Page 68 of Protective Cowboy

Then Karla quoted a salary figure that made Autumn’s throat go dry. And the benefits package sounded out-of-this-world.

“Wow,” Autumn breathed, taking in the weight of Karla’s unexpected offer. “That sounds like an incredible opportunity. Thank you so much for thinking of me!”

It was a dream job on steroids. And it had landed in her lap in the same week when she felt she’d hit rock-bottom. She hated to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she had to know. “Is the position remote?”

Karla shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Lisa was pretty clear she expects lots of face time with her team. You’d have to relocate.” She added, “Seattle’s a great city. You’d love it there.”

Just this morning, Autumn had desperately wanted to run away from Snowberry Springs. But now, the thought of moving away from her hometown again felt wrong.

Did she really want to leave her family and the life she’d built here?

Do I want to leave Matt? Maybe they were just friends with benefits, but she couldn’t help feeling they’d developed a meaningful connection over the past two weeks.

Okay, if she was being honest with herself, she’d fallen hard for him. Again.

“Autumn,” Karla said, pulling her attention back to the conversation. “I know this is a big decision. But Lisa needs an answer by the end of the week. If you don’t want the job, we’ll offer it to someone else.”

Autumn swallowed, her throat tight with emotion. Moving to Seattle meant leaving behind the family and community that had supported her through her darkest moments. Yet, this was an opportunity that only came along once in a lifetime.

If she took the job, she’d never have to worry about money again. And if Phillip took her back to court, she could afford to hire the best family law attorney in the state.

She could fund Jayden’s college education and give him the kinds of choices her parents couldn’t afford for her.

“Can I talk to my family about it first?” Autumn asked.

“Of course,” Karla replied. “It’s a big decision. I totally understand. Just remember, we need an answer by Friday at the latest.”

∞∞∞

“So, Jayden, did you and Uncle Spring find Daisy today?” Autumn asked over dinner.

She seemed to be in much better spirits tonight, Matt thought as he served himself a slice of pot roast and root vegetables.

At least she was finally eating. He’d been seriously worried about her for the past few days.

All that hate mail had really gotten to her. Ever since Phillip’s tell-all interview, people had been saying such cruel things. He wished he could track down every one of those commenters and give them a piece of his mind.

This morning, he’d told Jayden that beating people up wasn’t right.

Nevertheless, Matt itched to punch Phillip in the face after what he’d done to Autumn and Jayden. The asshole in her ex extended all the way to his core.

Jayden nodded, grinning. “She was over at Mr. and Mrs. Parker’s farm!”

“What?” Autumn asked with exaggerated surprise. “No way!”

“Matt’s the one who actually found her,” Jayden said. He looked at Matt. “Tell Mom what happened!”

“So get this,” Matt began. “I’m on patrol when I get a call from Lily. She’s freaking out, telling me there’s a goat destroying the house, and it looks like one of Bob Snowberry’s beasts. I drive over to my parents’ place, and sure enough, there’s Daisy, happy as can be, munching away on the wallpaper in my parents’ living room.”

“Oh, no!” Autumn exclaimed in mock horror. It was nice to see her come to life again.

“Oh, yeah. That darn goat had already stripped half the wall. I swear she gave me a little head bob, like ‘Oh hey, just making some renovations here’.” He shook his head wryly. “I mean, it’s some seriously ugly 1970s wallpaper, but Mom is still flipping out about it.”

Autumn actually chuckled. “Maybe Winnie and Nick should hire Daisy for the next season of their show, and feature her on the demolition segments.” She paused. “I hope you got photos. Will you let me post them on the ranch’s Instagram feed? Our followers adore Daisy’s antics.”

“I think Lily beat you to it. She’s already posted the pictures on the Parker Farms site. They’re tagged #GoatCurryCandidate,” Matt said. “I’m sure she’d send you the images, if you ask.” “Yeah, that would be great. I’ll text her after dinner,” Autumn said.

“So, how was your day?” Matt asked, and braced himself for more bad news.

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