“Then you’re hired.” Sophie hurried around the desk, reaching out to shake Brynna’s hand. “Dad will be so happy.”
Brynna caught her breath, staring at Sophie in shock. “What?But you don’t know anything about me. You can’t just offer me—”
“Then tell me more, Bree.” Sophie leaned against the desk. “Let’s see, where to begin ... Tell me—are you very organized? On a scale of one to ten, with one being you’re a total mess, where do you fall?”
Brynna pursed her lips. “I hate to admit it, but my ex used to tease me for being hyper-organized, so I’m probably a nine or ten.”
Sophie grinned. “My sisters have said that exact thing about me. So that’s good. You said your ex? Does that mean you’re single?”
“Yes. Very single.” Brynna sighed again.
“Kids?”
She glumly shook her head.
“Oh ... okay.” Sophie rubbed her swollen midsection with a thoughtful expression. “So, anyway, what bookkeeping program do you use?”
Brynna told her and Sophie confirmed it was compatible with their program. “Seriously, Bree, if you can keep a room full of third graders in line, I’m sure you can keep our little family business on track. This is going to be great. You’ll be perfect for the job!” Sophie beamed. “I’m so relieved to have you. Dad’s gonna be thrilled.”
“But I can’t do—”
“You don’t want the job?” Sophie’s smile vanished. “What’s wrong?”
“I actually would love the job. But I, uh, I don’t live here. You see, I live in Oregon and I’m—”
Sophie blinked. “You live inOregon?”
“Yeah. I’m just here for the summer.” Brynna wondered why she’d said that. Not that it was a lie exactly ... but it wasn’t quite true either. Or was it?
Sophie frowned. “So you mean you just want totry it outdown here? To see if you like Sonoma County? Like, if you want to live here permanently?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Brynna caught herself. “I mean, no, I’m not really sure.”
Sophie tilted her head to one side. “So whereareyou staying right now?”
“Staying?” Brynna considered this. “I’m actually camping with a teacher friend. She has this little trailer, and we’ve been visiting vineyards.” It was time to backpedal her way out of this.
“I know!” Sophie held up a finger. “We have this guest cottage out behind the main house. It was a caretaker’s cottage, but my mom fixed it up about ten years ago. Anyway, Garth and I used to live there, back before we had babies and it got way too small for us, so Dad put a manufactured home on the backside of the property. Now the cottage mostly just sits there empty. My sister Luna stays there sometimes, but she’s working in San Francisco this summer. And Gina won’t mind. She never uses it.” Sophie paused to check something on her phone.
Brynna wondered if Gina could be a stepmom. Why wouldn’t Leroy have remarried? And if so, what difference did it make? Brynna still needed to get out of here. Even if it turned out that this vineyard had nothing to do with Leroy, Brynna had no business here. Her curiosity got the better of her though. “Gina?”
Sophie looked up from her phone “Gina’s my baby sister. She just dropped out of college. Dad’s not too happy about it either.”
“How many sisters do you have?” Brynna asked meekly, at the same time questioning why she was prolonging this bizarre job interview. She felt more and more likeAlice in WonderlandorThrough the Looking Glassor just plain crazy. It was so hard to imagine the boy from camp with grown daughters and grandchildren. “Two younger sisters. Luna and Gina.” Sophie set down her phone with a quizzical expression. “So now I’m thinking if you lived in our cottage, could you take less pay? We’re running on a pretty tight budget just now. We lost a lot of valuable vines to wildfires last fall, so if you agreed to a smaller salary in exchange for rent, it would be helpful. Would that seem fair?”
“Of course, it’s fair,” Brynna heard herself saying.
“Great. Then it’s settled.” Sophie dug through the paper pilesagain. “I can’t believe how quickly this place goes to pieces when I’m not here. Hopefully you’ll whip it into shape in no time.”
Brynna couldn’t believe she’d just agreed to a reduced salary for a job she had no intention of taking. What was wrong with her? Besides being certifiably nuts!
“Here they are.” Sophie handed Brynna some official-looking forms. “Just fill these out. I’ll need to make a copy of your driver’s license, and then we’ll be all set.”
Brynna stared down at the papers, wondering how to unravel this mess without hurting this sweet young woman’s feelings. Sophie seemed so happy about everything. What if she got upset? Would it be bad for the baby? Brynna didn’t want her to go into labor. “How about if I take the papers with me and, uh, get back to you?”
“I guess you could. But wouldn’t it be easier to just fill them out right now? It shouldn’t take you long.” She held up her phone, which was buzzing. “That’s my timer. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the house. I put something in the oven for Dad and Gina’s dinner. Those two live like bums without my help. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” Brynna slowly nodded. This was her chance to escape.
