Page 28 of Cole (Dirty Misfits MC 4)
“And their dog.”
She giggled. “Yes, and their dog, Max.”
“What made you want to be a nanny? I mean, it sounds great and all, but I kind of get the feeling that ‘being a nanny’ isn’t something a little girl dreams about being when she grows up. I mean, not that it’s a bad thing, I just—”
She barked with laughter. “It’s totally okay, I understand what you’re asking.”
I sighed. “Thank fuck, because that went off the rails quickly.”
Her laughter died down before she spoke again. “At first, it was born out of necessity. After I graduated college, I had a hard time finding a job in the field I specialized in. I needed a higher dedication to education than I realized going in, and I didn’t have the money to pursue the Master’s degree that I wanted.”
My head fell off to the side. “What did you major in?”
She sighed. “You really want to know?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do.”
“All right but promise me one thing.”
“Sure, shoot.”
Her stare held my own. “Don’t laugh.”
I furrowed my brow. “That won’t be an issue. I don’t see why you getting an education is funny.”
She crossed her leg over her knee. “I got my degree in Fermentation Studies from Appalachian State.”
I stared at her for a long time as I mentally turned over the information she had just poured forth from that tongue of hers.
“So, you got your degree in… making wine.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but essentially that’s the gist of it.”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek to keep from chuckling. “Wine making. And that required a higher form of education you didn’t want to get?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You want to laugh, don’t you?”
I tried my hardest not to smile as I shook my head. “Not at all.”
She plucked a paper napkin from the dispenser and threw it at me. “You suck, you know that?”
I drew in a deep breath as I let the napkin flutter to the floor. “What was the dream with that one? Huh? Did you want to make your own wine out of bath water or something?”
She groaned. “I hate you.”
I smirked. “Hey, that’s a world record for me. I usually can’t get women out on a date first before they start hating me.”
She shot me a look. “Look, I had a dream when I was a teenager that one day I’d own my own little winery. I’d create all of these concoctions and I’d live in this miniature castle with acres of growing grapes and I’d enjoy the romance and atmosphere of it all. At one point in time, I even wanted to move to Italy. You know, buy out one of their smaller vineyards and really live the life.”
My smirk turned into a genuine smile. “That… actually doesn’t sound that bad. It makes your degree make more sense.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, I figured I could be unique and really get to know all about the techniques of fermentation and learn about vineyard establishment and all of that shit.”
“So, what happened? Why didn't you jet off to Italy and pursue your dream?”
She swallowed hard. “There’s a reason why people who want their own business get a Business degree. What I should have done was make Business my major and I should have pulled a minor in Fermentation Sciences. By the time I graduated, it was either use my knowledge to obtain a Master’s in Business so I have all of the information at my disposal, or risk at least half a million dollars on a venture I was only partially ready for.”
“So, you decided to nanny.”
“So, I decided I needed to first save up the money on my own. That’s what the nannying job is for. I live on what I need, I don’t own anything extravagant, and one of these years I’m going to own my own vineyard with the knowledge I’ve gained from my college experience as well as the textbooks I’m reading that Business Schools use all over the country. They aren’t cheap books, but I’ve learned a hell of a lot so far.”
I was in awe of her, and her drive, and her dreams. “Well, if anyone can do it, it’s you. Because if there’s anything I’ve learned in life, it’s that you have to be passionate about what you’re doing. And I can definitely tell you’re passionate about this.”
Her cheeks blushed. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
While I felt like shit for not telling her the whole truth about my time in the army--or about the patch on my arm--I still enjoyed our date. We placed our order and continued talking until we had so much food in front of us that we couldn't do anything else but shut up and stuff ourselves stupid. I was simply glad that we had opted for a slightly later lunch.
