Page 11 of Lee

And apparently that had been the right decision!

Essie smiled. “That’s great news. I’ll be praying that if it’s God’s will for you to get the job, the interview will go well.”

Rori thought she’d be nervous, but instead, she was just excited. If this job fell into place, then she believed that everything else would, too. The only thing she wasn’t certain about was what her mom’s reaction would be to the news that Rori was moving to Serenity.

If Serenity was a larger city, she’d take the chance of just never running into her mom. However, given Serenity’s size, and the fact that she might soon have a job at a place her mom was likely to visit, keeping it a secret really wasn’t an option.

Hopefully her mom would understand that Rori wasn’t doing it to be part of her life. Because she wasn’t.

It was just that coming to cat-sit had opened her eyes to possibilities that she hadn’t considered before, at just the point in her life when she needed some possibilities. Some options.

What Rori didn’t plan to do was tell her mom about it until everything was settled. That way, hopefully, she wouldn’t object as strongly.

As two o’clock neared, Rori parked the car in the lot next to the clinic, then sat for a couple of minutes. She needed to calm down and present herself professionally for this interview.

While she was trying to tell herself this wasn’t a big deal—that if she didn’t get this job, she’d find another one in Denver—Rori couldn’t deny how much she was now invested in moving to Serenity.

It was a strange feeling because she’d never had a lot of excitement about the trajectory her life. She’d never sought out a career beyond working as a receptionist, choosing instead to find small moments of joy in her life outside of work.

Now, there was a possibility of working some place new. A place that looked like fun. And her life outside of work could possibly expand as well, with more places to explore and photograph.

Not wanting to be late, Rori stepped out of the car and headed for the front doors of the clinic. She glanced down at herself to make sure her outfit looked okay, then she opened the door and stepped into the coolness of the building.

Cheryl was behind the reception desk and glanced up, giving her a smile. “Hi. How can I help you?”

Rori hesitated for a moment. Had someone been playing a practical joke on her?

“You called me earlier about an interview?”

Cheryl’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you.”

“That’s okay. I do look a little bit different.”

Thankfully, she’d packed one of her nicer work outfits, just in case her mom had insisted they dress for dinner for one of the few meals they’d shared before she and her husband left on their trip.

As she got to her feet, Cheryl chuckled. “Just a bit.”

When Cheryl waved a hand toward a hallway, Rori followed her. They walked into a small office and took seats on opposite sides of the desk that was positioned in the center of the room.

“Thank you for coming in on such short notice,” Cheryl said as she shifted in the chair behind the desk. “The husband of the person we’d hired was given a promotion, but it was out of state, so she was no longer available to work here.”

“You know nothing about me,” Rori said. “And yet you’re willing to give me a chance.”

“I’m a bit desperate,” Cheryl admitted. “And the two other people who had applied when we first posted the job have found work elsewhere. So I’m willing to take a chance with you.”

“I appreciate that.”

“So.” Cheryl folded her hands on her belly, then smiled. “Tell me why you think you’d be a good fit for the job here.”

Nerves fluttered in Rori’s stomach. She’d expected to have questions to answer. Selling herself was not something she ever did. She had a hard time seeing her strengths in a way that allowed her to verbalize them to other people.

Instead, she chose to tell Cheryl about the job she’d had at the dentist office in Denver and the tasks she’d been responsible for. If Cheryl wanted someone to sing Rori’s praises, it wasn’t going to be her.

The dentist and his wife had assured her that they would happily give a reference for her next job. They’d always told her they appreciated her work, so she hoped that they’d pump up her skills and abilities in a way she wasn’t comfortable doing.

“Why do you want to work at a vet clinic?” Cheryl asked once Rori had finished outlining her former responsibilities.

The question wasn’t an unexpected one, but it did make Rori hesitate. It wasn’t a tremendous love for animals. She’d never had a pet, nor had she been longing to have one. Would that be a deal breaker?

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