“Yes,” replied Ella.“I attended a student conference on green sustainability during my junior year in Stockton that he spoke at.He was very impressive.”
“That he is,” replied Waters.“Well, the thing is, we have ourselves a little issue.Blesson has had a heart attack.”
“Oh no, that is terrible.Is he going to be alright?”Ella was shocked to hear the news.She remembered Blesson as a healthy-looking guy in his early forties.
“Yes, his doctors feel he will make a full recovery.In fact, the heart attack was rather a mild one from what he has told us, but his doctors and his wife are insisting that he takes things a bit easier for the next few weeks.That has left us with a real dilemma.We don’t have anyone to head up the study.We need to know the information that study is going to provide.If we wait, we will lose another whole season and may miss viable growing time.To avoid that, Blesson has agreed to direct the study remotely.We need someone local who can communicate with the workers, make sure the correct samples are being collected, and be a liaison between Blesson and the crew.”Waters stopped speaking for a moment, and Ella was not sure exactly what he expected her to say.
After a second, she said, “Okay, but what does all that have to do with me?”
Waters laughed and said, “Well, little missy, I mentioned you to Blesson and shared our conversation from last week.He knows some of you professors from Cal Poly.He contacted them, and you got a glowing recommendation.”
Ella was still not sure she understood.Did Waters want her to work on the study?She could feel her excitement growing at just the possibility.But she had to be wrong.She was in no way qualified for such a big job.
Before Ella could ask any questions, Waters added, “This is where you come in.We need someone who has already done a full soil study like the one you did last fall.Blesson would be directing and helping you, but you would be in charge of the daily study operations.Six crop crew guys will be assigned to you and to help you collect the samples at your direction.Plus, the office assistant who was already hired has already been talking to Blesson.She will work for both of you.”
Barely taking a breath, Waters continued, “Of course, we will compensate you for your time and efforts.The job is full-time, but if things go as planned, it will end by the middle of May.When exactly is your baby due?We could try to work around that date to make sure we get everything done before that little feller makes his arrival.What do you say?Are you interested in helping us out?I know it is a last-minute thing, and I will totally understand if this is not something you are up for.I can always ask Blesson to send down one of his guys.But that might take a week or two, and I would really like to get the ball rolling.”
As exciting as the study and job sounded, Ella was unsure it was something that she was even capable of doing.Cautiously she said, “Mr.Waters, I am very flattered you remember me and even thought of me.But I live in Little Rock.I don’t really see how I can drive back and forth every day to Des Arc.Yes, I have done a study much like yours, and it took a lot of time.If I lived closer, I would be interested.But living almost two hours away, I don’t think I am up to driving three to four hours a day for the next few months.”
Waters laughed again in his grandfatherly way and said, “That is not an issue.We had already prepared living quarters for Blesson that he is not going to need—a small house near the soil site.It is yours if you want it.Millie even had that good guy over at Guess & Company, Paul, do it up for you.We also will provide a truck and all the supplies needed for the study.”
After that, Waters offered Ella salary five times more than she had ever made.The opportunity he was offering her was unheard of.Even with a grad degree, she would be lucky to be named project manager of a study like this one.It was the chance of a lifetime.
Stunned for a moment, Ella said nothing.After a second of silence, she said, “Sir, you have been honest with me, so I will be honest with you.I would love to be a part of this study.It would be a dream come true, but I need to talk to Ben.He is out of town with his father.I can’t reach him until late tonight or tomorrow.Could you give me a few days to coordinate everything with him?”
“Well, normally, I would say yes, but we are really under the gun here.If you can’t be here tomorrow, I am going to have to call Blesson and have him send me someone immediately.I have all the supplies arriving then, and I need someone who can take charge of them.I just loved how passionately you talked about your work in Napa.You can always get another person, but you can’t always find real passion.”
Not willing to let an opportunity like this one pass, Ella decided to say yes before her reasonable brain could talk her out of it.“Sir, I understand.Okay, I want the job.I will make it work.Could someone text me the address?I will be there tonight.”
“Wonderful.That is wonderful.”Waters’s jovial tone was infectious.“I know you will be a valuable asset to this project.My secretary will text you the details.I am going to hop off here and call Blesson and let him know you are going to be his liaison on the ground here.I look forward to talking to you tomorrow.”With that, Waters rang off.Ella was left holding her phone and praying she had not just made a terrible decision.
