Needs A Little TLC (Spinning Hills Romance 2) by Inés Saint Page B

her grandmother’s memory by cruel disease.
    Cassie climbed out of the car and made her way to her mailbox, feeling more exhausted by the many short trips down memory lane than the long drive home.
    A white, letter-sized envelope caught her attention first. She flipped it around to see the words It’s not too late to go back to school and finish your degree! printed across the front in bold green letters. It was from a college her mother had been talking about a few weeks before.
    Cassie closed her eyes and breathed in and out a few times, inhaling her determination to prove herself to her parents and exhaling their disappointment in her.
    Number one. It was the only number they respected and she was so close.
    She needed to show them she wasn’t a failure. She could do things her own way and still be a success. Her vision and passion were so strong. They’d finally see.

Chapter 4
    S am walked into his office early the next morning to see Dan and Johnny looking down at a piece of paper. Dan glanced up, a question in his eyes. “You gave her sixteen properties, including the Tudor on Manor Row? I thought I heard you tell one of the other Realtors you wouldn’t put all your eggs in one basket. That’s nearly half your eggs, bro.”
    Sam blinked. So Cassie had decided to move her headquarters to Spinning Hills. He pulled the contract out of Dan’s hands and slipped it into a drawer, wishing they’d leave so he could pour over it.
    Johnny pretended to cup his privates. “Speaking of eggs, looks like you’ve lost your huevos ,” he said in a bad Mexican accent.
    Dan lifted an eyebrow. “I’d check and see, but I can’t see up his skirt from over here.”
    Sam turned to the file cabinet so they couldn’t see he’d cracked a smile. The last thing they needed was encouragement. “If you guys don’t stop snooping around my desk, I’ll change the locks to the front door.”
    “We were here when she dropped it on the desk, right in front of our noses. We couldn’t help it.” Johnny shrugged.
    “She said to tell you she’ll meet you at the Tudor on Friday at seven in the morning to go over all thirty-four properties so she can choose which ones she wants,” Dan added.
    Sam’s back stiffened and he slammed the door to the cabinet shut. “She thinks she’s calling the shots?”
    “Didn’t she always?” Dan teased.
    Johnny shook his head. “Uh, no. That’s what Sam used to let her think.”
    Sam glanced at Johnny. “You’re smarter than you look.”
    “That I am.” Johnny grinned. “Which reminds me, how’s the property on Old Spinning Hills Road coming along?”
    “What now?”
    “You know, Grandma Maddie’s old house. You’d said that was one of the last you’d work on, but the guys told me you sent a crew there this morning.” Johnny unwrapped a sandwich and took a bite.
    Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “It backs up to the park. It’ll sell fast, so I decided to move it up.”
    “Can’t wait to hear your plans on that one. Let’s take my new truck.” Dan picked up his keys.
    “Let’s take your new truck where?” Sam eyed him warily.
    “To Maddie’s house,” Johnny answered, mouth half full.
    “No need.”
    “Why?” Johnny asked, taking another—for some reason, annoying—bite of his sandwich.
    Sam began rolling up blueprints. “Look, ladies, we have too much work to do to stand around chatting, so can it already. Get going.”
    “To Maddie’s?” Johnny asked.
    “He’s turning purple. I think we should leave him alone already.” Dan laughed and helped Sam clear the desk. “Last time I saw him this way was when I told him if he didn’t quit playing ‘Throwing It All Away’ twenty times a day, I’d snap the Genesis CD in two using his head. That would’ve been about ten years ago, right, Sam?”
    “ ‘Throwing It All Away,’ really?” Johnny sighed and shook his head. “You’re right. We should leave him alone and offer our support. If any of this causes you