of them live in Magnolia anymore. I’m the logical choice to help him.”
Mary Jo scoffed. “Because you live on the opposite side of the country and haven’t once gone back since you drove away from that town? I don’t see the logic there, sweetie.”
“I’m a waitress with no family and really no friends other than my coworkers.” Lily gave a humorless laugh. “I have a string of loser ex-boyfriends, a crappy furnished apartment and tons of debt thanks to the last loser ex. I’ve given up the dream of becoming an actress.” She sighed. “I’ve given up dreaming. There’s nothing keeping me here.”
“You sure don’t paint a rosy picture,” Mary Jo admitted. “But I believe in you, Lil. I believe you’ll get back on your feet. You’ve been knocked around a bit—”
“Literally, thanks to the one prior to the last loser,” Lily added, anger and embarrassment rushing through her in equal measure.
“You’ve got a big heart and so much potential.”
“I love you for saying that.” Lily choked back another round of tears. “I owe you so much, MJ. But he’s my dad. I have to go home.”
“You can always come back,” her boss said gently.
Lily nodded. “Maybe. I’ve told my sisters I’ll be there by the weekend. I don’t even know how I’m going to make that happen with no money and no car.”
“I knew Kenny was bad news when I met him. He had shifty eyes.”
Lily wished she’d listened to her boss’s advice about her last boyfriend. She’d met Kenny at a TV pilot audition, a final effort to make something happen in the acting career Lily’s mother had wanted so badly for her. Seven years in California and Lily had been in exactly two commercials, one miserable play that closed after opening weekend and a blink-and-you-miss-it role as a serial killer victim in a network crime show.
She felt bad about her failure but never quite mustered up the sadness over not becoming a star that her mother might have expected.
“I can buy you a plane ticket,” Mary Jo offered without hesitation.
Truly, the best thing about Lily’s time in LA was working at MJ’s.
“I can’t take Chloe on a plane,” Lily said, biting her lip.
“You could leave her—”
“No. She’s coming with me. I’m all she has. I might try social media or an online classified site. Maybe I could find someone who wants a copilot for a cross-country trek.”
“Absolutely not.” Mary Jo plunked down the soda can on the desk and wagged a sparkly polished finger in Lily’s direction. “Ted Bundy wasn’t an urban myth back in my day.”
“I’d be careful,” Lily promised. “My other option is trying to rent some cheap car and drive alone.”
Mary Jo closed her eyes for a long moment and when she opened them again, they gleamed with a light that made Lily more than a little nervous. “I’ve got an idea. Stay here.”
“Mary Jo.” Lily stood and wrapped the older woman in a tight hug. “You don’t have to solve this for me. I’m your employee, and you’ve been generous and kind and all those things.”
“You deserve that in your life, sweetheart.” MJ pulled back and patted a soft hand against Lily’s cheek. “We both know the dream you’ve been chasing out here belonged to your mother. I’m sad to see you go and would love for you to come back, but mostly I want you to be happy. When was the last time you felt happy, Lil?”
Lily shook her head. “I can’t cry again. Tears get me nowhere.”
“Stay here,” Mary Jo repeated and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Lily’s mind raced as she considered the logistics of packing up her life to get from one coast to the other in less than a week. With no money and her ex-boyfriend’s Great Dane riding shotgun.
The dog had been the final straw that ended their relationship. Kenny had purchased the year-old purebred on a whim from an expensive breeder that he couldn’t afford.
Little did Lily know that the jerk didn’t need to be able to afford the dog. He’d taken out several credit cards in Lily’s name, so almost all of the debt he’d incurred during their six months together legally belonged to her. She hadn’t even admitted how much she owed to Mary Jo.
Then Kenny had gotten in a car accident, totaling Lily’s old Nissan. Chloe, who’d been riding in the back seat, had broken her leg. He’d been ready to dump the dog at the humane society but instead Lily