“Okay. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Maria turned away and began combining ingredients into a tall glass.
Joel looked at Kat. “Take it slow, please. You’re a small person.”
Maria handed the drink to Kat. “Here’s looking at ya.”
Kat took a sip and made a face. “Whoa. Ahem. So, I had an idea on your employment situation.”
Maria leaned her elbows on the bar. “I’m all ears. In eight days my rent is due. But who’s counting?”
“Remember the guy who owns the ad agency? Michael?”
“You mean the Marlboro man? The totally hot guy?” Maria fanned her face with her hands. “Oh yeah. He was so very nice to look at.”
Kat glanced at Joel, who raised an eyebrow slightly in response. She took a sip of her drink. “Yes, Michael. He has a secretarial problem.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“He can’t find anyone to answer his phone and keep his advertising agency office organized. Or I guess he found a couple of people, but they quit. I went to the library the other day and Jan was complaining about it. She’s his girlfriend, remember? She hates doing that kind of work, and refuses to have anything to do with it. And she has her job at the library anyway, which she loves. So now Michael is begging Tracy to just come in and answer the phone sometimes when she’s not working at the vet clinic. But she doesn’t have much time, because she’s also got that computer job with Rob.”
Maria gestured toward the doorway. “Wow, it’s sure a complex little world up there in Alpine Grove, isn’t it?”
“Why don’t you apply?” Kat handed Maria a piece of paper. “This is the number at the agency. You’d be good at it. I mean, if you were able to keep a nut job like Mark under control, this would just be child’s play for you. Give Michael a call. You’ve already met him at our house, so you might have an in with him.”
Maria looked down at the paper. “While it is definitely true that I did excel in working for a man who was certifiably insane, and I could certainly do this job, there’s a major issue here. I don’t want to move out there to the middle of nowhere. That might work for you and Mr. Rustic Engineer here. But I am more of an urban-type dweller. My social life would take a serious nose-dive if I were to relocate there.”
Kat sipped her drink. “You liked visiting. And the cost of living is a lot lower. You could rent a place for a quarter of what you’re paying here. Maybe less. And Michael is even talking about profit-sharing. He’s desperate for someone good. And I know you are great at planning and keeping an office running. I saw you do it.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence, girlfriend, particularly given my current career trajectory.” Maria rested her chin on her palm. “But I can’t even get up there. From what you said, it’s an ice-skating rink. It is definitely not the right environment for Greta. She is a sensitive automobile. Miatas are like that, you know.”
“You can buy my car. Or borrow it for the winter. I’ve been driving Joel’s truck anyway. That old thing and I have come to an agreement. Or more like a detente. I cuss at it a lot and then it moves.”
Joel poked Kat in the ribs. “Be nice. That thing is what’s getting you back home.”
Kat grabbed his hand and pushed it away from her. “My Toyota is kind of stuck in the driveway right now, but we could pull it out. And even though it’s not great for my place, my car would be fine if you live in town, since it has front-wheel drive.”
Maria twirled a tiny paper umbrella in her fingertips. “Nothing personal, but your car does not work with the image I’m trying to convey to the world. More specifically, the fifty-percent of the world who are male and might think I’m fine. I cannot look fine in a beat-up Toyota.”
“You could still drive the Miata in the summer. Anyway, just think about it.” Kat sucked on the straw to slurp up the last of her drink. “That was good. Can I have another one?”
“No!” Joel said, putting his arm around Kat’s shoulders. “We should probably get going.”
Kat got up and sashayed around her barstool. “I feel gooood. So good, so good.”
Maria grinned. “You knew that you would, now. Have fun at the party, girlfriend. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Kat took Joel’s hand, did a pirouette underneath his arm, and waved back at Maria. “Enjoy those Twinkies!”
Chapter 14
Changes
After the big Christmas party in LA, Jack went back to Alpine Grove and Becca returned to her life. She had lots of fun celebrating Christmas with her family and even better, Mr. Rap Dude must have gone away somewhere for the holidays. Her apartment was much quieter, although the firemen were still vigilantly protecting the city. The lack of loud music was definitely an improvement though.
Mona was sleeping on the floor and Becca was sort of watching TV, but mostly remembering her vacation in Alpine Grove, when the phone rang. Jumping to answer it, a little thrill went through her at the sound of Jack’s voice. She said, “I was just thinking about you.”
“You’re just dreaming about having some of my incredible Pinus contorta fries, aren’t you?”
Becca laughed. “Well, maybe that too. Some parts are edible, you know. How are you?”
“Wondering when you’re coming back to visit. It was fun meeting your family at the party, but I was thinking it would be nice to spend New Year’s together here.”
“Yeah, my mom thinks you walk on water. Even Uncle Pat has forgiven you for being such a pest.”
“He spent a lot of time talking to me about some football game. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I hadn’t watched it.”
Becca giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“So what about New Year’s?”
“I have a lot of stuff I should do here. I’m hoping I can find a place to live, so I can give notice before the first. A lot of people are on vacation though.”
