Page 53 of The Sandbar saga

"Do you want to?"

"I think so." She paused. "It'll take one hundred and fifty hours to complete, and then, of course, there's the state licensing exam I'd need to pass. You should see some of the money the realtors get when they sell waterfront homes or the ones up here in Sherwood Community. Selling one house in those areas would give me enough money to rent an apartment for a year, or close to it. Donna even mentioned that I'm a people person and would be a good fit if I wanted to work as a realtor for Beachcomber, can you believe it?"

He lifted his head and opened his eyes, turning sideways to face her. "I can. You adapt well and have a non-confrontational personality with others. You put people at ease because you're not pushy. There's nothing worse than a realtor or car salesmen that pushes a product on a customer or drowns a person in personality."

She raised her brows. "That's one way to say it, I suppose. I just don't know if I'm that outgoing to approach people."

"Most of them come to you. They'll be seeking a realtor to help them. You're good at helping others."

She shrugged. "I'm going to think about it for the rest of the week before I give her an answer. I do know that the job I'm doing now will only be temporary. I can't expect you to foot the bill for food, and you won't let me contribute to your house payment or anything."

"You don't have to worry about that." His overheated body had enough of the hot tub, and he stood. "I'm going to swim a couple laps and cool off. Want to match me?"

She shook her head. "Still don't want to get in the pool."

He chuckled and walked over to the wall and climbed over, sliding into the colder water, even though the temperature was warm. While he swam, he thought of the progress Katie had made toward working.

She was dedicated, never missing a day. Her coworkers invited her out often and seemed to enjoy being around her. She'd come to him for his opinion, but he could tell she'd already made up her mind—she'd independently set goals for herself and was going after them.

He swam one more lap. Maybe he'd focused too much on her hanging out with Pete and his friends and let his own confusion about letting her grow up cloud his opinion.

Instead of going to the steps, he pulled himself out of the water. Katie stood there with a towel.

"Thanks." He dried his face and chest. "I'm proud of you."

"Because I'm thinking about the class?"

"No, not just that." He lowered the towel. "You've grown up and figured out what you want in life now. A lot of people older than you struggle, especially when it comes to jobs and planning for the future."

She stared at his chest. "I couldn't do it without you."

"Sure, you can." He reached out and curled his finger around her ear, playing with her earring.

She smiled, sadness tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I still think about everything."

"You always will," he said, knowing what she was talking about. "I still think about my mom."

Her gaze softened. "You must miss her."

"I do." He tossed the towel to the chair. "But it gets easier. It doesn't mean I forget the love and good times."

"What about your dad?" She slipped her hand into his. "You never talk about him. You've just mentioned that he had passed away."

"Do I miss him?" He looked down at her holding his hand as if to comfort him. "I suppose you want an honest answer."

She nodded. As if their roles were reversed, he rubbed his jaw. It would be easy to say yes and be done with the conversation, but that would be a lie, and he wasn't going to start keeping stuff from Katie when they'd always remained truthful to each other.

"No, I don't miss him."

"And, that's all right to feel that way." She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. "A very wise psychologist told me that once."

"Should I be jealous?" His voice had gone husky.

She shook her head and raised her gaze again, more intense than before. "Why didn't you like him?"

"Lots of reasons, but mainly how he treated my mom. He had many affairs while married to her, and somehow or someway, he'd lost respect for her—probably his own guilt getting the better of him." Surprised it was easy to admit that to Katie, he didn't mind that she was curious about his past.

"Can I tell you something?" she asked.