Truths I Learned From Sam 2-Book Bundle by Kristin Butcher

Author:Kristin Butcher
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Published: 2013-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

Reed takes me vehicle shopping the very next day, and at the second car lot I fall in love with a little silver Honda Civic. It’s about eight years old but there’s not a scratch on it. So we get it checked out by a mechanic. Once it gets the okay from him, Reed and the car dealer start doing the let’s-make-a-deal dance. I am totally fascinated listening to them dicker over the price and what it should include. Finally, they settle on a number, I sign a bunch of papers and hand over a huge chunk of my bank account, and voilà: I am a car owner.

Next on the agenda, I make an appointment to see the lawyer, and two days after that Reed and I are on the road. I’m so excited, I don’t even mind getting up while it’s still dark. Instead of travelling the Coquihalla Highway, which is the most direct way to get to Kamloops, we take the southerly route through Hope and Princeton into the Okanagan Valley, because that’s the area Reed needs to check out.

Even at seven in the morning, there are a ton of cars on the highway, so to placate Mom, Reed navigates the Civic out of the city. Then I take over. It feels great to be driving my own vehicle. At Princeton we stop for a late breakfast, and then Reed takes the wheel again.

The locations he’s interested in are tiny towns between Princeton and Kelowna.

“I would’ve thought you’d be looking to put your distribution centre in a big city,” I say.

“It needs to be near a city, but out of the way is actually more convenient, as long as there’s easy access to a major highway. That way I have a better chance of getting the space I need at a price I’m willing to pay. It means less congestion too. Mostly the brewery relies on big trucks, and semi-drivers aren’t fond of manoeuvring through city streets. They prefer wide-open spaces.”

“So did you see anything that’ll work?”

He shrugs. “Nothing that blew my socks off. But I’m not in a rush. I’ll keep looking.”

It’s suppertime when we finally get to Kamloops and pull into the parking lot of the hotel Mom booked for us. It’s in the centre of downtown, and judging from the polished wood, sparkling chandeliers, and massive floral arrangements, it’s pretty high-end. If it was up to me, I would have found an inexpensive motel, which — when I stop to think about it — is probably why Mom booked us into this place. It’s her way of keeping me safe and under her wing. She also volunteered to pay for it, so who am I to argue?

Reed and I eat in the hotel dining room, complete with white linen, crystal, and gleaming silver. All I want is a hamburger, but that isn’t even on the menu so I have seared halibut instead.

And that’s when I run out of gas. Instead of recharging my batteries, dinner wipes me out completely.

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