Page 70 of A Montana Secret Admirer
Serenity opened her eyes and stared at her reflection. New day. New chances to be better. And she was going to focus on repairing the damage she’d made with her sister.
“CanI come to work with you today? I need to head into town, and Tana said she’d keep an eye on the boys.”
Jane looked up at Serenity over the rim of her coffee. Her eyes were guarded, and her lips were pressed into a thin line. Was she judging Serenity for their argument? Shoot! Had Serenity been wrong that they’d be able to get over this hurdle without issue?
“Please?” Serenity murmured. She pulled out a chair and sat across from her sister at the kitchen table.
“Is this because you’re avoiding a certain someone? Or more than one someone?”
At Serenity’s creased brows, Jane offered her a patient smile.
“Your son. Reese. But who knows? You might be avoiding other suitors, too.”
Serenity rolled her eyes while also reveling in the relief of her sister’s teasing tone. “I’m not avoiding anyone. Time is running out.” Okay, maybe she was avoiding Reese. Not even an apology had seemed like enough to smooth over what had occurred between the two of them. She just needed to put a little more distance between that mistake before she could look Reese in the eye again. So, she’d focus on something else—something that might make things better between them. A gesture of sorts.
“Time? What are you talking about?”
Heat roared beneath Serenity’s skin from her chest, up her neck, and into her face. She looked away. “I think I might love him,” she whispered.
Jane gasped and placed her cup on the table. “Really?”
Serenity closed her eyes and nodded. “I don’t think I’d be happy back home. But I’m…” She chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t want to tell him anything until I know I can get a job and?—”
“You can work with me.”
She shook her head, turning her pleading eyes to her sister. “I need to do this on my own. I don’t want to keep depending on everyone else for anything.”
That made Jane frown. “You aren’t?—”
“Yes, I am. I moved out here this summer to be with you. I didn’t have to pay for a place to stay or food on the table. I don’t know if you’ve been paying Reese for providing riding lessons for the boys, but I get the feeling that he wouldn’t take it if you were. If I went back home, I’d be on my own, anyway.”
“You’d have Mom and?—”
Serenity let out a sad laugh. “Yes, I’d have a support system, but I’d still be on my own. I’d have to get a job and put my life back to order. It’s time. No matter where I end up, I need to start making decisions… that I’m proud of.”
Jane smiled and reached out to grab Serenity’s hand.
Blowing out a breath, Serenity allowed herself to relax somewhat. “There are a few places I was thinking about—places that might hire me. I thought I’d take my resumé out there and see what I can get.”
“And you’re seriously not going to tell Reese? Don’t you think he should know?”
Slowly, Serenity shook her head. “I don’t want him to think I’m doing this for anyone but myself. If this relationship—whatever it is—doesn’t work out?” She paused to give herself a moment to calm her thoughts. She hated the idea that Reese wouldn’t be part of her life for the long-haul, but she wasn’t going to let that fear affect her decision to stay in Rocky Ridge. She wasn’t making that decision for him. She was making it for herself—for her sons.
Even though Tegan was going through something, she’d seen the way he and his brother had opened up when they first moved to Rocky Ridge. The open spaces, the animals, the additional physical activity—all of it had been good for them. She didn’t want to take them back to the city where they wouldn’t have space to roam.
Swallowing hard, Serenity gave Jane a pointed look. “If it doesn’t work out, that wouldn’t change my decision to move here. I want to be closer to you. I’ve started to see what life could be like in the country, and I like it. There is still a lot I have to consider, but this is the first thing I know I want to change.”
Jane’s smile deepened, and she squeezed Serenity’s hand firmly. “I want to be closer to you, too.”
Tears sprang to Serenity’s eyes. She hadn’t realized how much she missed Jane when she’d moved away to focus on her career. They’d gotten so much closer over this summer than she’d realized. Before, she would have never dreamed of confiding in her sister over a guy. Then again, she’d been with Finn since high school.
Serenity tilted her head and smiled through her watery lashes. “Is that a yes?”
“Of course it’s a yes. And if you don’t find something, I want you to know the offer stands. Heck, if you don’t like working in an office, I’m sure I could pull Bo’s leg and get you something here, too.”
Laughing, Serenity shook her head. “I don’t think that would work out too well if?—”
“None of that,” Jane admonished. “I know what you were going to say. You were going to say if things didn’t work between you and Reese, then you wouldn’t want to be working here and having to see him every day.”
