“Do you hate me?” Cassie squeaks, rounding the counter as she grabs the air fryer out from the pantry. “I’m so sorry, Finn. I know this is short notice, and I feel so crappy about that, but?—”
Holding up a hand, I cut her off. “I don’t hate you, Cassie.”
“Are you sure? I would probably hate me.”
“I’m sure,” I mutter, drying my hands off after washing them. “Where’s Tuck?”
That gets rid of the wrinkle between her brows. “He’s playing with Bubba in the backyard.”
My brows lift as I flick my gaze over to her. “How’d he do today?”
“Your son or the new puppy?” She chuckles.
“Both.”
“They had an alright day,” she says. “I think the antibiotics are already helping.”
Grabbing the seasonings, I place them on the tray beside the patties before heading out back. My four-year-old glances up at the sound of the sliding glass door, a smile spreading on his dirty little face as he spots me.
“Daddy!” Tucker hops to his feet and runs over to me, Bubba, our new pitty puppy, trailing after him, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his too-big-for-his-body paws stomping around. “You’re home!”
Colliding with my leg, Tucker wraps his arms around my waist as best as he can before I lean down and scoop him up one-handed. Thankfully, Cassie takes the tray from my hand as Bubba jumps up, pawing at my stomach, demanding attention too.
“Feeling any better?” I ask Tuck.
He shrugs. “Yeah, kinda.”
“Did you guys have fun today?”
“Bubba peed in my room,” he says flatly, giving me his best attempt at rolling his eyes, but it’s really just him blinking repeatedly and looking up. He started doing it a few weeks ago out of nowhere, and it’s hilarious.
“He did?” I set Tucker down and place a hand on my hip. “Did you forget to take him potty?”
Shaking his head, he says, “No, I swear!”
After giving Bubba some belly scratches, I heat up the grill and get started on the patties, all while my mind spirals, my to-do list growing longer by the second. It took months to find Cassie. I don’t even want to think about how hard it’ll be to find a replacement for her, and on such short notice.
Not to mention how hard it’ll be on Tucker. After his mom skipped town when he was a baby, I thought I’d never find somebody whom I could trust to watch him while I worked. Cassie has been with us for the last three years, give or take, and she’s been a godsend.
Being a rancher while also being a single dad with sole custody of my child comes with its own set of challenges. Finding somebody who can put up with the long, sometimes unexpected, hours is a must.
So much for my plan to relax and have a drink tonight.
Chapter 2
Ash
“You’re firing me?”
My heart pounds as a thin sheen of sweat breaks out along the back of my neck. There’s a squeak to my voice as I sit forward in the chair. It’s barely nine in the morning, and I just got to work. I haven’t even had time to set my phone and keys in my classroom.
With a look of pity in her eyes, my boss glances at me from across the desk. “We’re not firing you, Ash. We’re laying you off.”
“But…” I blow out a breath, trying to make sense of where this is coming from. “But I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?”
“You did nothing wrong, dear,” she explains calmly, her hands clasped together on top of her wide, cherry oak desk. “We simply do not have enough children in the center right now, with it being summer, to justify the staff we have. You were the last one in, so unfortunately, that means you’re the first one out. I’m so sorry, Ash. If I could keep you on, I would.”
“That’s okay,” I murmur, though my throat feels like it’s closing up. “It’s okay, I understand.”
