Watson by Kathi Barton (ebook reader txt) 📕

ones that lost out. Not only did they never get to know any of us, but they missed out on knowing Aunt Holly too.” He realized they were talking about something they should be avoiding right now. Sadness wasn’t going to interfere in his life as much anymore. “Anyway, we should get going about seven in the morning. We can stop on the way and get some breakfast too. The auction starts at ten, so that will give us a good hour to look around and make notes on things.”

“I’m excited about this new venture, Book. I swear, I’ve never enjoyed things as much as I do today. I think it has to do with knowing that no one is going to be hurt or hurt me and that I’m going to do something I want for a change.” Booker agreed. “All right. Good night, buddy. And thanks for being there for me. I love you.”

“And I love you, Brandon. But let’s not be mushy about it.” They were both laughing as they parted ways in the hall. Booker set his alarm on his phone and laid down. Closing his eyes with a smile on his face, he thought of one more thing. “I miss you, Aunt Holly. Very much. But I’m moving on now. Thanks to you, I can do that.”

~*~

Charlie wasn’t sure what the hell she was doing. Not just here, but what she was to do if she wanted to bid on something. Abby and Amy had talked her and Rayne into coming up to this auction today to fill out their homes. She thought they had nice homes, but what did she know about being wealthy? Not a single thing.

The man she’d been sort of following was helping another man in things that he should bid on and how much. She had also learned not to take the first amount that the auctioneer put out there. It was only a starting point.

“Hello.” She looked around when the man she was following spoke to her. “You haven’t any idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“Nope. I will admit I’m in well over my head. Like I need all kinds of things for this house I’m going to live in, but I haven’t any idea how to go about it. Like, this table here. I love it. But I don’t know what would be a good price to bid or how to even make that happen.” He asked her if she had a number yet. “Yes. I got that when we first arrived. Abby told me about that.”

“Abby? You’re here with Abby Wilkerson?” She nodded, and the man laughed. “Well, isn’t this a small world. I’m her cousin-in-law, Booker Wilkerson. I’m here with my cousin, Brandon.”

“Will you help me?” He said he’d love to. “Good. First thing, this table. What is a good price to pay? I don’t want to get caught up in the bidding and forget that I’m on a budget, somewhat.”

“It’s not old if that’s what you’re thinking.” She asked him how he could tell that. “Look around at all the other pieces out here. What is the one thing they have in common? I know you can see it, but it never occurred to you yet.”

She knew he wasn’t talking about the age of the piece. To her, they all looked like they’d been around a long time. Then she noticed a few things she’d not before. Looking at Booker, she smiled.

“Someone has taken the time to dust this piece. Why would they do something like that to a piece that’s just a table?” He told her. “I guess I can see that. Polish it up so that it’s more appealing to someone. Eye catching, I guess you could call it. So it will more than likely go a little high when it’s probably just a table that isn’t going to last all that long. Thank you.”

“You’re so very welcome. Also, you should never, if you can help it, linger too long when looking at a piece. That gives away that you’re interested. Sort of casually look at something, then look around while keeping an eye on other people that look at it. You can figure out your competition that way.” She giggled. Charlie told him he was wonderful for helping her. “I’m enjoying myself too, so it’s good for us both.”

They walked around together for the next half hour. Booker pointed out things she could bid on and how much she should go. He told her when she asked him if he’d help her when the bidding started that he’d love to, but he also had to help Brandon.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You did tell me you were here with him. You have given me a lot to go on, and I appreciate that.” He told her he wasn’t going to leave her. “But what about Brandon? Won’t he be upset?”

“Right now, I don’t care. You’re much prettier than he is. Plus, he’s hanging out with Abby. Who is, I might say, good at this too.” The announcement was made that bidding would begin in five minutes. “Something else you might want to do when you go to an auction is to find out who the auctioneer is and make a mental note to watch how he does things. I ask where he might be starting when he begins and also if he will have a second auctioneer selling in another area. There is only the one person here until noon. Then they’re going to sell the house and land around it. But he’s going to start with the box lots. Those are the boxes of stuff that they deemed not worth too much, and they’re getting rid of it. I find a lot of good things in those sort of boxes.”

“Like what?” They were headed to the box-lots area now. “Oh, I understand now. They’re literally boxes of just stuff. I think getting a couple of those would be a blast just to go