“Enough about me. Tell me about your life. Do you still live in Cedar Valley?” I asked, trying to change the subject to something lighter.
“Uh, I recently moved back in with my parents,” she said, fidgeting with the napkin on the table. “I met a man when I was in college. He was from a wealthy family and had a good job, so I let him talk me into dropping out of college. I married him and we moved to Texas.” She paused and picked up another napkin to shred. “We just got divorced. So, here I am, 36 years old with no experience in the workforce and not a dime to my name, hence why I’m living with my parents,” she said with a sniffle.
“Oh, Macy. I’m so sorry. Have you had any luck finding a job?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, not yet. I was actually in that store trying to work up the nerve to ask if they were hiring. I’m not sure how many more rejections I can take.”
I pushed to my feet. “Come on. I know a place that’s hiring,” I said, smiling proudly.
“You do?” she asked.
“I do. Let’s go!” I ordered.
She followed me out to the SUV I was being carted around in and eyed the boys warily before climbing inside.
“Where to, Annabelle?” Edge asked from the driver’s seat.
“We’d like to go visit Ember.”
Macy and I continued to catch up during the 45-minute ride to the farm. Life had really done a number on her. She wasn’t the same vibrant, live-in-the-moment girl she once was. Then again, I guess the same could be said about me.
I had to practically drag her to Ember’s office. Knocking loudly, I waited a few seconds before pushing the door open and entering. I was still developing a relationship with Ember and I didn’t think walking in on her and her fiancé doing it on her desk would do either of us any good.
“Mom! What are you doing here? I thought Dad said you were out dress shopping,” Ember said while crossing the room to hug me.
“I was, but I ran into a friend from high school while I was out.” I pulled Macy, who was still in the hallway, into Ember’s office. “Ember, this is my friend, Macy. Macy, this is my daughter, Ember.”
“Hi, Macy. It’s nice to meet you. Please, come in and have a seat,” Ember said and gestured to the sofa in her office. “So, what brings you by, Mom?”
I smiled. “Well, I heard you mention you were looking for an office assistant and Macy mentioned she was having trouble finding a decent job and here we are.”
Macy shifted in her seat and began explaining. “I’m a recently divorced housewife. I moved back to Cedar Valley to live with my parents while I get back on my feet. I don’t have any job skills to speak of, but I did help organize a lot of charity functions and handled the donations received when I was married. I’m a quick learner and I’ll—”
“Relax,” Ember interrupted. “While the businesses and projects around the farm do operate at a profit, I started them because I wanted to help people. You sound like you need some help. If you want the job, it’s yours. Oh, since we’re located in the middle of nowhere, we provide our employees with a room on the property, sort of like a hotel suite.”
Macy’s jaw dropped and she stared at Ember. I nudged her with my elbow and stage-whispered, “Say something.”
Macy snapped her mouth closed and nodded. “Yes, I want the job.”
“And the room?” Ember asked with an arched brow.
“Yes, please! I was seriously considering living in a cardboard box down by the Red River Bridge just to get away from my mother.”
Ember chuckled and walked behind her desk. She pulled out a huge binder and started flipping through pages. “Ah, here we go.” She jotted something in the book and pulled a key from her desk drawer. She held it out to Macy. “This is the key to your room. Take the next few days to move in and get settled. Be here at 8am Monday morning. We’ll get your papers filled out and then you can get started. Does that sound okay?”
Macy got to her feet and hugged Ember. “It sounds wonderful. Thank you so much.”
Ember smiled. “You’re very welcome. Edge or Kellan can show you and Mom where your room is. I would, but I’ve got to get down to the barn to check on our newest employee and make Duke isn’t trying to scare her off like he’s done to the last three.”
“Thanks, again,” Macy said.
I hugged my daughter, so very proud of her. “Thanks, sweetie. Are you and Dash coming over for dinner?”
“Not tonight. He said he had something to do at the club, so Reese and I made plans to pig out and binge-watch Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix.”
“Okay, you girls have fun.”
Edge and Kellan drove us over to Macy’s new building. I still wasn’t completely comfortable being on the farm property, but it got a little easier each time. We took the elevator to the third floor and found her room at the end of the hall. Macy opened the door and gasped. “Annabelle, look at this place! This isn’t a room. It’s a freaking apartment!”
