hang up, I want to ask you about Nicole Nelson.”
“Who?” Cal had no idea who she was talking about.
“You don’t know Nicole? She came into the bookstore this afternoon and applied for a job. She put you and the bank down as references.”
“Nicole Nelson,” he repeated. The name sounded vaguely familiar.
“I saw you talking to her at the rodeo,” Annie said, obviously surprised that he didn’t remember the other woman.
“Oh, yeah—her,” he said, finally recalling the incident. Then he realized how he knew Nicole. She’d been a good friend of Jennifer’s. In fact, they’d been roommates at the time he and Jennifer were engaged. “She put my name down as a job reference?” He found that hard to believe.
“She said she’s known you for a number of years,” Annie added.
“Really?” To be fair, Cal’s problem hadn’t been with Nicole but with Jennifer, who’d played him for a fool. He’d been too blinded by his first encounter with love to notice the kind of woman she was.
“Nicole said if I had any questions I should ask you.”
“It’s been years since I saw her—other than at the rodeo last week.” He did remember talking to her briefly. She’d said something about how good it was to be back in Promise, how nice to see him, that sort of thing. At the time Cal had been distracted. He’d been more interested in watching the rodeo and cheering on his friends than in having a conversation with a woman he’d had trouble recognizing. Besides, Jane was upset with him and appeasing her had been paramount. He’d barely noticed Nicole.
“Did she list any other personal references?” he asked.
“No, I told her you and the bank were the only ones I needed,” Annie continued. “So you do remember her?”
“Sure. It’s just that it was a long time ago.”
“You went out with her?”
Leave it to Annie to ask a question like that. “No, with her best friend. We almost got married.” No need to go into details. Jennifer had taught him one of the most valuable lessons of his life. The worth of that experience could be measured in the pain and embarrassment that resulted when she’d callously canceled the wedding. He could’ve lived with her breaking their engagement—but why did she have to wait till they were practically at the altar?
“I talked with Janice over at Promise First National about her job history,” Annie said, interrupting his thoughts. “She doesn’t have anything negative to say about Nicole, but if you’re uncomfortable giving her a recommendation…”
“Oh, I’m sure Nicole will do a great job for you.”
The length of Annie’s hesitation told him he hadn’t been very convincing.
“Nicole’s fine, really,” he added. He didn’t actually remember that much about her. She always seemed to be there whenever he picked up Jennifer, but he couldn’t say he knew her. Years ago she’d been a sweet kid, but that was the extent of his recollection. He couldn’t dredge up anything that would prevent her from selling books. He’d never heard that she was dishonest or rude to customers, and those were things that would definitely have stuck in his mind. It was difficult enough to attract good employees; Cal didn’t want to be responsible for Annie’s not hiring someone simply because he had negative feelings about that person’s friends.
“I was thinking of hiring her for the bookstore.”
“Do,” Cal urged.
“She seems friendly and helpful.”
“I’m sure she is,” Cal said, and glanced longingly toward the popcorn.
“Thanks, Cal, I appreciate the input.”
“No problem.” He didn’t know what it was about women and the telephone. Even Jane, who had a sensible approach to everything and hated wasting time, could spend hours chatting with her friends. Just thinking about his wife produced a powerful yearning. Nothing seemed right without her.
“I’ll give Jane a call later,” Annie was saying.
“Good plan.” He checked his watch, wondering how much longer this would take.
“Thanks again.”
“Give Nicole my best,” he said, thinking this was how to signal that he was ready to get off the phone.
“I will,” Annie promised. “Bye, now.”
Ah, success. Cal replaced the receiver, then frowned as he attempted to picture Nicole Nelson. Brown hair—or blond? He hadn’t paid much attention to her at the rodeo. And he couldn’t imagine what would bring her back to Promise. Not that she needed to justify the move, at least to him. His one hope was that he didn’t give Annie reason to regret hiring her.
Mary Ann’s squeal of delight woke Jane from a deep sleep. She rolled over and looked bleary-eyed at the clock radio and gasped. Ten o’clock. She hadn’t slept that late since she was in high school. Tossing aside the covers, she reached for her robe and headed out of the bedroom, yawning as she went.
“Mom!” she called.
“In here, sweetheart,” her mother said from the kitchen.
Jane found the children and her mother busily playing on the tile floor. Mary Ann toddled gleefully, chasing a beach ball, intent on getting to it before her brother. Because he loved his little sister, Paul was letting her reach it first, then clapping and encouraging her to throw it to him.
“You should have woken me up,” Jane said.
“Why? The children are fine.”
“But, Mom, I’m supposed to be here to help you,” she protested. The last week had been hectic. Taking Paul and Mary Ann away from home and the comfort of their normal routine had made both children difficult and irritable. That first night, Mary Ann hadn’t slept more than a few hours, then whined all the next day. Paul had grown quiet and refused to talk to either grandparent. The children had required several days to adjust to the time change, and with the stress of her father’s condition, Jane was completely exhausted.
“You needed the sleep,” her mother said.
Jane couldn’t argue with that. “But I didn’t come all this way to spend the whole morning in bed.”
“Stop fussing. Paul, Mary Ann and I are having a wonderful time. If you intend to spoil it, then I suggest you go back to bed.”
“Mother!”
“I’m the only grandma they have. Now, why don’t you let us play and get yourself some breakfast?”
“But—”
“You heard me.” Stephanie crawled toward the lower cupboards, then held on to the counter, using that as leverage to get up off the floor. “I’m not as limber as I once was,” she joked.
“Oh, Mom…”
