might’ve colored. “Didn’t say that.”
    “But that’s what you meant.”
    “Okay. Yeah.” His crossed his arms, high on his chest. “In my experience the better off the client, the more they’re inclined to try to get a better deal. But you didn’t. Why?”
    By rights, his borderline impudence—not to mention his assumption that all rich people thought and acted the same way—should have ticked her off. And probably would have, except for the genuine mystification underpinning his words. As well as her having to admit there’d been a time not that long ago when she might’ve been tempted to do some pigeonholing of her own. So she didn’t take particular offense. Nor, in theory, was she under any obligation to explain herself.
    Except this little exchange had only illustrated what she’d already learned, which was that people treated you differently when they thought you had money. And not always in a good way. So if she was going to be judged, at least let it be on who she was, not on who Patrick thought she was.
    Maybe it wasn’t up to her to right all the wrongs in the world, but she could at least address this one.
    * * *
    His mother had always said his big mouth was going to get him in trouble one day. Judging from the look on April’s face, Patrick figured that day had come. But she was like...like a little hoppy toad, never doing what he expected. Making him crazy.
    “Sorry,” he muttered. “That was out of line.”
    So of course she laughed. And, yes, he almost jumped.
    “It’s okay, I’m used to dealing with people who say whatever’s on their mind. My mother-in-law was like that, and we got on like gangbusters. Then again, I get on with most human beings. I kind of see it like my mission in life. Anyway...” She waggled her left hand, the rings glinting in the overhead light, “the thing is, I didn’t always have money. To be blunt...I married into it.”
    “Really. Another...mission?”
    She laughed again, then glanced down at the rings, the light dimmed in her eyes when she looked up again. “No. Not at all. But what I’m saying is, this is still pretty new for me. Believe me I know what it’s like to try to make a living. To hopefully get an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work, and then—” she sighed “—to wonder if that’s going to be enough to meet the bills. So I can’t tell you what a relief it is to not worry about money any more. To be able to sign that contract without a second thought.”
    Or any thought, apparently. “Did you even get other bids?”
    “I considered it. Of course. But for one thing, your ratings on Angie’s List are through the roof. And for another, based on your discussions with Blythe, she gave me a ballpark figure for what it would probably cost. And you were right on target.” She pulled a face. “It also doesn’t seem fair to make other companies go to all that trouble when only one can get the job.”
    “It’s just business, Mrs. Ross.”
    “True. But sometimes you have to trust your instincts. This is one of those times.” Then she chuckled. “Unless you deliberately padded the estimate?”
    “No!” he said, only to smile himself when she chuckled