“Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ll help get you started. There’s a community calendar on the city’s official Facebook page that will help. You can get dates for local events there. And I’ll send out some emails introducing you to people you’ll need to know. Trisha over at parks and rec, Carolyn in the mayor’s office, Ed on the city council. But it’s rare that anything newsworthy happens around here.”
I opened the paper and flipped through the pages. I didn’t want to be judgy—and I was certainly no expert on small-town newspapers—but it was all fairly generic. The local section was at the back, when it seemed like it should be front and center. And there wasn’t much that was particularly interesting. Just the basic news stories people could see anywhere, a few columns that were clearly reprinted from other sources, and a tiny calendar of events.
Refolding the paper, I let out a long breath. What had I gotten myself into? I wasn’t sure what they expected of me, where I should begin, or what I could do—if anything—to help the failing newspaper. Looking at its sad pages, I wondered if it would stay open at all. Or if I’d come to work one morning and find the door locked and my hopes of getting back on my feet torn to pieces, like all that scrap newspaper we used for our art projects.
That feeling that I’d made a big mistake in coming here was back. With a vengeance.
But what could I do? Keep making the best of it, and hope I still had a job next week.
That and find a new job that actually had a future, as soon as humanly possible.
CHAPTER 5
Audrey
My first day didn’t get any worse. So at least I had that going for me.
Sandra helped me get started on a few things and before I knew it, it was time to go home. The day had seemed both too fast and too slow, leaving me feeling like a wrung-out washrag.
I said goodbye to Sandra—she was the one bright spot at my new job so far—and went to get Max.
When I picked him up, he did his sacred job as a dog, acting like he was ready to burst with excitement as soon as he saw me. He circled around me, wagging his tail like the crazy dog he was, and gave me some wet face licks when I crouched to pet him.
The drive back to Pinecrest gave me some time to decompress. I didn’t quite dread the prospect of going back to my mom’s house, but I wasn’t looking forward to it, either. Keeping Max away from Duchess was proving to be frustrating. He didn’t mean to be so naughty, but the more I kept him away from the cat, the more he wanted to check her out. Her warning scratch had done nothing to temper his curiosity. Last night, he’d gotten away from me and Duchess had ended up stuck on the top of a bookshelf, unable to get down.
At least, Mom had claimed she was stuck. I was convinced she was just being dramatic.
The grocery store was on the way, so I decided to stop in and get something for dinner. A bit of a peace offering to my mom for putting up with my crazy dog.
Max would be fine for a few minutes while I ran in. I’d never leave him in a car for long—a vehicle could heat up faster than you realized, especially in the sun—but it wasn’t hot out and I parked in the shade. I’d be in and out fast enough, he’d be fine.
“Stay here, good boy. I’ll be right back.”
I went into the store and veered to the right, toward the deli. Thankfully, they had the chicken salad my mom liked. I ordered a medium—probably more than we needed but she could have leftovers tomorrow—and waited while a guy wearing a hairnet over his man-bun filled the container. He handed it to me and I thanked him.
“Well, well, well,” an all-too-familiar voice said behind me. “I heard you were back.”
I knew this moment had to happen sooner or later. This town was too small to avoid him for long. But I still wasn’t quite prepared to see Colin Greaves.
“I guess news travels fast,” I said as I turned around.
He was dressed in a pale blue button-down and a pair of dark slacks. Probably stopping at the store on his way home from work, like me. He worked for his father’s law firm, the only one in town, and he certainly looked the part. Slicked-back hair, clean shaven, not a wrinkle in his expensive clothes.
One corner of his mouth lifted and his eyes flicked up and down. “You look good.”
“Thanks. First day of work.”
“Oh yeah? Where are you working?”
I pressed my lips together. I shouldn’t have said more than thanks. Now I was being roped into an actual conversation instead of a quick hello situation. But I didn’t want to be rude. “The Tilikum Tribune.”
“Is that thing still open?”
“Well, they hired me and the door wasn’t locked when I got there this morning, so I’d say that’s a good sign.”
“Cute,” he said, and I wasn’t sure if he was referring to the newspaper or my attempt at sarcasm. “I heard you’re living with your mom.”
I didn’t miss the judgment in his voice. “Just until I find a place.”
Looking me up and down again, he crossed his arms. “Who would have thought. Miss Most Likely to Succeed, back home. I thought you said you’d never live here again.”
I had said that. At the time, I’d meant it. Adamantly. “Yeah, well, life throws you curve balls.” I held up my container of chicken salad. “I should get home while this is still cold.”
“Hey, I don’t mean to be hard on you.” His voice took on the soothing quality he’d always used to get out of an argument. “Is everything okay?”
I lost my job and now I’m living with my mother after I swore I’d never move home; my new job is a disaster, and I’m going to spend all my off-hours trying to keep my dog away from my mom’s pampered cat. No, everything is not okay.
Obviously I didn’t say that.
“Yeah, fine. I was just looking for a career change and this happened to be where I wound up. Life is funny that way.”
He nodded slowly and I could tell he didn’t believe me. “Good for you.”
“Thanks.”
“We should get coffee sometime.” He stepped closer and gave me the same flirtatious grin that had given me butterflies back in high school. “Catch up properly.”
Why was he looking at me that way? His eyes traveled up and down, lingering on my chest much longer than was polite.
“How’s Lorelei?”
For half a second, he froze, and a flash of anger hardened his features.
He reminded me of my father.
That was disconcerting.
“She’s great.” His expression melted back into his cocky half-grin. “You should stop by. She’d love to see you.”
Nice save, buddy. “Yeah, I will. I really do need to get going. My dog is in the car and I don’t want to leave him out there too long.”
“Of course. Me too. Gotta get home before the old ball and chain thinks I’m running around on her.” He winked and a part of me wondered if he was cheating on her. Or would, if given the opportunity.
Dang it, Colin, don’t be that guy. “Have a good night.”
“Bye, Audrey.” He paused, locking me in his gaze. “It really is good to see you.”
“You, too.” I was such a liar. It wasn’t good to see him and I would have avoided it for as long as I could.
“I’ll see you around.” He winked again, then turned and sauntered off.
I let out a long breath and headed for the check out, feeling mildly icky. I’d felt that way when I’d seen him at my dad’s funeral, too. Instead of just expressing his condolences, like a normal ex-boyfriend, he’d cornered me and insisted on giving me a long hug. Somehow his offer of anything I needed had struck me as inappropriate.
Fortunately, today he hadn’t tried to hug me, just asked me to coffee, which could have been perfectly innocent. Maybe he did just want to catch up and see how I was doing.
I paid for the chicken salad and headed back to my car. Max was diligently watching for me as I walked across the parking lot and I could see his bushy tail start wagging as soon as he caught sight of me.
Silly dog.