Jack sighed. “Did you go to the doctor yet?”
“Not yet. Everything has been closed for Christmas, but I have an appointment tomorrow.”
“Okay. Let me know how it goes.”
They chatted for a while longer about the party and a few Alpine Grove happenings, and then said good night. Afterward Becca lay in bed staring at the ceiling. A siren wailed in the distance and Mona scuttled under the bed. What was she doing here? Now that she had her license, she could be an appraiser anywhere she had experience. Jack had suggested that idea and she’d rejected it. But maybe it would work. What if she worked from The Shack? But that was completely impractical. It was miles out of town and there was no place for any of her furniture, much less her work stuff. But as she had predicted, the long-distance thing wasn’t working. Phone calls weren’t enough. She missed Jack.
She rolled over in bed and dialed the number to The Shack. After several rings, Jack answered in a sleepy voice. Becca said, “It’s me again. I’m sorry to wake you up.”
“No problem. I can just close my eyes and pretend you’re lying here next to me.”
“I changed my mind. After my doctor’s appointment, I’d like to drive up and see you. Nothing’s happening at work this week anyway, and I’d like to greet 1996 with you. Would it be okay if Mona and I stayed there?”
“Of course. Always. Like I said, my loft is available to you any time.”
The next morning, Becca talked to her uncle Pat about taking more time off and went to the doctor. Although she liked her doctor, the woman was annoyingly stern about health topics. At the appointment, she’d had no sense of humor at all, and what she said was more than a little disturbing. But what was Becca supposed to do? She had to earn a living somehow. Was she supposed take a vow of poverty and live in a convent or something? That wasn’t going to happen. Apart from it not working as a career choice, becoming a nun had other serious downsides as well.
After being lectured by the doctor, Becca loaded up Mona and drove to Alpine Grove. It was a good thing it was such a long drive. She had a lot to think about.
>
As Becca drove through downtown Alpine Grove, she noticed a For Lease sign in the window at the ad agency. Didn’t Rob say that they had office space available? The beginnings of a plan started to form in her mind. She turned down a side street and parked the car. “Be good, Mona. I’ll be right back.”
Becca walked into the ad agency and a seriously gorgeous man looked up from the desk. She tried not to stare, but wow. The guy looked like he should be on magazine covers. “Um…hi.” An extremely furry white dog leaped out from somewhere in the back and ran up to her, skidding to a stop. The dog sat proudly looking up at her and smiling. The creature looked like a roly-poly stuffed animal. Becca bent to pet the soft white fur. “Oh, you are the cutest, most fluffy thing I’ve ever seen!”
The man pointed at the dog. “That’s Swoosie and I’m Michael Lawson. Can I help you?”
Becca straightened. “Maybe. I saw the For Lease sign in the window. I’m, well, maybe looking for office space. Just a small office really. All I need is enough space to hold a couple of file cabinets and a desk. Oh, and it looks like you allow dogs. That would be perfect for me.”
“Do you want to take a look? We finally got the heat fixed, so it’s not a sauna anymore. It’s nice not feeling like I’m part of the cast of Lawrence of Arabia.” He sighed. “But that was a whole lot of money I wasn’t expecting to spend. Restoring an old building sounds a lot more romantic than it really is.”
Michael led her up the stairs to the offices. She peeked into Rob’s office and waved at him when he looked up from his computer monitor. “I see Rob is still here.”
“Yeah, he’s got a deadline. Poor guy is a little stressed, I think.”
Becca nodded. “Been there.”
Michael fixed his gaze on her. “So what do you do?”
“I just got my residential property appraiser’s license. I work for my uncle in the city.”
He unlocked a door and turned on the light. “This one might work. Why do you need an office here? Are you going to open your own appraisal business?”
“No. I thought about that, but I’m going to keep working for my uncle. I’ve had quite a few assignments up here and it seems like he’s getting more Alpine Grove clients. I could work on those projects. But I need to cut back on work. I know that if I started my own business, it would be a lot of effort to get it up and running and then marketing to find clients. Knowing me, I’d become obsessed with it. I need to slow down and spend some time focusing on my health for a while.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Having just gone through the process, I can tell you that starting your own business is a pretty major undertaking. If I didn’t go running with Swoosie, I’d probably be a basket case again. The business and restoration stuff is starting to level out, although if I don’t find some decent administrative help soon, I think my girlfriend is going to kill me. But it’s a lot better than what I was doing before because I can set my own hours.” He smirked. “Not to mention that I can fire clients who make me miserable.”
Becca glanced out the window. “It sounds like you’ve got it figured out. I did some work from home—well, not my home—but a place north of town. The problem is that it’s not very large. Papers were everywhere. As I do more appraisals, the paper problem is only going to get worse. And if I have an office, I can just close the door and forget about the mess. I need to do a better job of leaving work at work.”
“I do like that about this building.” He gestured toward the brick walls. “At the end of the day, I lock it up and leave.”
They went back downstairs and Michael handed her information about the rent and a rental agreement. “Let me know what you decide.”
