Read Online Better (Too Good series) by S. Walden - Free Book Online

your dad intends to make some money off of you, and since he cut you off, I don’t think he should be allowed to.”
    Cadence nodded. She understood nothing.
    “So, I need you to get new paperwork so that we can fill it out a little differently. This time you won’t check the box labeled ‘dependent.’ You’ll just claim ‘0’ on your taxes. That way you’ll get the maximum refund, which, for you, will be everything. You don’t make enough to pay, but you don’t wanna claim any withholdings either. Let ‘em take the maximum out of your paychecks because you’ll get it all back at the end of the year anyway. Well, I mean, not Social Security—”
    “ Mark! I don’t understand this!” Just that quickly and she was already overwhelmed and irritated.
    She propped her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands.
    “Cadence, just bring me the paperwork. I’ll handle it,” Mark said.
    She kept her head down—her hair acting as a curtain to shield most of her face—but turned slightly to look at him through a small opening in her strands.
    “You think I’m stupid,” she whispered.
    “No, I don’t. No one understands a thing about taxes. I only know the basics. Enough to fill out a W-4.” He smiled at her. “I’ll help you. It’ll be fine.”
    Cadence sat quietly for a time mulling over the term “dependent.” Apparently she wasn’t supposed to be one anymore, and the idea of being in dependent was neither freeing nor exciting. She realized she was terrified, entering into another phase of adulthood she wasn’t sure she could handle.
    “Honey?” she heard to her left.
    “‘Honey’?” she echoed, and then laughed. “Like what middle-aged couples call each other? ‘Honey’?” She couldn’t shake the sudden memory of Mark calling her “darling” in the Walgreens when they were shopping for pregnancy tests. She burst out laughing all over again.
    “What?” Mark asked indignantly.
    “Can you just call me, like, a cool pet name? Like ‘babe’ or ‘sweet cheeks’?”
    Now Mark burst out laughing.
    “‘Sweet cheeks’?”
    She swatted his arm. “I dunno. Something better than ‘honey’.”
    “Okay,” Mark replied. “Let me think on that one.”
    Cadence nodded, then drank a sip of Mark’s Orange Crush.
    “I’m putting you under my car insurance,” he said. “You only need basic collision which’ll run you about 30 bucks a month. Can you handle that?” he asked.
    Cadence’ s heart gave a small jolt. The words escaped her lips before she could stop them. “You aren’t paying for it?”
    Mark ’s grin was somewhere between condescension and playfulness. She was confused by it. Then annoyed by it. Then turned on by it. Only took three seconds to run the gamut.
    “ No, Sweet Cheeks. You’re pulling your weight in this household.”
    He couldn’t know how much she delighted in that statement. She thought she could translate it to mean “I see you as an important equal in this relationship.” She realized she wouldn’t have to slip the bills in his wallet after all.
    “Okay,” she said quietly. “But I didn’t pull my weight when you bought me that car.”
    “We’re back to that?” he asked.
    “Just saying,” Cadence replied. It almost sounded like a challenge, and he took it.
    “I can think of ways you can pay me back,” he said thoughtfully.
    Cadence blushed and grinned.
    “Wanna come sit on my lap?” he asked.
    “You’ll get distracted, and you’re supposed to be helping me,” Cadence argued.
    “Eh, you’re right.”
    He flipped through a stack of papers in front of him.
    “You can use the university health center. Take advantage of it as a full-time student,” he advised. “You’re paying for the damn thing.” He paused and read. “Looks like you’ ll have to pay a little extra out of pocket for your annual, but 75 bucks is a hell of a lot better than paying five hundred out of pocket at a doctor’s office.”
    Cadence