have this job, and this apartment, even if it’s not where I ever pictured myself.
Besides, it’s only temporary.
That had become her mantra since she’d accepted the Bowman job.
It was only for a year. It wasn’t forever. She could stand anything for a year.
Truly, today hadn’t been so bad—gargantuan spider attacks aside. Birdie’s unexpected kindness had made it better.
And Josh’s.
Mia thought about his elusive smile and his gentle touch. His deep, husky drawl. His arresting dark eyes, which managed to be both piercing and soft.
She kept thinking about him until her own eyes drifted shut and her exhaustion overtook her, pulling her down into sleep.
Chapter Six
Three days later, Mia drove to the university for her first day on campus. New faculty orientation didn’t start until the following day, but she had a mountain of HR paperwork to fill out first, and she was anxious to familiarize herself with her new place of work.
She was pleasantly surprised to discover the math department had an office for her, although it wasn’t so much an office as a closet. Literally, she’d been given a corner of a storage room that had been cleared out enough to fit a desk and two chairs—one for her and one for any students who might come to her office hours. Which meant that occasionally other faculty members or the department admin would show up and squeeze past her in order to get more printer paper or whiteboard markers. But it was fine. It was better than no office.
She was in the midst of trying to get her laptop to talk to the department printer when there was a knock at her office door. Mia looked up, hoping for someone from the IT help desk, but instead found a young woman standing in her doorway.
“Are you Mia?” She was dressed in khaki pants and a forest green polo shirt with an official-looking patch on the sleeve. Although her expression was friendly, everything about her bearing said she was the sort of person who meant business.
Mia offered an uncertain smile, wondering if she’d done something wrong already. “That’s me.”
The woman stepped into the office and stuck out her hand. “I’m Andie Lockhart. My aunt Birdie’s your landlady.”
“Oh!” Mia got to her feet to take Andie’s hand. “You must be Josh’s sister.”
Andie’s gaze narrowed. “You know Josh?”
“I met him the day I moved in. I think he was dropping off some fertilizer for your aunt.” Mia elected not to mention that she’d been mostly naked, shrieking about spiders, and had crashed into him at full speed. It hadn’t exactly been her finest hour.
“Right, of course.” Andie’s smile returned to its full warmth. “Birdie told me you were coming to campus today, so I thought I’d drop in and say hi while I was here.”
Mia made a mental note not to tell Birdie anything she didn’t care to have repeated to her landlady’s social circle, which—based on Mia’s several conversations with her the last few days—seemed to be extensive. “Do you work here?” she asked Andie.
“Part-time lecturer in the college of forestry and agriculture. The rest of the time I’m a resources specialist for the state parks and wildlife service.” That explained the patch on Andie’s shirt and the practical, outdoorsy attire.
“Does that mean you take care of the trees and animals?” Mia asked, unable to remember the last time she’d set foot in a state park. She generally preferred to view the outdoors from indoors. Preferably through thick glass.
“Something like that, yeah.” Andie glanced around Mia’s storage closet. “Nice digs they’ve got you in.”
“Honestly, I’m just glad to have an office at all.”
Andie hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “I was gonna go grab some coffee. Wanna join me?”
“God, yes,” Mia said, grabbing her bag. “I’d love that.”
The campus coffee shop was located in the student union building, which wasn’t too far from the math building. Andie pointed out various campus landmarks along the way, including the giant new ag building where she taught, which was much grander than the buildings that housed the college of science. The entire college of forestry and agriculture took up one whole half of the campus, including a large swath of farm and pastureland stretching to the south.
“It’s a nice campus.” Mia wiped a trickle of sweat off her forehead, hoping the coffee shop was air-conditioned.
So far, she’d found the oppressive heat and humidity the most challenging part of living in Texas. Other than the banana spiders, of course. Fortunately, she hadn’t encountered Imelda or