“What was that about?”
“You have a helicopter mother well into your thirties, too, and should get my plight more than anyone.”
“I do. Although my mom isn’t nearly as sweet and adorable as your parents. I caught a wince just now. Did something happen on the way up?”
“I need some bourbon tea before I go into any of the details of my day from hell.” I rubbed my eyes and let go of a yawn. The adrenaline that had fueled the long drive here was plummeting fast.
“Did they give you a decent package, at least?” Peyton asked, as she set up the electric teakettle. “I hoped they would do right by you in that respect, if nothing else.”
I shrugged, grabbing the tin of cookies and popping off the lid. “One week of severance pay for each year I was there, and then I can collect unemployment.”
“So, that’s thirteen weeks, right?” Peyton asked, adjusting the messy brown bun on top of her head. “I’m sure you’ll find something way before then.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I want to.”
Peyton studied me as she leaned back against her marble kitchen counter. She had remodeled the kitchen after Keely turned a few months old, and it looked like something out of a magazine. I guessed having a husband who owned a contracting business had its perks.
Jake was also hot as hell, tall with broad shoulders and arms only men who worked with their hands seemed to have, and eyes solely for his wife. Even though Peyton was hard on herself for running from Brooklyn to start over, she’d hit the jackpot in Kelly Lakes.
“You don’t want to go back to work?”
I set my giant glob of cookie on a napkin. “Ihaveto work. I have a decent-sized savings account, but it’s not something I can live on for the rest of my life. I feel like I wasted so much time.”
“Just because you were fired? You did nothing wrong. Didn’t they tell you that?”
Peyton moved closer to the table, and a smile lifted the corner of my mouth as she studied me. This was why Peyton was so good at her job and why I’d rushed up here without thinking about it. I needed her level head to quiet the fury and uncertainty clouding mine.
“I could jump in my car and come up here on a whim because it’s always been just me, not even a cat in Brooklyn for me to worry about. Other than when I’d sneak up here for the Hallmark experience, my job was always my main priority.”
Peyton’s shoulders shook with a chuckle.
“Nothing wrong with working hard and enjoying your job.”
“But for what? Bosses who resented me for being smarter than they were and booted me out the minute they had a chance?”
I exhaled a groan and took a big bite. Despite how it looked, this was a damn good cookie.
Peyton smiled with a slow nod as the teakettle went off behind her.
“It’s fresh. You’re still in shock. I felt the same way when I quit. They left me no choice, but I was so angry that, in the end, all my hard work had been wasted.” She set a steaming mug in front of me. The scent of lavender and vanilla wafted up my nose, and I took in a long breath.
Nope, still upset and pissed off.
“What I’m saying is…” she began, handing me the small bottle of bourbon. “What I’m trying to say anyway is that you’ll land somewhere they’ll appreciate you. You’re amazing at what you do. Take some time off to clear your head.”
“I am good with numbers,” I mused, giving my tea a generous pour of liquor before closing the bottle and picking up the steaming mug. The fumes from the alcohol didn’t change my feelings, but they were at least starting to take the edge off. “That was another thing rumbling around in my head all the way up here. I make money making money for already rich people.Youmake a real difference.”
“Well, if there’s something else you want to do, give it a try.”
I scoffed after taking a sip. I wasn’t sure if lavender and bourbon went together, but the warmth spreading through my chest and settling in my belly made it the perfect combination.
“I’m in my thirties, never been married, and am now jobless. I’m too old to learn new tricks.”
“Claudia, you can do any damn thing you want to. Whether it’s another job like the one you had or something else. This feels weird, right? Usually, you’re the voice of reason calming me down.” She grinned and tapped my ankle with her slipper-covered foot under the table.
“Oh, honey. I’m no one’s voice of reason. At least not now. I was pulled over for speeding right before coming into town. The cop felt bad enough for me to let me go after I told him my sad story over losing my job because I don’t have a penis.”
Her head fell back as she burst out laughing. “I bet that made his night.”
