The shower revived her. As she brushed her hair, she reminded herself that she had a date, with someone who liked her and found her attractive, and who didn’t feel sorry for her.
So she spent a few extra minutes blow-drying her hair, brushing and curling it. Then she walked across the hall and sifted through her wardrobe, looking for exactly the right outfit. It had to be appealing and attractive, and had to show Clint that he hadn’t just broken her heart.
She found a soft sweater and skirt that looked good with tights. A pair of low boots and a drapey scarf finished her outfit.
She looked at herself critically in the mirror. Short where her sisters were tall, athletic where her sisters were slender, and dark where her sisters were light.
It shouldn’t matter, even after all these years, but somehow Clint’s kiss had resurrected all the old feelings she thought she had dealt with.
How was she supposed to face Clint now?
And what was she going to do about Trace? Even though Clint’s motives for kissing her were questionable, she couldn’t let go of the memory.
Too much to think about. She stepped across the hall and stopped. Silence greeted her.
“Grandma?” she called out.
But no pert voice replied. Nadine felt a flicker of fear as she hurried down the hallway. Had something happened to Grandma? Nadine hadn’t heard her come home last night.
“Grandma,” she called out again, and then her racing heart stilled when she saw the table set for breakfast and a note pinned to the apple on the plate.
“Had to leave early this morning. Hope things are okay with you.” Grandma had drawn a heart below that, and, in spite of her own confused emotions, Nadine had to smile.
She pulled the pin out of the apple and ate it while she got dressed. She ate the boiled egg Grandma had left for her and made herself a piece of toast. Then, when she couldn’t put it off any longer, she cleaned up, grabbed her knapsack, and left the apartment.
The closer she got to the office, the quicker her heart pounded against her ribs, the shallower her breaths came. She wanted to be angry, but it still hurt too much.
But just before she got to the alley to the employee parking lot, a silver SUV turned onto the street and drove away.
Clint.
Relief sluiced through her; thank goodness he would be gone.
She walked through the back door, and as she headed down the hallway, Julie met her.
“Oh. You’re here already,” she said, sounding puzzled.
“I’m not late.”
“You never are. It’s just I saw Clint go storming out a few moments ago, looking like thunder. I thought you might have said something or done something to tick him off.”
Quite the contrary, Nadine thought, taking a deep, calming breath.
“Haven’t had time to do that yet, and the paper isn’t out for a few more days.” And there wasn’t a Skyline article in sight.
“Okay. There’s a girl here named Allison. Says she’s here for her interview for the reporter position?”
Nadine stared at Julie a moment, comprehension fleeing as her brain scrabbled through her obligations. Then it all snapped back into focus.
“Right. I forgot about that.”
“Seriously? You’d been cribbing at Clint since he came that we need another reporter.”
Yet another reason for him to be annoyed with her. Shame slithered down her back as she thought of how she had reacted yesterday to his kiss. How she had responded.
What an idiot.
“Send her in,” Nadine said, moving to her desk and dropping into her chair.
A few moments later, a sweet young girl was sitting across from her, long blond hair slipping over her shoulder, eyes bright, holding a notebook and a pen. She looked adorable and she was blond. Clint would like her.
Nadine pushed the unkind thought aside.
“So, I understand you’re here for the job?” Nadine said, standing up to shake her hand.
“I am. I’m very excited to work for this paper.”
“You do realize it’s just a small-town paper,” Nadine reminded her.
“Of course. I came from Eastbar. I know the Sweet Creek Chronicle. It used to be kind of boring, but since Clint Fletcher took over, I think it’s gotten more focused.”
Nadine gave her a second look. “You’ve been doing your homework.”
“All part of being a reporter.”
“Good for you. Sit down and let’s get at it.”
