Page 8 of Beat around the Bush
“Make sure you follow up. There’s so much spam going around, I lose emails all the time.”
“I will,” I replied.
If I was going to mention the car accident to anyone, it’d be Callan, but I decided to keep quiet about it. With my luck, oneof my other siblings would overhear and tell the whole family, then before you’d know it, half the town would know. I didn’t want Oakley to undergo judgment for rear-ending someone, and since there was no damage to my truck, I didn’t see why I’d ever bring it up.
Despite that being the case, the memory kept replaying in my mind. Raindrops rolling down her cheeks, her hair dripping, her bare arms wrapped around herself for warmth. I mean, seriously, who went out without a jacket in a storm?
She may just be my employee, but some deeper part of me was determined to know more. That voice in the back of my head was the reason I had to keep our relationship strictly professional. There was no telling what would happen if I let it take over.
5
Oakley
Grabbing my sherpa-lined denim jacket, I headed out the door into the freezing morning air. The first snow would be here before I knew it, and my car was not ready for icy roads. It could use a new set of tires, but it’d have to wait until after my first paycheck, as I only had enough money for groceries for another week.
The Subaru may be old, but it was the first vehicle I’d purchased on my own with my allowance. I had a newer vehicle, but I left it in Denver because my dad had given it to me. I didn’t want to take anything of his and have him hold it over my head to guilt me into coming back.
Hopping in my car, I cranked the heater, rubbing my hands together for warmth. Once it was warmed up, I backed out of the driveway, heading toward my new job.
My rental was a small, one-bedroom cabin-like house. It was more like a cottage, if you asked me. I wasn’t looking for luxury, so it’d do until I had enough money to find a better place.
When I’d left Denver, I’d stupidly transferred all of the money my dad had given me back to his account and then blocked him on the banking app. I didn’t want him seeing where I was and coming here to try to convince me to come home.
I'd been avoiding him ever since he tried to manipulate and control me. It all started after he found out my mom cheated on him and he immediately resented the fact I still talked to her. He was trying to get me to cut her off and take his side on everything. While I felt bad about the situation, I still loved my mom. I always would. A daughter’s love for her mother didn’t just disappear overnight. At least, that was the case for me. But that didn't mean I agreed with what she did.
My dad was never like this growing up, but something in him changed when he found out about my mom’s affair. He wanted everyone on his side and to feel bad for him; everyone to cater to his needs through this hard time. While I obviously felt bad for him and what he was feeling, he was going about it all wrong. I could never condone cheating, but treating your daughter like this was wrong.
It was taking a mental toll on me, and I couldn’t take it any longer.
He pushed me away without even realizing it, and now I was on my own. He called multiple times a day, but I neveranswered. I didn’t want to hear his pleading to come home or listen while he talked bad about my mother.
As if he could feel me thinking about him, my phone rang from the cup holder beside me.
Speak of the devil.
I let it ring through, not wanting to risk reaching over to decline the call. The last thing I needed right now was another accident.
A few minutes later, I pulled into the parking lot outside of Tumbleweed Feed.
When Lennon said I was hired, I was utterly shocked. I rear-ended the man’s truck, and yet, he was still willing to take a chance on me working in his store. I was excited for my first day because that meant I was that much closer to my first paycheck.
I had to admit, I was also a bit too eager to see Lennon again. During my interview, I could see his short, ash brown hair under the rim of his ball cap and the light dusting of facial hair along his jawline. He looked like he should have three kids and a wife by now. I wondered if he did.
He looked older than I was at twenty-four. He had to at least be in his thirties. Which brought me back to the thought of him possibly not having a family of his own. There had to be a reason the man hadn’t settled down yet. I hadn’t seen a ring on his finger, but maybe he didn’t wear it to work.
Shaking the thoughts of Lennon from my head, I got out of my car and walked toward the front door of the store. I had tokeep a clear head if I wanted to remember all the training I’d get today.
Would he be training me? Or would it be the curly-haired woman, Jacey?
Once inside, I pulled off my coat as Jacey smiled at me from behind the register. “Good morning. Ready for today?”
I smiled back at her, my cold cheeks slowly warming with the heat in the store. “I sure hope so. I’d hate to get fired on my first day.”
She laughed. “I’m Jacey, by the way.” She pointed at her name tag. “If you couldn’t read.”
“It wasn’t on my resume, but I can assure you that is one trait I do possess. Nice to meet you, Jacey.”
Her eyes briefly glanced at the coat in my arms before coming back to my face. “Why don’t you go set that in the break room and come back up here so we can get started?”
