His Old Lady - Debra Kayn Page 0,7

in with Grandma June. After that, they were lucky if they were able to see each other twice a year, during family day at the clubhouse or out shopping.

Their lack of communication and growing up apart had added an awkwardness to their relationship once they hit the teenage years. The distance coupled with Tracy's parents getting murdered when Tracy was in high school only made things more stilted between them for years. It wasn't until Tracy and Rick got together, and they ran into each other at the mall in Missoula that the barriers seemed to melt away.

"I'll stay for a few minutes." She got back out of the car, glancing at the corner of the building to make sure Curley had gone back to whatever he was doing with the guys. "I was going to call you soon."

"About?"

She walked inside the clubhouse, spotting Paco jumping from the couch again as if to stop her from causing trouble, and ignored him. "Well, I had a new job here in town and wanted to let you know so we could get together, but Curley put a stop to that."

"He stopped you from seeing me?"

"No. From working."

"So, you're going back home?" Tracy sat at the table. "Sit. Tell me what's going on."

She slumped in the chair. "I quit my job at the lounge. Things were getting out of control with the guy who owns the place since he got divorced."

"Uh, oh." Tracy curled her lip. "Was he putting the moves on you?"

"Something like that," she mumbled, not wanting to think about Cal Williams and ruin her mood.

As far as she knew, nobody at Tarkio knew what had happened at the lounge, which was fine by her.

"God, that sucks."

"Yeah." She propped her elbows on the table. "I was going to work at Riverside Bar part-time, even verbally agreed to the job with the owner yesterday, and this morning, the owner told me I was no longer welcome at his establishment."

"Why?" Tracy's gaze narrowed. "Because of Curley?"

She raised her brows and smirked. "Who else?"

"I'm sorry." Tracy squeezed Faye's hand. "Although I hate to say it, I doubt if you would've been happy there. The owner is a creep. I've seen how he treats the girls that work for him."

"At this point, it was a job. I'm starting to think male bosses are a risk I'm going to have to take if I want to make money."

"Have you gone to the grocery store and asked if they need cashiers? They were hiring last month. They may need more people, especially part-time." Tracy opened her purse and took out a receipt, reading the paper. "The manager's name and phone number are at the bottom. Give him a call."

"Thanks." She leaned to the side and put the receipt in her pocket. "Enough about me. How are the babies?"

"You need to come by the house and see them yourself." Tracy smiled. "I've missed you. I should've told you that years ago and not let us stray apart."

Faye swallowed. "What brought it up today?"

"I don't know." Tracy shrugged and lost her smile. "Rick's going on a week-long ride, and I hate to be alone at the house with the babies. I thought maybe you'd like to come over. You can spend the night, so you don't have to drive there and back all in one day."

"It's only an hour each way."

Tracy met her gaze. "I'd like you to spend the night."

She was too old for a sleepover, but she also knew what Tracy had lived through back when she lost her parents. Coming back to Missoula would give her another chance at finding a job.

"When are you thinking?" she asked.

"Anytime this Monday through Friday." Tracy lifted her brows. "Please say you'll come."

She grinned, looking forward to some girl time. "I'll come over Monday and leave on Tuesday."

"Awesome." Tracy sat up straighter. "It'll be like old times."

"Yeah," whispered Faye, not feeling the joy she used to get at the anticipation of spending time over at The Greer's house. "Is there anything I can bring? Pizza? Baby...stuff?"

Tracy laughed. "No, just bring yourself."

"Okay." She faked a smile and pressed her palms to the top of the table. "Well, I better go. I don't want to hit all the traffic on the interstate when everyone gets off work."

"Drive safe." Tracy stood and looked around the room, digging in her purse. "I better go talk to Jerry, so I can get home, too."

"I'll see you Monday." She walked out of the building, put in