Ella knew that Ben was tied up with his dad on his fishing trip.She decided not to call him or even text because if he answered, he would try to talk her out of taking the job, which would lead to a fight.Ella had already made up her mind.She wouldn’t be calling for permission.He wasn’t her father; he was her husband and needed to know where she was and that she was okay.She could tell him that in a note.It was a coward’s way out, but she took it because it was the path of least resistance.In less than an hour, Ella was packed, left Ben a note about where she was, and typed the address that Sarah Lite sent her into her GPS.
For better or worse, Ella found herself on the road to a new adventure that had nothing to do with marriage, babies, or campaigns and was actually something she was interested in.For the first time in weeks, she felt alive and excited about her future.She did not let herself think too deeply about what that said about her and Ben’s hope for future happiness as a family.Instead, she let her mind fill with all the little details she would soon need to focus on to make the study successful.
When Ben arrived back in Little Rock the next night just after midnight, he was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired.Instead of coming home that morning as he had planned, Ben and his dad had flown to DC.There they had met with Joules, his father’s former chief of staff, and got her to commit to joining the campaign.The trip had come out of left field.Ben had not even had a free minute to tell Ella about it.He had tried to call her late the night before, but it had gone to voicemail.He assumed that she was already asleep.
Ben had planned to reach out all day but never found the time.He figured if Ella needed him, she knew how to get ahold of him.He felt guilty about not checking on her right up to the moment he walked into an empty, dark apartment.The moment of fear that he felt at not finding Ella asleep in their bed almost sent him spiraling.He ran through the condo screaming her name.
His first thought was something terrible had happened.Then he wondered if she had left him and gone back to California.He was two seconds from calling the police when he saw her note.He had to read it twice before it began to sink in.As crazy as it sounded, evidently Ella had been offered a job in Des Arc.And even more ridiculously, she had taken it.Was she insane?No way could she think taking a job while pregnant was a good idea.They did not need the money.What was she thinking?
Ben’s first instinct was to call Ella and demand she come home.But it was after one in the morning.Instead, he decided to get some sleep, then drive over to Des Arc in the morning to bring his wayward wife home.He was so pissed.What was wrong with Ella?Did she have any idea the position this put him in?He had meetings scheduled all day—meetings that had already been rescheduled because he’d flown to DC.Now he was going to have to put them off again.The last thing he had time for was to go traipsing all over Arkansas, looking for his wife.Ben was sure his anger would keep him up, but he was so exhausted, he was out almost instantly.
Chapter 23
Des Arc, Arkansas
The next morning, Ella had been up early and was out in the field, gathering soil samples with the six men who had been assigned to help her do the actual collections.Going forward, Ella planned to do most of her work from her office, but she wanted to make sure everyone knew and was following the correct protocols from the get-go.It had only been two days, but she already loved her job.It felt so good to have her hands back in the soil and be making a contribution.Her brain felt like it was coming out of a deep freeze.
Ella had spoken with Blesson for several hours and read over all of his notes.She was fully up to speed on the scope and the directive of the project.While she knew she would not have been able to drive such a huge project on her own, she felt more than capable of directing it under Blesson’s instruction.He was super prepared and had made incredible notes, which luckily, Ella was able to read and process quickly.
The crew had been in the field since before 7:00.It was a little after 3:00 when Ella got a radio call that she had a visitor.She did not have to ask who it was.She had been expecting Ben for two days.If anything, she was surprised it had taken as long as it had for him to show up here.She was no closer to knowing what she was going to say to him now than she had been three days ago.That was why she had not called him.In no universe could she see Ben being happy about her taking this job.Promising the guys she would see them back at the office at the end of the day, Ella hopped in her assigned big, white farm truck and drove back to her office to face whatever storm was waiting for her there.
As Ella pulled the truck into the gravel parking lot of her office, she saw Ben leaning against the door of his car, his legs casually crossed at the ankle.After parking, she hopped out and gave him a crooked smile.Though she was worried about his reception, it was good to see him.As always, the sight of him soothed something in her.“Hey.What are you doing here?”Her voice was soft and nervous-sounding.
Giving Ella a look she could not read, Ben smiled.“Funny.I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“Me?I am working.I assume you found my note.”
