Maggie felt her face go red.“It doesn’t have to be a best seller.I would settle for rent and groceries.”
Julia glanced in the direction of the mountains.“I’ve decided I’m going to leave your father.I talked to an attorney last night and I’ve made an appointment to see him tomorrow.I think it’s time for me to start living my dreams too.I’ll find something affordable, a small apartment and get a job.Who knows?Maybe my dream of having my own boutique might happen down the road.”
Maggie smiled at her mom.“I think you’re right.I think you will achieve your dreams.”
They enjoyed their breakfast together around the campfire before Julia left to head home.
After taking Walker for a long walk, Maggie headed to the office to see if she could stay another week.
“Good morning.”Maggie greeted the campground host who was busy putting waters in the cooler.
The woman smiled.“Good morning.What can I do for you?”
Maggie winced.“I know it’s short notice but I was wondering if I could extend my stay here at the campground.”
The woman walked over to the computer and tapped on the keyboard.“Let’s have a look.What’s your name?”
Maggie stepped up to the counter with Walker.“Maggie Sullivan.”
The woman grinned.“Ah, yes.It’s already been taken care of.You have the campsite spot for the next eight weeks.”
Maggie shook her head.“I don’t understand.”
The woman chuckled.“Your mother came in this morning and paid for the next eight weeks to secure your campsite.Looks like you are here for the summer.”
Maggie stood there, stunned.Her mother did this for her?
She finally snapped out of it and cleared her throat.“I had no idea.”
The woman smiled.“She said it was a surprise.”
Maggie didn’t know what to say.She swallowed back the emotion at her mom’s sweet gesture.“I don’t know what to say.”
The woman nodded.“Be sure to call your mom and thank her.”
Maggie nodded.“I will.”
As she walked back to her campsite, she dug her phone out of her pocket.She tried calling her mom’s number, but it went to voice mail.She was in the air and had probably turned her cell phone off.
Maggie typed in a quick text.Once her mom landed, and turned her phone back on, the message would be waiting for her.
It simply said,Thank you so much for believing in me.I couldn’t wish for a better mom.
Chapter46
Maggie walked back from the campsite showers, admiring the quiet and beauty of the morning.It had been four weeks since she arrived in Estes Park, and a lot had happened.
Her mom had filed for divorce as soon as she got back to Mississippi.Julia had secured a great attorney who was fighting for a good divorce settlement.It had turned out that her father had attempted to hide numerous assets from her mom, but they were quickly discovered.Her father had moved out of the house and into a studio apartment with a twenty-something-year-old.While her mom had been heartbroken by how fast her father had moved on, Julia was ready to get on with her life.She was looking for employment and had some leads lined up.
As far as her father was concerned, he’d been livid when Maggie told him she wasn’t going back to school.He told her to think about what people would say if she threw this opportunity away.She ended up telling him that he was more concerned with his image than the happiness of his daughter.After he tried to assassinate her mother’s character, she told him she wanted no contact until he got his act together.
Maggie had some good news in her own journey.The charity event at the gallery had been a hit.Her write-up on the gallery’s website had drawn in so many people there was a waiting line outside.They raised over thirty-five thousand dollars in one night.Ashley had even connected her with three more businesses in Estes Park, a bakery, a doggie daycare, and an ice cream shop that needed someone to write and keep up with their websites.It was a great way to make some decent income while working on her novel.She soon found a working routine that she enjoyed.
When it came to Mason, she had sent him a text telling him she knew what he had done with Lauren, and they were over.He blew up her phone with hundreds of texts trying to gaslight her and, when she wouldn’t respond, he became agitated.She blocked him.
She smiled to herself at how far she had come in only a few weeks.
Maggie shook her wet hair and draped her damp towel over her arm.Her fingers brushed against the doggie treats in her pocket she’d picked up in the office.