It only took her ten minutes to know it wasn’t worth Nadine’s time to interview other applicants even though Allison was the first she had spoken with. She was smart, witty, and asked all the right questions. There had been six applicants for the job, and only two were interview material. Of the two, Allison had the more impressive credentials—three summers’ work for a weekly paper in southern Alberta, and two years at another. Nadine had also been impressed by Allison’s clips.
“You know, we could go on for another half an hour,” Nadine said with a smile, “but I’d like to offer you the job.”
Allison Edlinger leaned forward, her long blond hair slipping over her shoulder. “Seriously?”
“Very seriously.”
She grinned, clutching her notebook to her chest like the young thing she was. “This is great, just great. Thanks so much. When can I start?”
“Yesterday?” Nadine joked at Allison’s enthusiasm. “Actually, you can start as soon as possible. We’ve been just swamped.” Nadine indicated her desk, which was full again despite a few long evenings attempting to clear it. “If you want, I can show you around today. We’ve got deadline on Monday. Our paper comes out on Tuesday.”
“That’s a little unusual for a weekly,” Allison commented.
“Yes. Most come out on Monday, but Clint changed the date so we didn’t have to work Sunday to get the paper out. At least, not as much.”
Nadine rose and ushered Allison out of her office. They walked to the back of the building, where the two typesetters worked at their computers. She poked her head over Wally’s cubicle on the other side of the large, open room, but he was gone. “This is where you’ll be working,” Nadine said, pointing to the cubicle that abutted Wally’s.
Nadine introduced Allison to Avis Harper, whose office was across the hallway.
“Hey there,” Avis said, not looking up from her computer and merely granting them both a quick wave.
“Avis is our ad person. She usually words the ads, helps set them out,” Nadine said, getting the message that Avis wanted to be left alone. They walked past Nadine’s office, and Elaine’s across from hers was also empty. “Empty building today,” Nadine commented as they walked to the reception area. Nadine leaned on the counter. “And this is Julie, our receptionist, ad taker, and sometimes copy editor.”
“And answerer of phones and giver of messages.” Julie handed Nadine a piece of paper. “I’m guessing Trace called about your date tonight.”
“I’m guessing he would be. Let’s hope he shows up,” Nadine said.
“Why wouldn’t he?” Julie asked.
Nadine pushed away from the desk and walked over to Clint’s office, effectively cutting off conversation with Julie. She felt uncomfortable talking about Trace. She wasn’t sure what to do with him.
Nadine turned and gestured to the door that faced the open foyer. “And this, Allison, is our boss’s office. Thankfully he’s gone for the day, so I’ll just let you have a peek into the inner sanctum.”
Nadine opened the door.
“No, he’s not—” Julie interrupted, but she was too late.
Nadine almost jumped at the sight of Clint bent over his desk. He looked up and Nadine backed away. “Sorry. I was just showing our new reporter around. I thought you were gone.” She reached over to close the door, but Clint was getting up from his desk.
“Just needed my pen.”
“I d-didn’t want to interrupt you,” Nadine stammered, suddenly self-consci
ous of her skirt, her hair, her makeup. All dressed up for a date.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said, his eyes holding Nadine’s. “I wouldn’t mind meeting her.”
Of course he wanted to meet a new hire. How dumb of her. Nadine stepped back, taking a breath to compose herself.
Nadine made the introductions, and Clint reached out to shake Allison’s hand. Allison smiled up at him, her blue eyes shining with appreciation. It seemed to Nadine that the light from the front windows caught Allison’s blond hair, making it sparkle. Her dress emphasized her delicate shoulders and skimmed her narrow hips.
Ah, yeah. She was exactly his type.
“Allison is starting today,” Nadine announced, her voice sounding falsely bright. “She’s originally from Eastbar, moved to Vancouver, but has lived here for a couple of years already, and knows all about our little paper.”
She was talking too much.
“Nice to have you with us, Allison,” Clint said. “I hope you’ll be working with us for a while.”
Allison fairly simpered, and Nadine resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I hope so, too,” she said, a coy note in her voice.