“I will. I need to talk to someone first.”
Becca got into the car and drove north out of Alpine Grove. Fortunately, last week’s snow had been plowed away and the roads out to The Shack were clear. She slid her way down the driveway and the car glided to a stop next to Jack’s truck. It might be time to get those snow tires. She let out Mona, who sniffed at the huge new plow blade attached to the front of Jack’s brown pickup.
The door opened and Frank bounded out of the cabin. Mona play-bowed and barked, running around the truck and encouraging the big dog to chase her.
Jack came out wearing his Eskimo coat. Becca ran toward him and launched into his arms. “I missed you!”
He kissed her and said, “I was ready for you this time. I missed you too. It’s so good to see you.”
“I’m glad to hear that because I need to talk to you.”
Jack collected her luggage, called the dogs, and they all went inside. Becca sat down on the sofa and took Jack’s hands, pulling him down so he was sitting next to her. “I was thinking about Thoreau and I wanted to ask you something.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Is this a trick question or a test? It’s not like I memorized the book, you know.”
“No. You said you stopped dreaming for a while.”
He nodded. “Yes. But things are better now. I told you that.”
“I know. But I think I did the same thing. I thought about what you said. I haven’t ever stopped to consider what I really want. With my life, I mean. What my dreams are. I just kept working because I was good at it and that’s what I always have done.”
“I noticed.”
“After I went to the doctor, I thought about what happened when I had my panic attacks. When I felt like I was going to die, the thing I regretted most was that I’d never been in love, that no one would ever love me, and I’d never have children. I was so upset because there were all these experiences I hadn’t had in my life yet.”
“Well, someone loves you now.” Jack squeezed her hand and looked into her eyes. “Wait. Did the doctor say something? Are you okay?”
“Yes. She gave me a prescription for some antacids, which might help. We’ll see. Mostly I got a big lecture about how I needed to slow down and make some serious life changes.”
“More yoga?”
“That might help, but it’s more than that. The bottom line was that stress kills. She said what I’ve been doing isn’t enough and she doesn’t want me to end up as some premature death statistic. So she wants me to drastically cut back on work and focus on dealing with my health and anxiety issues.”
His hand tightened on hers. “You’re going to be okay, right?”
She nodded. “Then I remembered that passage you read from Thoreau. The going confidently in the direction of your dreams one. On the drive here, I thought about it. In the life I imagine, I’m not anxious and you’re there. That’s what I want. It’s like I feel right now, sitting here with you. When we were trapped here, yes, I was definitely hungry, but mostly when I’m here with you, I’m not bored or wanting to go out somewhere or buy something. I’m just content. Happy.”
Jack tilted his head. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“At the risk of inviting myself, would it be okay if I stay with you here?” Becca smiled at his puzzled expression. “Not just on vacation, but for good?”
“What about your apartment and all your stuff?”
“During my de-cluttering program, I set aside some personal things that I don’t want to give up. But I also talked to my mom about doing a major yard sale next month. Except family gets first dibs on everything. She was excited about that concept and I think the idea will spread through my family tree like wildfire. None of that matters, anyway. Some things are more important than things. My health, for one, and being with you, for another.”
Jack grinned. “So you’re saying you want to shack up with a boring forester in The Shack?
“Yes, I am. As long as the boring forester is you.”
He gathered her in his arms and kissed her. “Yup. Same ole me.”
The End
You’ve reached the end of this book,
but not the end of the series.
For more Alpine Grove adventures,
check out Book 5: Bark to the Fu
ture
Thanks for Reading
Thank you for dedicating some of your reading time to Snow Furries. I hope you enjoyed the fourth novel of the Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy series.
If you would like to be notified by email when I release a new book, you can sign up for my New Releases email list at SusanDaffron.com.
I know that not everyone likes to write book reviews, but if you are willing write a sentence or two about what you thought of Snow Furries, I encourage you to post a review at your favorite book vendor site or share a message with your social networking friends.
If you would like to share your thoughts about the book with me privately, you can reach me through the contact page on the SusanDaffron.com web site.
I look forward to hearing from you!
~ Susan C. Daffron
Dedication
Like all of my books, Snow Furries is dedicated to
my husband James Byrd,
my best friend and biggest supporter.
Thanks for everything!
Acknowledgments
Writing a novel is never easy and I’d like to thank my husband James Byrd for his support and encouragement throughout the writing and publishing process.
I’d also like to thank my alpha and beta readers for their eagle-eyed reading and great feedback:
James Byrd
Cynthia Daffron
Dian Chapman
Kathy Goughenour
Kate Turner
About the Author
Susan Daffron is the author of the Alpine Grove Romantic Comedies, a series of novels that feature residents of the small town of Alpine Grove and their various quirky dogs and cats. She is also an award-winning author of many nonfiction books, including several about pets and animal rescue. She lives in a small town in northern Idaho and shares her life with her husband, two dogs and a cat—the last three, all “rescues.”
Snow Furries (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 4) Page 23
