When You're Back - Abbi Glines Page 0,24

said, then took off his hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “I’m here to see those horses like I called about, but I got another proposition for you, too. My wife’s business is growing, and she’s needing more help in the office part of things. Taking phone calls and making phone calls. Reading e-mails and answering them. Even just cleaning the tack and whatnot.” He paused and put his hat back on his head. “I heard your girlfriend was looking for a job. I liked the girl, and I think she’d work well with Piper.”

Where had he heard Reese was looking for a job? She hadn’t said anything about it. I wasn’t sure I wanted her on the Stouts’ property, either. Not with Hawkins around.

“I’m not real sure she’s looking for a job. She’s not mentioned it. Don’t know where you got that information, but she’s going to look into going back to school. I appreciate the offer, though.”

Arthur looked disappointed, but he nodded. “Understood. Just thought I’d check. Piper has interviewed a few women, and they’ve been . . . older and treated her like, er, well, let’s just say it didn’t work out. She needs someone more her age.”

I nodded that I understood, but I wasn’t entertaining this idea. “You ready to see the girls?” I said, and I headed toward the stalls without waiting for him to follow.

Reese wasn’t looking for a job. If she was, she’d have told me. Wouldn’t she?

Reese

I fluffed the pillows on the sofa one more time before I continued pacing the living room. All day, I’d cleaned and thought about how I was going to tell Mase that I wanted a job. I also wanted to get my GED and take online college courses, but in order to do all that, I needed a steady income.

Staying here all day was not going to be enough. Even with Mase’s two-hour lunch break, I needed something to do with the rest of my day. Telling Mase I wanted to have my own money and pay my own way wasn’t going to go well. I could just feel it. He would go all caveman and insist he could take care of me. I needed to go another route. I needed to emphasize that I wanted a purpose. I wanted to get out into the world and do something.

He was a reasonable man. He would see what I was saying and understand.

Before I could get more nervous, the door opened, and in walked Mase, looking dirty, sweaty, and very sexy. He was my own personal cowboy, and I loved that. Seeing the smile on his face was all I needed, wasn’t it? That smile made everything else seem less important. Did I want to upset him? Did I want to argue tonight? Or just curl up in his arms and talk about other things? Things that made him happy.

Yes . . . no . . . ugh! I had to talk to him. I had to face this. It was my life. Our life. I had to find my direction in it.

“I want to get a job,” I blurted out, for fear that I wouldn’t say it if I waited. “I want to get a job and a GED and take college courses online.”

There. I had said it.

Mase stopped and studied me. He didn’t say anything for a moment, and I worried that I’d sounded ungrateful or unhappy. I wasn’t unhappy. I loved him. I loved being with him. I just needed more than being here all the time.

“You want a job?” he asked. “Who have you mentioned that to?”

I shook my head. “Just you,” I replied. I didn’t think I’d said it to anyone else, but maybe I had told Blaire, or was it Harlow? I couldn’t remember.

“Why do you want a job?”

“I want to make money. I don’t want you paying for my school and”—I held my hands out—“everything. I want to contribute. Staying here all day is . . . it’s not doing anything, really. I need to work. I need to get my GED.”

Mase let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips as he studied his boots a moment. He was upset. I had upset him. This was what I didn’t want to do. I had opened my mouth to apologize when he looked back up at me. “OK. I understand. How do you feel about answering phone calls and e-mails and cleaning horse