“We should go back to my office,” Nadine said to Allison. “There are a few things I want to go over with you—camera allowance, travel, that kind of thing. And then Elaine will need you for the payroll forms.”
It seemed to Nadine that Allison had to tear her gaze away from Clint’s.
“Sure,” Allison said. “We can do that.” She hesitated a moment, then followed Nadine back down the hall. When she opened the door to her office, Nadine wasn’t surprised to see Clint still standing in the doorway of his office, watching them.
Always was partial to blondes. She closed the door behind Allison.
Nadine walked around her desk and slipped into her chair, pulled an empty pad toward her, and found a pen that still wrote. “First, I need to get your address and phone number.”
Allison said nothing and Nadine looked up.
“Earth to Allison.”
Allison jumped. “I am so sorry,” she said. “I have to confess that I’m still a little surprised.”
“At what?” As if she didn’t know, but politeness dictated to ask.
“At how handsome the boss is.” Allison shook her head as if she was still trying to absorb it. “He’s so good-looking, and what dreamy eyes.”
Nadine stopped, her pen poised over the pad of paper. “He is your boss, I’d like to remind you,” she said, her tone more sharp than intended.
Allison sighed, then smiled at Nadine. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like some drippy teenager, but I sure never imagined meeting someone like him in a town like this.”
“Well, these unfortunate incidents happen,” replied Nadine dryly. “Now, I’d like to get on with this.”
Someone rapped on her door and Julie stuck her head in. “Accident just came in on the scanner. Truck rolled over on the highway.”
“Where’s Wally?”
“Can’t raise him on his cell phone. I’m pretty sure he’s covering that event at the museum.”
Nadine jumped up and grabbed her camera bag, checking it for the necessary supplies. She glanced at Allison. “Are you ready for your first assignment?”
Allison looked surprised, then nodded. “Sure.”
“Great.” Nadine looked back up at Julie as she zipped up her bag. “Where are we headed?”
“Secondary highway, 498, toward Eastbar.”
“Leaving now. Any more info on who’s involved?” Nadine asked as Julie stepped quickly aside for her.
“The trucker...” Julie hesitated as Nadine headed out the doorway. Nadine stopped and glanced over her shoulder.
“What?”
Julie bit her lip. “He was driving for Skyline.”
Chapter 11
“I couldn’t believe how ticked that guy was when you took pictures,” Allison said to Nadine as they returned to the office. “I thought he was going to pull your camera out of your hand.”
“There’s more to that story,” Nadine said grimly. She was surprised herself at how quickly the administrative people from Skyline had come to the scene of the accident. Nadine snapped some pictures of the paramedics working on the injured truck driver before the workers from Skyline blocked her.
“I’ll have to wait and see what happens to him,” Nadine continued. “We have a standing rule not to print pictures of actual fatalities. If he doesn’t make it, we’ll make an editorial decision as to which pictures we’ll run.”
“He looked like he’d make it to me,” Allison said. “The truck looked in worse shape than he did.”
When Nadine had seen the crumpled semi lying in the ditch, she felt an initial reluctance to photograph the scene. Thankfully the paramedics were already there, and from what she could see, he wasn’t too badly injured.
“I’m fairly sure he will, but I still want to be certain.”
“I’d say run the ones of the Skyline people trying to block you taking the picture,” Allison said as they stopped at Nadine’s office.
“That won’t win me points with the boss.” She smiled up at Allison. “Do you have a place to stay for the night, or are you going back home?”
Allison shrugged. “I’m staying at a friend’s tonight. She promised she would help me find an apartment if I got the job.”
“Good, because it looks like you’ll be hunting for a place to live.” Nadine let her camera bag drop to the floor. “You’ll be covering a livestock show in Eastbar tomorrow afternoon. I suggest pants.”
Allison looked down at her dress. “We sure looked a pair, rushing out of your car, both of us dressed to the nines.” She glanced at Nadine’s legs. “I don’t know how you kept your pantyhose from running.”
