Beautifying Bernadette: A BBW Romantic Comedy (The Jackson Tribe Book 1) by Delia Grace Read Free Book Online

called? I am always looking for referrals for my kids. I am also jobless for the summer, so maybe if they needed some help…” She blushed, thinking she had overstepped. I mean Levi had just met her; he might not want her anywhere near his family. Especially with how much she had lied to him.
    Levi caught her look, but grinned at her. “They would love that. They are always looking for counselors and professionals who are able to help out at a reduced fee. They take anyone who needs help in no matter what income capacity they are able to pay, so they can’t afford a lot in money. But the kids make it totally worth it. They primarily work with teenagers, but, every once in a while, will get someone younger or older who needs some help. Oh, it’s Redemption Ranch, about forty minutes away. It’s not actually a working ranch, they have horses and stuff for therapy, but it flowed well as a name.”
    Bernie nodded. “I’ve heard of that. Didn’t they have some kid start a fire there recently?
    “Yeah, but no one got hurt and Jeremy was moved to a different facility. My parents thought they were going to lose their license over that one, but, when the state looked into it, they had nothing but praise for how my folks handled it.” Not wanting to monopolize the direction of the conversation, he nodded. “Your turn. You can ask anything you want to know, but don’t forget turnabout is fair play.”
    Bernie giggled and tapped her finger on her lip like she was thinking hard. “Hmm, what to ask, what to ask. Well, I already know you’re a cop, so how old are you?” She knew she had lowballed it, but she got worried about asking something too personal.
    “Twenty-seven, you?”
    “Twenty-three, but I’ll be twenty-four next week. Since that was so easy, can I ask another?”
    He laughed. “Go for it.”
    “Okay, um, you said you’re in the middle. Was it really hard having so many siblings? How old are they? Did you go to school around here?” She blushed realizing that was a lot more than one extra.
    His grin indicated he didn’t mind. “Sometimes, but usually I loved it, and I definitely appreciate my large family now. Judah is the oldest and he is thirty-one, then there are the twins Joseph and Benjamin who are twenty-nine, then me, then Reuben—he is twenty-three, Dan is nineteen, and our baby sister Ginny is seventeen. Mama said that she finally had a girl, so she was going to name her whatever she wanted. Her name is Virginia Annalisa Gretchen Jackson.  Jude’s a pastor, the twins are both realtors, Reuben and Dan work for RR and Ginny is still in school, but she does a satellite school at home and goes to the community college. I grew up around here, but homeschooled and did church school until college, and I went local there as well. Lived at home to save money until about a year ago, so you could say I am a bit of a homebody.”
    Bernie listened in rapt attention. Having that much family sounded amazing and intimidating. Without thinking, she blurted out, “Your poor sister! I bet she is smothered with all that testosterone. How is she ever going to get a boyfriend if she doesn’t go to school and they have to make their way through her brothers?”
    Chuckling, Levi said, “That little girl is not getting a boyfriend. Ever. Or at least until she is thirty. We are incredibly protective of her. But she is pretty strong on her own. She is very into her studies and the work at the ranch. Maybe you should meet her, she wants to be a counselor and is obsessed with learning all she can about the field.”
    Bernie smiled genuinely. “I’d love to meet her! I am not a traditional counselor since my specialization is elementary education, but I would love to meet with her if she would like. I had to take several general counseling classes and thought I might want to go into adolescent psychology, but chose elementary instead.”
    The food arrived and they took a couple of minutes getting everything settled.