Page 4 of Falling for Autumn Again

Never. Ever.

“You can borrow something from me.”

“Everything you own is in Hawaii, Meg,” I say, giving mybestie a very small glare. She deserves it. She got married one year ago and moved to Hawaii one month ago, leaving me alone after living in our little town of Love, Wyoming, for only two years. She convinced her hot little Hawaiian to live here too—but only for one of those years.

Yep, Meg Miller Jex got me all attached to her and then to her Polynesian honey and then she left me. It’s lucky for me that she came back this week to help implement the new curriculum she helped create for all the kinder teachers in our district.

I’m not sure I could survive this day without her. I’m a wreck. I haven’t been through the interviewing process in years—thirteen, to be exact. It doesn’t matter thatI’mthe one conducting the interview this time, my nerves have all decided it’s a great time to implode.

“I brought some slacks for my school meeting.”

“Slacks that would drown me. Your legs are like ten feet longer than mine.”

“Okay,ouch. I’m not a giant, Autumn.”

“I know, sweetie. I know. But we both know your slacks won’t work on my body.”

She purses her lips. “I don’t understand why you can’t just wear what you always wear,” she says, pointing to my closet of plaid and denim—ugh, nothing but plaid and denim! What am I? A lumberjack. “You’re the one doing the hiring, not them. So, who cares what you wear?”

I huff. “Yes, but Meg, this is mybaby. The Linus’s are trusting me and believing in me and giving me a shot that no one else on the planet would ever give me.” All the breath has left my lungs by the time I get that sentence out. I am puffing and wheezing and certain I might pass out.

I’m not even sure why Don and Dessie are giving me this shot.

Because I’ve worked for them since I was a child?Probably.

Because, of all the people in Love, they are not only my bossesbut dear friends who know more about the bills I’ve got stacked against me than anyone. Ugh, that’s a good possibility.

Or maybe…

Obligation.

A word I despise and understand all too well. And while I get it. The Linus’s are the best people in the world. They could never owe me. If anything, I owe them.

“Stop it!” Meg says, slapping my shoulder and murdering me with a scowl.

“What?”

“You’re questioning again. I can see it in your face. Stop it. Don and Dessie believe in your idea, Autumn. And you are a fantastic chef.”

I clear my throat. “I’m not a chef.” I have none of the credentials to be a chef. That was always the plan. But plans change. All I have is a hobby. One that I don’t even practice all that often anymore.

I’m stuck in the middle of Plan B, trying to figure out how to make something of my once-upon-a-time dreams come true.

“So,” I say, swallowing and attempting not to wallow in my own personal doubts. “The red plaid or the green?”

Chapter Two

Autumn

My overly organizedbestie putters around my house, picking up and dusting off surfaces that haven’t been wiped down in months. What’s the point? I live on a dusty, windy Christmas tree farm—every surface will just need dusting again tomorrow.

“What else can I do to help?” Meg asks, tossing the dust rag into a cleaning bucket on the round.

I sigh. “I have a shipment of saplings coming in—but I have to sign for them. You can’t.” I purse my lips. I’ve got a heaping pile of medical bill payments due, but I have to take care of those myself too. I nibble on my lip. What can Meg do? “Umm.”

“What about your mom’s meals? I could run them to her after my meeting.”

I let out a breath, my shoulders relaxing just a little. “Yeah. That would be perfect.” This interview has me on edge. I’m not in the frame of mind to chit-chat with Mom right now. So, delivering the freezer meals I made for my mother would actually be super helpful. See why I am so annoyed that my beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, color-coding bestie has moved? It’s tragic.

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