Chapter One
Chrissy Laughlin ran a brush through her shoulder-length hair another time or two and then studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was weird to see the dark brown strands in place of the gothic black she’d been sporting for a while. She couldn’t give up the colorful purple hair segments, though. At least not until she was ready to transform them into blue or pink. A light-colored strand of hair caught her attention. Convinced that thirty-two was way too young to be getting gray hair, Chrissy grabbed hold and yanked it out with a measure of satisfaction.
She set the brush on the counter, dried her hands off on the towel—her nails painted purple to match her hair—and vacated the bathroom she shared with her mom and sister.
“It’s about time,” Emma, Chrissy’s younger sister, said with a frown. “I’m leaving in fifteen minutes, and I still need to brush my teeth.” Emma worked for a local veterinarian clinic where she managed the front desk. Instead of wearing her normal set of brightly-colored scrubs, Emma was dressed in a black, shin-length skirt and a pretty blouse.
Chrissy blinked at her. “You’re sure dressed up today. Where are you going?”
“I have a job interview this morning.” Emma shot her a look that said she didn’t want to talk about it.
Chrissy ignored it completely. “I thought we discussed this. You can’t afford to take on a second job. It’s going to stress you out, and the doctor said you needed to avoid that as much as possible.” It seemed like all Chrissy and their mom did was continuously try to get Emma to ease up on her schedule. Emma’s heart transplant had only been a year ago, but it had drastically changed all their lives, and Emma’s most of all.
Emma glanced down the hall and lowered her voice. “You know as well as I do that I’ve got to get more money coming in. You and Mom are great, but Mom doesn’t need to take on a second job in her sixties. And neither do you. This job has potential. It pays more than what I’m making now. If I can convince them to make it full-time, I can quit working at the clinic.” Her eyes misted as she blinked away the tears. Working at the vet clinic had been a dream come true for her, and it’d been heart-wrenching enough to have to go from working with animals to manning the front desk. “You two have gone above and beyond. You shouldn’t have to be saddled with my medical bills forever.”
Just the cost of Emma’s anti-rejection medications alone had been staggering, much less the bills from the surgery itself or the treatments before she’d gotten the transplant.
They’d all decided to buy a three-bedroom house together a few years ago when Emma started to get really sick. It’d proven to be one way to save as much money as they could. Unfortunately, all their money went to paying normal house bills along with the medical stuff. They’d struggled to make ends meet the last couple of months.
Living together meant they were experts at supporting each other and irritating the snot out of each other as well.
Chrissy shook her head. “We’ll figure it out, Emma. We always do.”
“And part of that is my taking this job interview.” She glanced at her watch. “Now I have eleven minutes.” She raised an eyebrow and ducked inside the bathroom, closing the door behind her.
Chrissy sighed and headed for the kitchen. Mom looked up from her cup of coffee and slice of cinnamon raisin bread. “You are beautiful, Chrissy. I’d forgotten what you looked like without black hair.” Years ago, she’d protested Chrissy’s decision to dye her hair black but had since gotten used to it.
“Me, too. Thanks, Mom.” Chrissy poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table. “Have you tried talking to Emma?”
“Yes, and she won’t hear me out.” Mom frowned. There were lines around the corners of her eyes that hadn’t existed two years ago. Truthfully, Emma’s illness had had a profound impact on all of them. “You know your sister. Stubborn as the day is long.”
“Gee, I wonder where she got that from?” Chrissy fought back a smile.
Mom gave her an amused look. “I’m surprised I have any stubbornness left after giving so much of it to the two of you.” She reached over and gave Chrissy’s hand a squeeze.
Chrissy couldn’t argue with her there. The three of them all tended to be incredibly pig-headed, which made for some interesting family discussions that sometimes bordered on arguments. The three of them worked well together, for the most part, which is why they’d been able to weather so many challenges lately. “Seriously, though, what are we going to do about Emma?”
“Nothing may come of this job interview. There’s no sense in poking the bear for no reason. We pray, and we wait.” She ate the last two bites of her bread. “You’d better head out of here. Try not to worry about your sister today.”
That was much easier said than done. Mornings were always chaotic as the three of them got ready—Emma for her job at the vet clinic, Mom for work at the bank where she’d been a teller for twenty years, and Chrissy for her managerial position at Clearwater Coffee. With two cars to share between them, Chrissy usually took one, thanks to her schedule, and then Mom and Emma took turns dropping each other off.
Chrissy arrived at Clearwater Coffee just before six in the morning. She tried to push worried thoughts of Emma aside. Emma had received excellent health reports from her doctor the last two visits. Chrissy knew she had to let go and let God look after her sister, but that was so much easier said than done. Especially when the image of her sister in the hospital, pale and nearly lifeless, still haunted Chrissy’s dreams.
The sound of the bell over the coffee shop’s entrance jolted Chrissy from her thoughts. She caught the door as a customer left the building before walking inside herself.
The place bustled with activity like it did every morning. People were set up at the tables, laptops open and cups of steaming coffee at their elbows. The sound of the blender and cappuccino machines filled the air.
Chrissy rounded the counter, grabbed an apron from the back, and jumped right in. Nina, one of the employees, glanced at her and then did a double take.
“Girl! What did you do to your hair? It looks fantastic.”
Chrissy resisted the urge to reach up and touch it. “Thanks. I guess I was ready for a change.” She shrugged. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. She changed the color of portions of her hair every three to four months or so. But with money getting even tighter, going back to a more natural look was necessary.
“Well, it suits you.”
Chrissy and Nina worked side by side for an hour before customer traffic slowed down enough for a breather.
Nina slumped against a counter. “You’d think we were the only coffee shop in Clearwater.”
