“Sometimes out of necessity. Thankfully, I’m not doing this completely on my own. Shanice and Ashley helped create the website and have been posting about it on social media.”
“How much will the tutoring job pay?”
Jasper had suggested charging forty dollars an hour, but Grace felt more comfortable starting at thirty. If she helped Kayden, she would have one reference and hopefully begin building from there. She grinned at her aunt. “I’ll have to keep a spreadsheet of my income so I won’t get in trouble with the IRS.”
“You bet you will.” Aunt Elizabeth laughed. “I won’t have my niece become a tax dodger.” She shifted Samuel to her other hip. “You always were a good tutor, Grace. You helped Patrick Moore earn that college scholarship, didn’t you? He never would have made it out of high school, let alone through UCLA, without your help.”
She might not have received the credits, but she had learned a lot through the various classes Patrick took. “He tried.”
“Did he?”
“He was good at some things, Aunt Elizabeth.”
“I suppose that’s a healthy way to look at an unhealthy situation, but what about your dreams, Grace? You put them on hold to help him. When is it your turn?” Aunt Elizabeth put Samuel on the floor and took some wooden spoons from a drawer. He banged them on the polished wood.
“I dream I can make a decent living at home so I can parent Samuel full-time.”
“And you’ll do it. You’ve been successful at everything you tackled.”
“Except marriage.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, stop kicking yourself. Patrick was never a husband. He was a big boy looking for a mommy to take care of him.”
Grace had been reluctant to bring up Patrick, but now her aunt had thrown that door wide-open. “I’d like to know how you were able to take one look at him and have him all figured out.”
Her aunt gave a dismal shrug. “I worked with his father. Or I should say I watched how his father worked. He charmed others into carrying his load and took full credit for the work done. And then he got the accolades, promotions, and raises.”
Grace wondered at the bitterness in her aunt’s expression and tone. “Did he do that to you?”
Her aunt gave her a catlike smile. “He tried. Then moved on to others I admired. Charm always sends up a red flag for me. Patrick’s sudden interest in you screamed of selfish motives.”
“I guess I should have known better. Why would the most popular guy in school pick a nerd as a girlfriend?”
Aunt Elizabeth’s eyes went dark and hot. “The nerds of yesterday are the CEOs and entrepreneurs of tomorrow. You studied hard. You went out looking for work as soon as you were old enough for a permit. You had goals and dreams. Those are admirable qualities, Grace. You never used people.”
It was the first time Aunt Elizabeth had defended her, and it put Grace in the odd position of defending her ex-husband. “It wasn’t Patrick’s fault I was so blind.”
“You were young and naive in high school.” Aunt Elizabeth sat, back rigid, facing Grace. “You weren’t blind at UCLA. You saw. You knew it was no accident when he bumped into you on campus. And he just happened to need tutoring? When you mentioned you’d seen him, I could hear the doubt in your voice. You smelled a rat, but you wanted to hope. Who doesn’t? Especially when the guy looks like a Greek god.”
Grace blushed. “He didn’t have to marry me.”
“It was a good investment, wasn’t it? Dating can be very expensive.” Cynicism dripped. “Two can live as cheaply as one.” She huffed. “He had everything he wanted—a pretty girl to bring home the bacon and cook it, then do his laundry and homework, and be a sex partner when he was in the mood. I doubt he was even a good lover. Too selfish. You were always careful with money, so I imagine whatever savings you had went into his pocket. He liked to ski, as I remember. An expensive hobby. He managed to go to Big Bear half a dozen times, didn’t he?”
The truth didn’t hurt Grace as much as it had when Patrick walked out on her. She had suffered more from guilt and hurt pride than a broken heart.
“I know I disappointed you, Aunt Elizabeth. I’m sorry for being such a fool.”
Her aunt’s expression softened. “I share the blame. If I’d brought you up to know your worth, you might not have sold yourself short. Sometimes women love too much and lose themselves completely.”