“Just as well. I’m supposed to be going on a date tonight.”
“If you’ll excuse me, you don’t sound too enthusiastic,” Allison said.
“Probably not,” she admitted.
“Personally, I’d ditch him and make a play for the boss,” Allison said with a grin. “I haven’t been here long, but if a guy looked at me like he looked at you, I wouldn’t waste my time on someone I didn’t like.”
“Time out,” Nadine said firmly. “First of all, he’s your boss and mine; and secondly, Clint Fletcher looks at me like he’d like to fire me but doesn’t know how to.”
Even as she spoke, Allison’s words produced an unwelcome thump of her heart. In spite of his sympathy kiss, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking of him. And she didn’t like it.
“Sorry,” Allison said, suddenly contrite. “I didn’t realize you felt that way about him.”
“I don’t feel any ‘way.’ He is my employer, and that is the only relationship we have.” Don’t we sound prim.
“Again, I apologize. Not exactly a good footing to start out on, is it?”
“No, I’m sorry,” Nadine reassured her, frustrated with her lapse. “I always get uptight after covering an accident.” Nadine glanced at her watch. “Well, I have to do some work yet, and you should head out to your friend’s place.” She looked back at Allison and held out her hand. “Thanks again. I think it will be a good article.”
Allison smiled in relief and shook Nadine’s hand. “I hope so. And thanks again for the job.” She tucked her notebook in her purse and walked down the hall, her blond hair swinging with each step.
Nadine watched her go. Allison thought Clint looked at her a special way. Did he really?
Nadine shook off the thought and went into her office. Pulling her chair up to her desk, she flipped through a pile of message slips and began returning the calls.
By the time she was done, the office was empty. She had told Trace to pick her up from the office, as Nadine didn’t feel like dealing with Grandma’s blatant disapproval of Trace. So, she opened another window on her computer, ostensibly to work on a story, but instead, she ended up playing a computer game.
Entirely appropriate. Onc
e again, it’s just my computer and me.
With a sigh, she closed the game and put her computer to sleep.
She glanced at the clock: Six-thirty. Trace was late again. She called his cell, but was sent to voicemail. There was no way she was leaving a message.
She lifted her bag onto the desk, shoved some papers into it, which she would look over at home, and zipped the bag shut, all while gritting her teeth as she felt the unwelcome and all-too-familiar prickling in her eyes. She had never been the weepy type, but since her mother died, her emotions stayed close to the surface.
Trace ditching you is nothing to cry over, she castigated herself. He’s not that important.
But it seemed that she was crying more and more, and she disliked it intensely each time it happened.
Except once, she thought. When Clint had dried her tears.
Nadine’s stomach clenched at the reminiscence of Clint’s hands on her face, his gentle comfort. For a brief moment, she allowed herself the luxury of remembering his touch, the scent of his aftershave, and his hovering nearness.
Then, with an angry shake of her head, she dismissed the memories. It was only pity that made him do what he did.
Sure didn’t feel like pity.
Nadine hefted her bag onto her shoulder and got ready to leave, yet hesitated as she turned the doorknob.
Going home meant Grandma and her unsubtle “I told you so” looks. It would be too humiliating to have Grandma see her come home after another canceled date.
Then what? Another solitary movie in Eastbar had no appeal, and eating alone had even less.
Nadine dropped her bag in frustration. She wouldn’t go out by herself, yet she wanted her grandma out of her house. She wanted to be alone, and when she had the chance, she felt lonely.
Wishy-washy. That was what she was. Easily pushed around, and easily taken in. Trace was a case in point. How many dates had he kept as opposed to the ones he had broken?
Not that it mattered that much, Nadine thought as she dropped into her chair. She had felt uncomfortable with Trace from the start. The whole relationship was contrived and fake.
Her Heart's Promise Page 12
