Page 1 of One Sweet Day I Found You

One

Courtney Price was going to be late for her first day of work, but it couldn’t be helped. Her flight had been delayed, and she’d left a message on her new boss’ voicemail. Two more hours would make no difference.

Blinking, she sat up in the backseat of the compact blue hatchback and stretched. She straightened her long walnut-brown hair and smoothed her floral skirt, then reached for her water bottle. “How long was I out?”

Samantha sat in the driver’s seat. “About an hour, give or take.” Courtney’s mother had arranged for Samantha, the nineteen-year-old daughter of a friend who lived in Milwaukee and needed money, to pick up Courtney from the Milwaukee International Airport and drop her off three hours north. “Long night?” Samantha asked, adjusting her sunglasses.

“Brutal. Flew in from Sydney. Plus, a delay and then a layover in Dallas.”

“Yikes.”

Courtney glanced at the map on Samantha’s dashboard phone. Thirty more miles. “Wow, I needed the nap. Thanks again for the ride.”

“Oh, it’s no problem.”

Out the window, endless lush pastures and big red barns flew by. Courtney had missed the overwhelmingly green landscapes of the Midwest. It was good to be home. She gazed up at the hazy blue Wisconsin sky and checked the time again: 9:59 a.m.

A yawn escaped and Courtney covered her mouth. How did she forget to grab a coffee at the airport? Vaguely aware of the time and battling the fog of an almost sleepless night in coach, after stopping to freshen up, she’d marched straight to the arrivals pick-up zone without a second thought. What she wouldn’t give for a steaming cup of the good stuff right now.

Courtney rolled her eyes. Caffeine deprivation with a respectable dose of jet lag and a splash of tardiness—she might qualify for employee of the month already.

Oh, well, she could grab a coffee when she arrived.

Samantha switched lanes and sipped from her bottle of water. “So what’s taking you this far north, anyway?”

Courtney was headed to Heritage Bay, a small lakefront village tucked into the west coast of Wisconsin’s Door County peninsula.

“A job, actually.”

The area boasted an abundance of cherry orchards, lighthouses, wineries, rocky coastlines and sandy beaches, outdoor pursuits, restaurants, and picturesque inns and resorts.

“Nice.” Samantha nodded. “So what will you be doing?”

Courtney crossed her legs and adjusted the strap on her wedge sandals. “Thanks. I’ll be writing content for a travel blog.”

“Really? How exciting. Full-time hours?”

“Yes, but it’s a contract gig, and I’ll work from home. I’m renting a guesthouse just outside of town. Just have to do a little training in the office today and then pop in once a week.”

The job was a short-term contract position that lasted until the end of the year with the Door County division of the Wisconsin Visitors Board. The Board had a website and a blog that needed fresh travel content, especially during the summer, to market to tourists.

“Sweet.” Samantha grinned. “Okay, now I’m jealous.”

Courtney glanced out the window again. “Thanks. But I’m a little nervous, actually. First day jitters.”

“Well, at least you’re starting with a four-day workweek. Mondays are the worst.”

“True. Wait—it’s Tuesday already?” Courtney’s head had been spinning for a week, trying to dot her i’s and cross her t’s before she left Australia. It wouldn’t hurt to check her email and make sure she hadn’t missed anything big—like the day of the week.

She pulled up the app on her phone, and hundreds of messages poured in. Most were spam. She scrolled and found one from her new boss, a Mr. Claude Beecham, dated Monday. Yesterday. She read the first line and her pulse quickened.

Apparently, she’d been a no-show, and he wanted an explanation. Pronto.

“Oh, are you kidding me right now,” Courtney said, more a statement than a question.

A queasy sensation filled her stomach. That can’t be right.The first day was supposed to be today. Wasn’t it?

Samantha glanced back at Courtney in her mirror. “Everything okay?”

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