Love Proof (Laws of Attraction) - By Elizabeth Ruston Page 0,110

case, losing my job, bombing out at interviews . . .

“Great,” Sarah said. “Sounds great.”

***

“How’s business, Dad?” Sarah wasn’t just deflecting the attention from herself, she honestly wanted to know. Her parents had always included her in their money and work discussions, even when she was still too young to understand all the details. She grew up feeling like a partner in both of her parents’ businesses.

“Oh, you know,” her dad said, “always slow this time of year. But it’ll pick up again in January—always does.”

“How’s all the equipment holding up?” Sarah asked.

“Mostly good. I’ll probably have to upgrade some of it next year. I’ll work it out.”

Sarah could hear the worry in his voice, but there was no point in pressing it. She couldn’t help him right now anyway.

“How’s Grady been?” she asked.

“Meaner than ever,” her father answered with a laugh.

Grady was his oldest employee. He’d been with Sarah’s father almost as long as her mother.

“How about you, Mom?” Sarah asked. “Busy this month?”

Mrs. Henley gave a weary laugh. “Just like every year. Relatives come to town, holiday parties, so everybody needs their houses to look perfect ahead of time. Then all those cleanups from office parties—I’ve been working double-time for the past three weeks. But the money’s good, so who’s complaining? It’s nice to be busy when your dad’s work is slower.”

That’s how it had always been, Sarah thought: the two of them taking turns supporting the family, riding the highs and lows of the economy, always treating each other like equal partners in keeping the family afloat. It was why Sarah had always looked forward to playing her own part in it, helping her parents out with whatever money she could.

“But we want to hear about you!” her mother said. “You know everything about us. Come on, tell us what you’ve been doing.”

Here it was, Sarah thought, her chance to tell them everything.

“Work’s been . . . good,” she began, testing the words on her tongue. “It’s, you know, challenging . . . ”

“Especially with that Joe Burke there, I’m sure,” her mother added.

Now there’s an understatement, Sarah thought. “Right . . . ”

“Any word yet on the job turning into something more permanent?” her dad asked.

“Um, well, that’s kind of interesting,” Sarah said, again seeing her opening. “I think—” She paused to clear her throat. “There’s some stuff going on with the case right now. I think my part of it might actually end a little earlier than I expected . . . ”

She hated to lie to her parents, but it wasn’t technically a lie, she told herself. Except for the word might.

“How much earlier?” her father wanted to know. “I thought you had at least five months guaranteed.”

“Yeah, well, not exactly.”

“So you’ll be out of work again?” he asked, making no effort to hide his concern.

“Just until I find something else,” Sarah said. “It’s fine. I’ve already started interviewing.”

“Well, that’s smart,” her mother said. “Better to be ready than sorry.”

Sarah nodded. She hadn’t exactly been living by that motto for the past few weeks.

On the other hand, she hadn’t exactly been this happy in her personal life for the past several years.

“I bet that Joe Burke will be sorry to see you go,” Sarah’s mother said. “He should have been nicer to you in the first place.”

“He’s been nice lately, Mom,” Sarah said. She couldn’t bear to just sit there and hear Joe maligned, even though she still didn’t feel ready to confess everything. She dreaded seeing the disappointment on her parents’ faces when she explained that she lost her job because she had been doing something unethical. Not just doing something unethical, but been caught doing it.

Sarah’s mother patted her hand. “Like I always said, you were too good for that man. I’m sure he always sees you as the one who got away.”

“So,” Sarah said, blatantly changing the subject, “what’s our cookie schedule tomorrow? How many batches are we making?”

“I think at least seven this time,” her mother said. “I have some new clients, so I want to make sure there’s enough for everybody.”

It was her holiday gift to her clients, which used to drive Sarah crazy. She argued for years that the clients should be giving their cleaning lady a year-end bonus, not the other way around. But her mother continued to think it was good business to bake treats for her customers, so Sarah had finally given in and simply offered to help. She had been her mother’s chief cookie