Page 16 of There I Find Happiness
Tucking those thoughts away, she straightened her back, put her purse over her shoulder, and walked with purpose to the little door, rapping sharply on it. She tried to project an aurora of competence and professionalism.
She wasn’t sure she’d say she was successful, but she did know that her facade crumbled as soon as the door opened, because Peter stood on the other side of it.
Her mouth hung open, and her heart stopped and then started again, beating as fast as though she had just run a mile.
Of course. That’s why Eleanor had been smiling. That’s why she had wondered if she had been missing something. Because they had deliberately not told her that she was going out to Peter’s farm, not near it,onit, in order to get this job.
She really needed the job, although as she stood there, her mouth flopping up and down like a fish out of water, she tried to figure out if she could afford to turn around and walk away.
The hours at the inn would be dwindling, as tourist season was over, and while she wasn’t in danger of losing her apartment, she didn’t want to get to that point either.
She liked to be able to eat as well, and yeah, she wasn’t going to be proud about this.
The one thing that helped make up her mind was that Peter seemed just as shocked to see her as she was to see him.
Chapter 6
His brother had sentSally.
Peter stood staring in shock at the woman who stood before him. Sally.
He thought about her a lot in the last two weeks. Wondered how her ankle was doing, wishing that he’d been a little faster and had been able to catch her, or faster that evening and had actually kissed her before they got interrupted. Except, that didn’t seem right, because he didn’t want to rush his first kiss with Sally. He wanted it to be the first of many. He wanted her to enjoy it and not feel like he was taking something that she wasn’t sure she wanted to give him.
Regardless, it was all hindsight now, because it was done and over with. He hadn’t caught her, hadn’t gotten the kiss, and he hadn’t gotten to talk to her again.
At least if he were doing it over, he would have gotten her phone number. Except, he was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to talk to him, because Norma Jean hadn’t given up her pursuit.
“Hello. You must be the accountant that Franklin said was going to be showing up at my door any moment.”
“Yeah, I am. He neglected to mention that I was coming to your farm. He said it wasnearyour farm.”
“Well, to be completely accurate, the farm is on down the road another half mile, on the right. That’s where the house and barns are.”
“Interesting. I would have thought that the office would be right by the farm.”
“I don’t know that this was originally an office, but it seemed like a good place to put one. The building was already here. I think it might have been a fruit stand at one time.”
