“Yeah. After all the shit went down with Bradley. Honestly, we were both surprised when you didn’t jump ship back then.”
“I didn’t want to leave Dad on his own,” I say, realizing how sad that sounds.
“But he’s an adult, he can take care of himself, and you can afford to take some time and figure yourself out.”
“I’ll need to see if anyone in town is hiring.” I start biting the skin around my nails, then realize what I’m doing and grab another snap pea instead.
“The garage is rent-free, and I’m guessing you must have some savings, so there really isn’t a rush. And you could always ask Dad if you could take a few months off if you don’t want to quit right away,” Van suggests.
“I don’t know if that’s the best plan, the taking time off, I mean. It’s probably the smarter move, but then I might be leading Dad to believe that I’m coming back, so he’d hire a temp instead of finding someone permanent to fill my position. Regardless, I don’t want to go back to the job. If I ask for a few months off, it’s like I’m giving myself an out if this doesn’t work the way I want it to. If I have a fallback plan, I’m not as likely to stick to my guns.”
“Okay. So you quit.”
“I quit.” Being the secretary to the CFO, while financially stable, is not the most exciting position. “I’d like to have a job lined up before I do that, though.”
“It’s the busy season, so there’s a good chance you’ll find something fast. The Stitches could probably use some help.”
“I appreciate that, but I’d like to at least try to get a job on my own that isn’t connected to your fiancée’s family.”
“I get it, Teag. Just know in this case you have a potential backup option if you need one.”
I hug his arm. “Thanks, Donny. You’re the best brother a girl could ask for.”
CHAPTER 3
EMPLOYABLE
Teagan
It’s late by the time I head out to the garage. I have to use the flashlight on my phone to make my way up the stairs. I’m a little intoxicated thanks to the martinis I consumed over the course of the evening, but it’s nothing a tall glass of water and a painkiller won’t cure.
Van walks me out, partly because I’m mildly afraid of the possibility that I’ll get eaten by a bear, and partly because I need help carrying the bedsheets and the floor fan up to the loft. It’s only spring, but I need the ambient noise to be able to sleep, especially since the birds start chirping around here before the sun has even peeked over the horizon.
I’m surprised when we enter the apartment and find that not only has the floor been finished, but an old bed frame has been assembled and tucked into one corner of the room. There’s also a mattress leaned up against the wall.
“Did you do this?” I ask Van.
“Aaron must have done it before he left.”
I guess I can see why he wasn’t all that excited about answering all my questions when he was trying to get this done. “The floors look good.”
They’re warm, whitewashed wide planks. The dark wood bed frame contrasts perfectly. I’m already planning the palette in my head. Maybe tomorrow I can hit up the local hardware store and pick up paint and wallpaper swatches so I can make this place feel like mine.
“They do. Aaron does nice work. Are you good with the bed where it is, or do you want it on another wall?” Van nods to the empty frame.
“It’s good where it is for now. I can move it later if I need to.”
Van helps me lay the mattress on the frame, and then I give him a hug and send him on his way. I lock the door behind him and get to work making the bed.
Once that’s done, I head to the bathroom and finish unpacking my toiletries. My prescriptions go in the medicine cabinet, and I grab a bottle of water from the fridge, making a mental note to replace it because I have a feeling it might belong to Aaron.
I wash down a painkiller along with my sleep medication to offset the potential for a martini hangover. It takes a good half hour to forty-five minutes for the medication to kick in, so I fire up my laptop and browse the Pearl Lake community website. It’s pretty lackluster and not all that easy to navigate. The job board only has two advertisements, both for road construction positions.
There’s a note at the bottom citing the community center as the best resource for job postings and that all applicants should apply in person. I guess I’ll be making a trip into town first thing in the morning.
I pull up my Pinterest account and key open concept apartments into the search bar. I spend the next half hour pinning fun ideas on how to make the most of a small space, jotting down color and layout ideas. After a while I start to yawn, so I shut my laptop, set it on the nightstand, and snuggle under the sheets.
Tomorrow is the beginning of my new life, and I can’t wait to start it.
I wake up bright and early and determine that the first thing I need to buy is a coffee maker. There’s a container of instant coffee on the counter and an ancient kettle that’s covered in dust and grime. I’ve already consumed one of Aaron’s waters; I’m not sure I should start drinking his coffee too.
I pull my portable steamer out of my suitcase, wishing I’d unpacked last night so all my clothes wouldn’t be quite so wrinkled. I choose an interview-slash-job-application-appropriate outfit—add hangers to the list of items I need—and steam out all the wrinkles. Once I’m dressed and ready for the morning, I pop into Van’s cottage.
It’s already empty. Dillion and Van must have left for work more than an hour ago, and there’s a note on the kitchen counter from my brother.
Teag,
You know where the coffee is so make yourself at home. Dillion and I should be back from work around five. If you have the burning desire to make more of those muffins feel free since Dillion and I polished off the rest of them this morning （she ate six and will lie later and tell you it was me）。 I took a package of bacon out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw, just in case.
Have a great day.
——Van
I make myself a carafe of coffee, pour it into a travel mug, and sit outside on the front porch for a few minutes, appreciating the serenity. Birds chirp and squirrels bounce from tree to tree. Hummingbirds flutter nervously, stopping at the feeder for a few seconds before they’re off again. Finches fight over the bird feeder hanging from a tree to my left, and one pesky squirrel keeps trying to climb down the metal cone. I have to assume it’s been greased with WD-40, because it scrambles madly to keep from falling as it slides down.
I bark out a laugh when the squirrel lands on the ground and two blue jays swoop down and flap around it agitatedly before flying away. The squirrel chatters angrily and bounces off.
I get why Van loves it here so much.
When I’m halfway through my coffee, I top it up and make use of my brother’s printer so I have hard copies of my résumé. I don’t have my fun résumé paper, but the plain white stuff works in a pinch. I head back up to the apartment to put on makeup.
I’m going for subdued today, because this isn’t the city and I don’t want to come across as too flashy. I’m wearing a pair of white capris, a pale-pink blouse, and wedge sandals in taupe. I check my reflection, give myself the thumbs-up, grab my purse and keys, and set out on my first ever adventure in Pearl Lake.