one around. I taught myself because it was that or eat cardboard. As I’m laughing, I hold my phone up and take a picture of myself to send back.
“What are you doing?” I jump and drop my cell phone on the ground as my heart races.
“You scared me.” For a big man he sure can tiptoe, because I didn't hear him coming at all.
“These are work hours. Text him on your own time.”
Clay turns away and stomps back outside before slamming the door behind him. I guess this means he’s still not happy I’m here.
I bend down and pick up the cell phone and see the screen is cracked. I try and get it to come on, but nothing happens. I swallow the lump in my throat, and when a tear escapes I wipe it away quickly. I put it down and try to get back to work while not thinking about how I just lost my only connection to my sister.
An hour later and I’m so sick of laundry, I quit for now. It will take him a week to get through what I have washed and folded already, so I put everything away then go to the kitchen for lunch.
I need to call Kat or she’ll start freaking out if she doesn't hear from me. I saw a landline in the office earlier, so maybe I can use that.
When I open the fridge, nothing looks appealing, and my stomach complains. I glance at the clock on the microwave and see that I have more than enough time to get to town and back and still be able to make dinner.
I dart off to my room and grab a jacket and my purse. When I step outside, I see my car is gone, and then I remember Clay saying he’d put it in the barn. I walk over that way to see an older man inside stacking bales of hay. On the other side I see my car and walk over towards it. The older man stops when he sees me, and a slow smile pulls across his sun-weathered face.
“Hi.” I wave at him, trying to be polite. “I’m Dotty, the new housekeeper.”
“Nice to meet you, Dotty. I’m Otis.” He holds his hand out for me to shake. “There something I can help you with? I’m guessing Clay won’t like you being out in the barn alone.”
“My car.” I nod towards it. “I need to run to town, but would you happen to know where the keys are?”
“Yep.” He walks over to the other side and opens a drawer at an old workstation. “If you park in the barn, we keep the keys in there in case someone needs to move a vehicle for some reason.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure I do that when I get back.” He drops the keys into my hand. “Thanks again.”
I smile when the car starts right up, and I think things might be looking up from here. Now, if the phone people can fix my cell, that would be wonderful.
I jerk awake when someone touches my shoulder. I must have nodded off at some point while waiting for them to fix my phone.
“Oh gosh. I’m so sorry.” Jo gives me a sympathetic look as I stand up from the chair. My butt is killing me because I’ve been sitting in that chair for a few hours. I can tell from the look on his face I’m not going to like what he has to say. He was checking into a warranty or maybe a replacement.
“There is nothing we can do. You’d have to buy a new one.”
“At full price I take it?” You get a major deal when you buy it with your plan.
“Yeah.” He hands me back the broken phone, and I shove it into my purse. “I’m really sorry about this. The wait and the phone.”
“Thanks.” I do my best to give him a smile before I head out. The sun is already setting, so I guess I’m not making it home before dinner. It didn't help that the first store I went to had moved locations. Then when I got the new address, I got freaking lost for an hour.
I try to make it back to the farm quickly without speeding. I have a feeling I’m going to be in trouble. I should have been working this afternoon and dealt with my phone on my own time over the weekend. I’d let my emotions get the best of me, but I