“I am.”
“You are not going to believe who I just got off the phone with. I’d have you try to guess, but you’d never be able to. I never would have expected him to call me. I mean, I’m still not entirely sure the call was legit, but I’m going to look into it. Or maybe you could help me?”
“Slow down,” Spencer said with a chuckle. “Why don’t you start by telling me who called you?”
“The CEO of SmartKart. The CEO. That’s what makes it unbelievable, but the way my life is going lately, maybe anything is possible. He offered me a job.”
“That’s great.”
“It’s not great, Spencer, it’s an answer to my prayers. Last year I kept wondering if anyone was even listening upstairs, but I guess I was waitlisted because this could not have come at a more perfect time. I don’t want to get too excited, though, before I figure out if it was just a prank.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t.”
“He gave me a number to call. It’s supposedly to their Human Resources department. Oh my God, Spencer. Can this really be happening?”
“I’m not surprised to hear it is. Your luck is turning around.”
“It sure is.” She wiped a happy tear from her cheek. “Every part of my life is coming together. I’d started to lose faith that it ever would be this good again. If I gave you the number, would you be able to tell if it’s the real deal or not?”
“Absolutely.”
She read it off to him.
He said, “Hang on. I’m going to put you on hold for one minute while I check it out.”
“Thank you, Spencer.” She barely breathed while waiting for him to return.
“I made a call. That’s the real number to SmartKart’s HR department, and my friend said it sounds legit.”
Hailey was so excited she was light-headed. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this sort of good really happens.”
“So you’re obviously taking the job.”
“I think so,” Hailey said. Delinda won’t take this well, but I’ll find a way to convince her that it’s for the best for all of us. We’ll still be part of her life.
“You just said it was the answer to your prayers.”
“I know. And it is. I just need to think about how I’m going to tell my present employer. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”
“You’re a good person, Hailey Tiverton, but you have to do what’s best for you.”
“Yes, but she has been so good to me and Skye. I’m not saying I won’t take the job, I’m just saying I need time to think it all through. I have a week to decide. The only way I’ll do this is if I’m sure it’ll be the best choice for all of us.”
“All of us?” Spencer asked in a deep tone.
“I’ll need to know if it involves travel. I can’t take the job if it does. That wouldn’t work well with Skye.”
“Ah yes.”
She almost added him to the equation, but it was too early. Their shared history gave their relationship a depth that otherwise wouldn’t have been there. She had to remind herself that they weren’t picking up where they left off. We’re not even dating yet—we’re friends. “I have a week to find out more about the job before I decide.”
“That’s smart. You can come to me, too, if there’s anything else you need to know. I have a good network of people. If I don’t know the answer, they might.”
Warmth spread through Hailey. He was giving her exactly what she hadn’t known how to ask for the first time. “Thank you for being there for me, Spencer. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“I want this for you, Hailey. I want you to be happy.”
She smiled. “I want the same for you.”
Coming back into each other’s lives can’t be an accident—not when it’s this good.
Hailey looked up and realized the instructor was waving her over. “I have to go. Skye just finished her second riding lesson.”
“How did she do?”
“She’s still smiling, so I’d say well.”
“I read an article about equine therapy this week. Horses are a good confidence builder for children.”
The idea that he might be reading up on things that mattered to her and Skye was touching. “Did you have a pony when you were little?”
“No, we couldn’t afford one. How about you?”
“Same,” Hailey said automatically as she made her way toward where Skye was standing with Clover and her instructor. She couldn’t wrap her head around how half of Spencer’s family had been raised with money while the younger siblings had been left without, but she didn’t have time to delve into it then. “I have to run.”
“Talk to you later, Sunshine.”
Hailey hung up, smiling. Her conversation with Spencer was temporarily overshadowed by Skye’s enthusiastic retelling of everything she’d learned that day. The instructor’s next student was waiting in the wings, so Hailey and Skye took Clover to an aisle to untack him and brush him down and then to a field outside the barn to graze for a few minutes. Another girl about Skye’s age was already out there with her pony. It didn’t take more than a moment for the two girls to start talking. There was a twinkle in Skye’s eyes, a bubbling enthusiasm in her voice that drew people to her—just as it once had.
She’s back, Ryan. Skye’s really back. Hailey looked on with gratitude welling within her. We did it.
“Your sister, Rachelle, is on hold,” Lisa said from the doorway of Spencer’s office. “Would you like me to tell her that you’re in a meeting?”
With a smile left over from his conversation with Hailey, Spencer closed out the program he was working on. “No, I have a minute.”
“You do?” Lisa said, then looked mortified that she’d revealed her surprise. “I’ll put her through.”
“Thanks, Lisa.”
Lisa left with an odd expression on her face. Spencer didn’t care if his change in attitude confused her. Life was beginning to make sense to him again, and the relief was immense—like a weight had been lifted from him. Spencer picked up his office phone when it rang, stood, and stretched. “Hey, Rachelle.”
“Sorry to call you at work.”
“It’s fine. What’s up?”
“I wanted to thank you for coming to Mom’s on Sunday.”
Normally he would have taken her comment as a dig about the many times he’d refused to go. Instead, he remembered what Hailey had said about how she would give anything for even a bad day with her brother. It’s time to let some shit go. “It was good to see everyone.”
“We shouldn’t have grilled you about Hailey. Who you date is actually none of our business.”
True, and in the past he might have agreed with her, but he didn’t this time. “You ask because you care; I get it. I’d probably do the same.”
Rachelle’s tone lightened. “Wait, you sound happy.”
“Is that so shocking?”
“Yes. We’re talking, and you sound like you’re still in a good mood. What have you done with Spencer?”
He chuckled even though he was aware of the serious undertone to her joke. “I told you all I needed was time.”