Page 11 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

“He did?” She sounded emotional again.

“Yep.” He sensed there were more wrinklesin her relationship with Decker than what had come up during her interview. Though it wasn’t any of his business, it felt good to know that his job offer might help smooth things between them.

“I’m thrilled about your willingness to take a chance on me,” she gushed. “Thank you for the opportunity. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about living up to y’all’s expectations, but?—”

“I’ll help bring you up to speed,” he cut in. “I didn’t bring you on board to flounder. It’s a new department, so we’ll be riding the learning curve together.” Most of his job experience was with the military. He was still adjusting to the way things worked in the civilian sector.

“You’re gonna let me walk before I have to run, huh?” She sounded relieved.

“For the first day or two,” he teased. “Maybe until after Christmas. Things are on a bit of a holiday slowdown around here.”

She snickered. “Very generous of you, boss.”

Boss? Ouch!“Rock,” he corrected. “I thought I made it clear we go by first names around here.” He could think of only one exception to that rule. “If you have a burning desire to toss around titles, save them for Gil. After three decades of serving as the town sheriff, he’s earned the right to be called sir.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. When do I start work?” The eagerness in her voice made him smile.

“I’m going to let that be your call.” He didn’t want to sound over-zealous, but he’d waited months for the right person to come along for the job — months that had put Decker Kingston in a twitchy mood to pick up the pace with getting their new forensics team off the ground. “I’ve been given the green light to bring you on board as soon astomorrow morning. That said, it’s only a week until Christmas. If you’d rather wait…”

“No!” She sounded so vehement that he grew silent. “Believe it or not, you’re saving my hide all over again by letting me start right away. I, um, sort of skipped out on a holiday cruise with my parents to show up at today’s interview.”

“You did what?” His heart sank.

“Trust me. I much preferred being at the interview.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “And starting work tomorrow will make me look a lot better in their eyes than kicking up my feet until after the holidays.”

He felt like he’d intruded far enough into her family’s dynamics for one day. “In that case, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“What time?”

“Eight o’clock.”

She chuckled again. “If I get started now, I should be finished with my happy dance by then.”

He joined in her laughter. He couldn’t help it. Her joy was infectious. As he ended the call, he glanced longingly toward the clock on the wall. Eight o’clock tomorrow morning couldn’t come fast enough for him.

Mila’shappy dance ended with an almost face plant in the narrow, carpeted walkway between her unmade queen-sized bed and the adjoining bathroom. She bent over to scoot the culprit, an overflowing plastic laundry basket, to the far wall, vowing to fold and put away her clothes before she went to bed. While she was down near the floor, she did something she hadn’t done in a longtime. She slid to her knees at the foot of the antique iron bed she’d pilfered from a dumpster a few years ago.

“Thank You,” she whispered, clasping her hands and tipping her head back to gaze up at the ceiling. There was a water stain in one corner that she’d been trying without luck to get the maintenance crew to fix. With as much as she was forking out in rent for a lake view, it didn’t seem right to have to stare at a water stain every night in bed. However, she was too happy right now to let it bother her the way it normally did.

In her heart, she knew it was a miracle she’d landed her dream job at Lonestar Security, and she hadn’t done it on her own. Not with her stepbrother making it clear he was dead set against hiring her. Nope. Rock Dreamboat Hefner had done something to change his mind. She didn’t know what it was, but she was humbled with gratitude that he had.

She was puzzled, too. She was accustomed to guys flirting with her. Her wavy, white-blonde hair and sapphire eyes had always been attention grabbers. Guys loved telling her she looked like an angel, though her mother had always been quick to assure her she was the opposite of angelic. According to Carla Kingston, Mila had been lucky to finally capture the attention of “the kind of guy who actually mattered.” Those were her mother’s words, not her own. The same guy who’d cheated on her at his bachelor party, causing her to abandon the relationship altogether.

What Mila wasnotaccustomed to was having a swoon-worthy, single guy like Rock have her back the way he’d had hers today. Referring to her as his partner was the icing on the cake. She was going to enjoy working for him. She could feel it in her bones. He already treated her with the respect she’d always craved. Maybe some of it would roll off onDecker. Maybe Rock would help her brother see the person she was trying so hard to become.

“Thank You,” she whispered again to her Maker. They were the only two words that felt adequate at the moment. So many good things were happening to her all at once. Before she got off her knees, she added a quick request for a favor she didn’t deserve. “And please help me figure out how to be a better sister and aunt this evening.” She felt a sliver of guilt about omitting her role as a sister-in-law from her prayer, but Decker’s wife hadn’t done squat to include her in, well, anything. If Mila ever worked up enough goodwill to pray for the woman, it would probably sound more like a complaint. Likeplease sweeten her sourness.Orbring her off her high horse to the level of regular people like me.Yeah, that didn’t sound too reverent, so she ended her prayer with another whisperedthank You.

Then she stood and pondered what to wear to the Taj Mahal for dinner. She rummaged through her closet for several minutes, debating and discarding the idea of throwing on a cocktail dress. In the end, she decided that her wide-leg black pants and beige blazer were chic enough.

You know what? I’m just gonna be myself.She should probably make it her new motto. If she’d learned anything during the past twenty-four years of having her ears chewed off by her mother, it was this. A girl simply couldn’t please everybody. It didn’t matter how hard she tried. At the end of the day, Mila Kingston was the only person who had to live with her decisions. And now that she’d made a few good ones in a row, she was on a streak that she was reluctant to give up.

New college degree. Check.

New job. Check.

World’s most incredible new boss (who doesn’t want to be called my boss). Check.

A dinner invitation to the Taj Mahal. Check.

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