On the Shore (Cottonwood Cove, #3)(2)
Originally, when I’d been hired by Athlete Central right out of college, I’d been thrilled. But working for a complete asshole had been uninspiring.
And being fired by him had been humiliating.
“Yep. They aren’t magic boards; they are vision boards. They hold all my dreams,” I said with a chuckle.
“I love my dreams. You knows what my teacher says? Mrs. Appleton’s a real smart lady.” She smacked her lips together after she took a big sip of lemonade and smiled at me. “This is so yummy.”
“It is good, isn’t it? Soon, we’ll be making it with our own lemons from the garden.” I had no idea how long that would take. Hell, I’d never planted anything in my life. But right now, I was going to enjoy this time away from the long hours and do things I’d never had time to do. I was channeling my inner Martha Stewart. Tapping into a new side of myself. “Tell me what your really smart teacher says.”
She pushed back in her chair and moved to her feet before holding her arms up for me to lift her onto my lap. Gracie lived with my brother, who was a self-admitted grump, yet he’d managed to raise the absolute sweetest kid on the planet. Her hands found each side of my face as she settled on my thighs.
“Nobody’s perfects. If they say sorry, just give them a hug.”
Riveting advice, Mrs. Appleton. Perhaps you’ve never been publicly humiliated.
“Hmmm… that’s great. But what if the person did something really mean to you?” I asked, looking down at her giant chocolate-brown eyes that studied me like this was the most serious conversation she’d ever had.
“She said you give hugs, Auntie. Nobody’s perfects. All the peoples makes mistakes.”
Was her teacher seriously quoting a Hannah Montana song? I swear I’d heard lyrics that said something very similar to this before. I called bullshit on Mrs. Appleton, but I wouldn’t burst Gracie’s bubble.
“Well, I’ll think about it. But in the meantime, we’ll keep planting and hanging out, and next week, I’ll help you make your own vision board, okay?”
“Yay. My own dreams board.”
“Yes. Never stop dreaming, baby girl.”
“I loves the dreams,” she sang out.
I laughed and kissed the top of her head just as the knock on the door had us both pushing to our feet.
“Daddy’s here!” she shouted and ran to the door.
Cage walked in and scooped her up, glancing around the house with wide eyes.
“Wow. I thought you were going to take a break. You’ve already submitted one article and planted multiple boxes full of fruits and vegetables, and do I even want to know what those boards are for?” He pointed at my craft area a few feet away.
“Don’t you worry about it. I’m a woman of many talents.” I shrugged.
He kissed Gracie’s cheek and told her to go wash her hands and grab her book bag while I moved to the kitchen and poured him a glass of lemonade.
“What’s going on?” he asked, watching me with concern.
“Nothing. I’m doing all the things I never had time to do before because I was working too much.”
“I see.” He nodded. “The matching outfits are pretty cute. But if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll be forced to kill you. Can’t have the family thinking I’m going soft.”
“Your secret’s safe with me. Not sure if you noticed, but I’ve got overalls in every color now. This is what I’m wearing until I get a new job. I’m an organic-farming, relaxed woman now. I write a few hours a day, and I’ll just enjoy this time until I find something. But it’s probably going to take some time, so you better get used to the new me.”
His eyes widened. “All right. Got it. If you want to come help out at the office, I can always use a hand.”
Cage was a veterinarian, and he had his own practice in town. “As tempting as that sounds, I need to find a story and dazzle someone enough to offer me a permanent position.”
“Well, if you have time to write in between all your new hobbies, I think you’ll land on your feet quickly.” He smirked. “How are you doing on money? Do you need a little bit to help carry you over during this time?”
Always the practical one.
“I’m fine. I’m paying one dollar a month in rent because I insisted on renting this place above board, and Maddox and Georgie wrote up a formal lease with the ridiculous rent.” I chuckled. “And I had a pretty good savings going because I was hoping to buy a condo in the city in the next year or so, but that won’t be happening anytime soon now.”
“You’ll get in with a much better organization. I think this was actually a blessing because you’re not a quitter, so you wouldn’t have bailed. But your hand was forced, and you’ve got experience on your résumé this time. You’ll sign with someone soon. Just keep writing.”
“Did you just call what happened a blessing? Oh my gosh.” I flailed my hands in his face. “Are you still trying to get me to tell you it’s okay to fangirl over the man who ruined my life? Do not try to glaze over what he did by calling it a blessing. It’s offensive. Ugh, you are all the same.” My brothers and Maddox had all found roundabout ways of seeing if I still hated the man because, of course, he happened to be everyone’s favorite quarterback in this part of the country.