6 Mountain Brothers for Christmas

“Really?’ Mrs. Johnston’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Yeah,” I said. “I might hire her back.”

“You better,” she said sternly. “She’s the best person out there. Your kids have been talking about her all day. They love her.”

“I know they do.” I sighed. “We’ll see what happens.”

“Well go,” she said. “I’ll watch them. You go meet with Emily. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that everything works out.”

“You’re meeting Emily?” Sarah said, suddenly appearing behind Mrs. Johnston.

“You are?” Tommy asked, bounding up beside his sister.

I sighed. “Yes,” I said. “But this doesn’t mean she’s coming back. Don’t get your hopes up until we know for sure.”

“She’s coming back!” Sarah squealed and ran into the kitchen. Tommy followed her with a huge grin on his face.

I shook my head and left, praying Emily wouldn’t be too hard to convince. I couldn’t bear the thought of disappointing my kids again.

CHAPTER EIGHT - EMILY

My palms were sweating when I walked into the diner. It was the only one in town, so I knew Sean would be waiting for me there. I glanced around the second I walked through the door, searching for his face. When I found him, he was sitting in the back corner with two coffee mugs on the table in front of him. I swallowed hard and wiped my hands on my jeans before I walked over to join him.

“Hi,” I said, sitting down.

He nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. I couldn’t quite read his face. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

“I got you some coffee,” he said, pushing the second mug toward me. “I wasn’t sure how you take it.”

My mind wandered at the possible innuendo of his last sentence and I had to catch myself from going down that rabbit hole.

“Black is perfect,” I said. “Thank you.”

He nodded again, and I took a small sip of the coffee.

My hands were still sweating, and I was worried they would slip off the mug so I quickly set it back down on the table.

We looked at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. It was uncomfortable, but part of me was just glad to be back in Sean’s presence again. His blue eyes were constantly pulling me in, making me lose my train of thought. I opened my mouth five times to speak, but no words ever came out.

“Listen,” Sean finally said after clearing his throat. “My kids are miserable without you and there are no other suitable candidates in town to look after them. I’m offering you your job back.”

I sat back and looked at him, bewilderment all over my face. Not only had he fired me rudely, he was trying to hire me back in the same tone. Who exactly did this guy think he was? My earlier sympathy for the events in his life, slowly faded to anger.

“Are you serious right now? That’s all you have to say?” I asked, somewhat surprised at myself for speaking so boldly. “You fire me without warning or explanation, and now you expect me to take the job back simply because you can’t find anyone else? I’m going to need a little more than that.”

“Like what?” he said, his tone clearly indicating he was not used to having someone stand up to him.

“How about a damn apology to start?” I demanded.

Sean sat back in his seat and studied me for a long moment before saying anything. Despite my best efforts, I still couldn’t get a read on him.

?

??Listen, I understand,” I said. “You’re under a lot of stress right now, but that does not give you the right to treat me like shit.”

He regarded me coolly for another moment before speaking. “So, if I say I’m sorry, you’ll come back?”