Katie shook her head. “I only wish. That’s why I started doing the summer camps, remember? It was the only thing I could do to earn money, even before Don left. Taking care of kids is all I’ve ever done.”
Ridley looked thoughtful. Then her eyes swung over to Katie. Uh oh. Whenever her friend had that look in her eye, it usually resulted in some sort of crazy plan. For such a sweetheart, Ridley could be a bit of a troublemaker.
“What? Why are you giving me that look?”
“Nothing. I mean, I just had an idea.” At Katie’s nod, she continued, “Kaylee used to be an administrative assistant and the way she described it sounded like taking care of men who are nothing more than overgrown babies. I bet you’d be great at that!”
Katie thought about it. “I don’t think it’s that simple. You have to know how to do office stuff. I can type but not as fast as I used to back in school.”
“Well, you can brush up on that. I bet we can download one of those typing programs and you’ll be up to speed in no time. And I know that you make great coffee and have no problem keeping a million details straight. You remember all the kids’ allergies, likes, dislikes and favorites like it’s nothing. I bet you’d be the best assistant ever!”
Ridley grinned, looking quite pleased with herself. Katie smiled. Her friend was one of the most optimistic people she’d ever met. The sky could literally be falling and Ridley would just assume it was leaning down to kiss you hello. Even though she didn’t share her friend’s benign view of the world, it made her feel better to know that someone else could see the positive.
“I’m not sure about being the best assistant ever but I’ll settle for someone just giving me a chance.”
“Oh don’t you worry about that. We’ll get someone to give you a chance.” After a little groan, Ri pushed up from the table. She waddled over to the front door. “As a matter of fact, I know exactly how to get the ball rolling. Come with us to dinner at the Alexanders’ tonight.”
Suddenly Katie understood exactly what Ri had in mind. Jackson’s parents, Julia and Mark Alexander, were pillars of the community and knew pretty much everyone in town.
Including all of the business owners.
Her heart soared at the possibility of finding a way out of this mess. For the past year, she’d struggled to do it all on her own, raising her children, working, keeping the house up and trying to hold together the pieces of her shattered heart. It had been important for her to do things on her own, if for no other reason than to prove that she could.
Never again would she be that naive, impressionable girl who believed that love was all she needed. She would stand on her own two feet. But pride wasn’t going to keep food on the table and she’d been raised to believe in the power of family. Community.
Pride be damned. It was time to accept a little help from her friends.
?
A few hours later, Bennett lifted his head and blinked a few times. Damn it, he’d been about to go up to the main house for dinner and he’d gotten distracted. Again. He stood abruptly, his knee colliding with the edge of the worktable. It took a moment for him to catch his breath after the pain subsided and that was when he heard the noise that had broken his concentration in the first place.
His phone was ringing.
Not many people had his number to begin with so it probably meant he’d forgotten something important. Again. He gripped the back of his neck in frustration. It was one thing to make a decision to change but actually doing it was an entirely different matter. The ringing stopped only to start again a minute later, the annoying noise only pushing his frustration even higher.
After he finally located his cell phone in the front pocket of the coat he’d been wearing that morning, he answered with a terse, “Hello.”
“Finally! I’ve been calling and calling. I was about to send out a search party.”
His friend Olivia’s voice brought a smile to his face. She was one of the few people that could have that effect on him. He supposed it made sense because she’d been his first friend back in kindergarten (before alienating all the other children by refuting the widely held belief that babies came from kissing), his first kiss (the summer after sixth grade), and his first date (the prom). She’d been his first in a lot of ways, although not in the way people usually assumed. The thought brought an unexpected blush, making his cheeks uncomfortably hot.
“Oh, hey Boo." He could almost hear her annoyance at the nickname even over the phone.
“How many years have to pass before you stop calling me that?”
He chuckled. “It’s instinct now. I will forever associate peek-a-boo with my Olivia.”
“Whatever. I’ve been trying to reach you. What’s up with you ignoring my texts?”
“Sorry. I really meant to call you last night but I'm in the middle of testing the newest iteration of my soil. I started reading my notes from the last phase of testing.”
“Of course. The last time we spoke you’d decided to alter the nitrogen levels again, right?”
Bennett relaxed as the conversation turned to his newest formula. He could talk about his research for hours and never get bored. Especially when he was on the cusp of a breakthrough.
“You sound really excited, Ben. I hope this new batch is the one.”
Bennett was momentarily paralyzed by a wave of insecurity. There was so much riding on this research. He didn't want to think of what would happen if his newest theory didn't pan out.