“Hello?” Amy cracked.
“Bad news,” Kassy said. “Jonathon quit.”
“What? Why?” Jonathon, the manager of Mom and Dad’s auto parts store, had helped manage the shop for years. “Did he give a reason?”
Kassy went on to explain. Something about Jonathon and his wife moving to Wyoming to help their daughter through a divorce. But Amy had a hard time focusing on what she said. Her mind was already digging up all the details she’d forgotten in sleep. Her name was appearing on some sick site on the dark web. Prior women had gone missing, and she could be next.
“… but there’s a spot of light in all of it,” Kassy said, gaining her attention once more.
Amy lifted a brow. “What’s that?”
“I kind of need a job now that the boys will be in school half-day,” she replied. “We might even get to work together sometime.”
Amy forced a smile. “Well, Jonathon and I work opposite shifts actually.”
“Oh yeah,” Kassy said. “I forgot about that.”
Kassy wouldn’t be able to come to any of her filming segments either. The idea that she’d be seeing her younger sister a lot less only added to the turmoil whirling in Amy’s head.
“Oh man,” Amy said as another thought came to her. “I just realized we’re losing Margie too.” Jonathon’s wife worked part-time as one of the stockers. Kassy couldn’t likely replace them both. They’d need to hire on at least one part-timer as well.
“That’s true,” Kassy said. “I’ll put something in the classifieds today.”
“Let’s try word of mouth first. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Amy scrambled for a name. Maybe a neighbor? Or more likely a neighbor’s grandchild, since there weren’t any teens in the neighborhood. She’d post it on social media today and see what came of it.
“Is something wrong?” Kassy asked. “You seem distracted.”
Distracted was an understatement. Even when Amy’s mind forgot about the site on the dark web, her body remained in a state of chaos, ever aware that something was wrong. Chest tight and achy. Breaths shallow and short, as if avoiding a deep breath would stop the ache. “I’m fine,” she said. Jace hadn’t told her not to mention the site, but Amy wouldn’t tell Kassy even if he’d given her the okay. It was sort of like the shallow breaths: she hoped to keep the details from sinking in too deep.
“Oh my gosh! I forgot to ask how things went with Jace yesterday.That’swhat’s distracting you. I loved the couples’ yoga thing. I’m totally going to try that with Daren.”
The yoga segment felt light years away. She forced her mind back to the moments they shared before he’d dropped the bomb. Their time spent on the lounge chair. How he’d somehow managed to pull her mind from the terror of it all, and take her to some sort of paradise. “It was like, a perfect day, Kass,” she said, reflecting on the memory alone. “Jace isimpressive.”
“Impressive? In what way? Did you guys kiss?” Kassy gasped before Amy even answered the question. “You did, huh?”
“Yes,” Amy admitted. “And let’s just say that kissing isdefinitelyone of his impressive qualities.”
Kassy squealed. “Iknewhe was into you.”
Amy smiled. That was such a Kassy thing to say. It took her a moment to realize it, but even the memory of Jace’s kiss had started to counter the physical chaos spreading through her. If she could only keep her focus on that…
A long beep broke into their call, and Amy pulled back to see who was calling, assuming it was Jace.
It wasn’t. It was the studio. “Kassy, I’ll call you right back. It’s my work.”
She said a quick goodbye and switched lines, trying to not sound as frazzled as she felt. “Hello?”
“Amy,” came the voice on the other line. “This is Delanna McKaffy. How are you this morning?”
She perked up. Delanna McKaffy was one of the top producers at Studio 5. “Hi, Ms. McKaffy, I’m wonderful. How are you?” The answer was Amy’s go-to, and usually it was the truth; just not so much today.
The woman let out a chuckle. “I’m doing well, thank you. I love how exuberant you are, dear. Listen, rather than making you come into the studio, I decided to share the good news over the phone: your segment,Average Amy,has been picked up by two neighboring news stations here in Colorado.”
A burst of excitement shot through her. “You’re kidding.”
“Not in the least. There’s also been an increased demand for advertisements endorsed byAverage Amy. I’ll tell you the details when you come in, but the position will include a whole lot of perks, and I think you’ll really enjoy it. Best of all, you’ll receive a significant pay raise.”
