Free Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen Page B

to blame but myself.
    ‘I can’t believe it!’ Heidi had said when I came down the day after I’d worked on her books. As always, she was in the kitchen, lying in wait, the baby strapped to her in the Baby-Björn. ‘When I went to bed last night, this was all such a mess, and then this morning, it’s… it’s fixed. You’re a miracle worker! How did you even know how to do all that?’
    ‘I worked for an accountant last summer for a little while,’ I told her, pulling the coffee out of the freezer. By the time I got up they’d long ago rinsed out the pot, so I always got a fresh one, all mine. ‘It was no big deal.’
    ‘I spent two hours last night going over this checkbook register,’ she said, picking it up and waving it at me. ‘And I could not find the problem. How did you even know to consider double withholding?’
    I started the coffeemaker, wishing I could at least have a cup in me before having to converse with anyone. No chance of that, though.
    ‘The register indicated it happened last May,’ I told her. ‘So I just figured it might have again. And then when I went to look at the tax statements –’
    ‘Which were such a mess, too, I couldn’t find a thing in them!’ she said. ‘And now they’re all organized. You must have spent hours getting all this stuff in order.’
    Four, I thought. Out loud I said, ‘No. I really didn’t.’
    She just shook her head, watching me as the coffeemaker finally produced enough for a quarter of a cup, which I quickly poured into my mug. ‘You know,’ she said, ‘I’ve been needing to hire someone to help me with the books for months now, but I was hesitant, as it’s such a sensitive job. I didn’t want to give it to just anyone.’
    Oh, dear Lord, I thought. Please just let me drink my coffee.
    ‘But if you were interested,’ she continued, ‘I’d make it worth your while. Seriously.’
    I was still waiting for the caffeine to hit as I said, ‘Um, I wasn’t really planning to work this summer. And I’m not exactly a morning person…’
    ‘Oh, you wouldn’t have to be, though!’ she said. ‘The girls do the deposit every day, and that’s the only thing that has to be done by a certain time. The rest, like the books and the payroll and keeping track of the register take, you can do later in the day. It’s actually better if you wait, really.’
    Of course it was. And now I was stuck, as clearly, no good deed went unpunished. The bigger issue, though, was what had inspired this sudden burst of Good Samaritan behavior on my part? Was it that hard to realize that it would never just stop with one thing, there would always be a next step expected, and then one beyond that?
    ‘That’s a really nice offer,’ I said to Heidi, ‘but –’
    This thought was interrupted by the sound of footsteps behind me: a moment later, my dad rounded the corner, carrying an empty plate, a Diet Coke can balanced on top of it. When he saw Heidi, and she looked back at him, I knew instantly their argument from the night before had not been resolved. It wasn’t exactly a chill in the air as much as a deep freeze.
    ‘Well,’ he said to me, walking to the sink and putting his plate into it, ‘I see you’re finally awake. What time do you go to bed these days, anyway?’
    ‘Late,’ I told him. ‘Or early, depending on how you look at it.’
    He nodded as he rinsed off the plate, sticking it in the dish rack. ‘Ah, the ease of youth. Up all night, not a care in the world. I envy you.’
    Don’t, I thought. Heidi said, ‘Actually, Auden spent last night going over my books. She found the error that threw off my balance.’
    ‘Really,’ my dad said, glancing at me.
    ‘I’m trying to convince her to work for me,’ Heidi added. ‘Do a few hours a day in the office at the shop.’
    ‘Heidi,’ he said, rinsing off his hands, ‘Auden’s not here to work. Remember?’
    It was just one comment but crafted for maximum impact. And it delivered: I watched