“Hm? Oh, no.” Kate shook her head. “I’m fine. That’s not why I stopped you. I just wanted to see if you ever talked to Sasha about applying to work at the store? I need to hire someone before Thanksgiving so I can have them trained before everyone goes shopping this weekend.”
“I told her you were looking for help and last I heard she was planning on dropping off her resume soon. I think she’s overthinking the application process too much—it’s her first time trying to get a job since she was in high school and it’s stressing her out a little.”
“But you told Sasha I don’t need her to have any experience, right?”
Callie nodded. “Yeah, I made it clear that you weren’t going to be looking at her resume that closely, but she’s determined to put her best foot forward. It’s sweet, really.”
“Very sweet,” Kate agreed. “But is there a way you can tell her to speed things along? There are a few other people who’ve expressed interest in the job, so…”
Kate wasn’t saying it out loud, but Callie knew what she was getting at. If Sasha didn’t get her application in soon, she was going to lose out on this opportunity.
“I’ll talk to her,” Callie said. “And you know, Mallory might be interested in taking the job as well, so if for some reason Sasha doesn’t want it, I’ll make sure Mal comes to talk to you as soon as possible.”
“Oh, I thought Mallory already found a job.”
“Why would you think that?”
Kate shrugged. “I saw her hanging out at the computer repair shop for a while yesterday, I thought maybe she was working there...”
“No, she was just there getting David’s computer fixed. But now that you mention the repair shop, do you know the man who works there? James?”
“I don’t think so, why?”
“Just curious. I’m trying to learn a bit more about him.”
Kate raised a brow. “Ooh! I’m intrigued.”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Callie said, laughing.
“Like what?”
“Like you think I’m about to tell you some juicy gossip! I’m not. Mallory and James went to high school together and when he came by to pick up the computer, I thought maybe I saw a little spark between the two of them. But I figure it’s probably a good idea to make sure he’s not married or something before I get too attached tothatidea...”
“First of all, thatisa juicy piece of gossip. At least, by Ferndale standards. And second, I wouldn’t know about this man’s marital status. But someone in town does. I’ll ask around.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
Kate smiled wickedly. “I was going to do it anyway. You know I’m a sucker for this kind of thing, and I’dloveto seeMallory find someone to settle down with. And if she falls in love with someone from Ferndale, she might move back!”
Callie put her hands up. “Whoa there! Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. We don’t even know that he’s single.” But Callie didn’t actually have a leg to stand on with this comment. She’d already jumped to those exact same conclusions herself. In fact, she’d gone even further—daydreaming about what kind of wedding dress Mallory might pick out, and whether she and James would like a beachside ceremony.
“Notyet,” Kate said. “But I’m going to find out soon, mark my words.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want to do, I won’t stop you.” Callie shook her head, but she was smiling. “I have to get going, but I’ll make sure Sasha calls you about the job today.”
“Please do. I’d love to get her started right away!”
Callie waved and they went their separate ways. It was a little cold out, but Callie walked to the cafe, so she had no choice but to walk back home. At least the air was crisp and the coffee she’d drank earlier was still keeping her relatively warm. She took a moment to admire the last leaves clinging to the trees, which created a beautiful array of oranges and reds. The peak time of year for the colors had hit a few weeks back, and Callie had taken a long hike in the woods behind the house, seeing every fall color North America had to offer.
It only took a beautiful morning like that to remind her why Ferndale was her favorite place on the planet. She didn’t understand why David always wanted to go on long, lavish vacations. What did he feel was missing from a place as perfect as this?
Ironically, when she got back to the house twenty minutes later, she found David on the couch, trying to do some research on Dubai using his phone instead of his laptop. He cursed under his breath and squinted at the small screen as Callie came intothe room and set her work bag on the cushion next to him. “Everything okay?”
“It’s fine,” he grumbled. “I just hate having to book things on my phone. My fingers are too big to type well on the little keyboard, so I have to triple check everything before I submit any forms. And Istilltend to mess stuff up.” He sighed and put his phone on the coffee table. “Oh, well. I’ll do this later.”
“Taylor offered to help you do research on new laptops when he comes to town,” Callie said, taking a seat in the recliner. “So, if you can hold off for a few days, I think his input will be really useful and then you can book things without any trouble.”
“Yeah, alright.” David sat back heavily into the couch and gave Callie a tentative look. “I’m actually glad you brought up Taylor. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about regarding the kids.”
