Maggie placed a hand over Cody’s. “You are officially cut off from what-ifs. Now, go catch the bus and text me when you get your trig quiz back.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said on a groan and walked slump-shouldered out the door.

“Tell me what?” Maggie demanded, taking her mug over to the dish bin that one of the residents of the Old Campbell Place would carry to a bathroom sink to eventually wash.

“Well, you see, Maggie,” Jim began. “We have a little tradition around here.”

She crossed her arms and raised a skeptical eyebrow. He knew it was going to be a hard sell. “It’s a Bonus Day,” Silas said.

“Bonus Day?” she repeated. “Are you all asking for bonuses?”

“No. We’re giving our crews the day off with pay,” Silas explained.

“Why?” Maggie asked.

“It’s tradition,” Jim said.

“We take the nicest day of the season and—if we’re ahead of schedule—we give our crews the day to spend it however they want.”

“With pay?”

He nodded. “With pay.”

“I don’t understand,” Maggie said. She looked like she was waiting for a punch line.

“You ever play hooky when you were in school, Mags?” Silas asked.

“Of course not,” she scoffed.

“I think I hear a car,” Jim said, slipping out the French doors. He mouthed good luck to Silas on his way.

“You never wished you were outside enjoying the sun on your face instead of cooped up in a classroom listening to lectures?” Silas pressed, advancing on her until he had her caged between his arms, back to the refrigerator.

“I suppose,” she admitted.

“This is us giving our people permission to play hooky. And this is my opportunity to take you on a real date.”

“You can date me after work hours,” she said dryly.

He grinned down at her. “You sure make me want to kiss you when you’re hell-bent on being responsible.”

“I still don’t know how you talked me into this,” she grumbled from his passenger seat.

“I’m very persuasive,” Silas informed her.

“I think you hypnotized me with your tongue.”

“I appreciate your awe of my oral skills,” he said, patting her knee with his hand before taking the exit on the highway.

“I could have gotten started on the porch trim today. I could be skimming some of the ancestry books Wallace recommended. I could be looking for more gold coins around the house.”

“Darlin’, let me ask you something,” he said, changing the subject and derailing her “could have” parade. “What was your favorite thing about the town that fancy beach cottage was in?”

“The hardware stores and lumber yard were both ten minutes from the house. That was convenient,” she mused.

“Okay,” he said, drawing out the word. “What was your favorite not-work-related thing?”

“There was a great Mexican place a couple of blocks over that had killer queso.”