Page 56 of Tumbleweed Temptation
Chapter Thirteen
Even on her days off, Ginny couldn't sleep in. But she had work to do—working on this cooking contest, and going to San Angelo for the football game—had put her behind. She liked these mornings when she had the house to herself, after Poppy went to work. She made herself a cup of coffee, with liberal amounts of creamer, grabbed her pen and laptop, and curled up on the couch to edit a veteran author’s romantic suspense.
She didn't see the missed call until she took a little snack break around ten. She didn't know the number, but they’d left a voicemail, so she listened.
And her heart skipped when she heard Melissa had quit and Austin still wanted her to come work for him.
She wasn't sure how to deal with that. Was her desire to go work for him because she wanted something different in her life? Something more challenging? Was it because of him?
Would she even consider it longer than a minute, knowing how Janine would react?
Not for the first time, she wished Janine was just her boss, not someone she considered family.
Not someone who depended on her so much.
She didn't return the call, but getting back into her editing took her a lot longer than usual. She needed to figure out her own motivation before she could answer Austin yes or no.
He was going to ask her about it this afternoon when they went to Mrs. Lopez’s store, she just knew it.
And he would be right to. Melissa had quit, no warning. He was going to need someone to fill in right away.
Someone he could trust.
She wanted it to be her, but didn't want to upset Janine.
Her head hurt from the dilemma, and she almost called off their visit to Mrs. Lopez. Heck, maybe she should just go in on her own, not wait for him, but she thought having Dr. Austin Driscoll with her would give the idea more weight.
Not a pun.
So, hell. She was going to have to have an answer for Austin this afternoon.
And she was going to have to get a lot of work done between now and then.
*****
AUSTIN WAITED FOR HERoutside the grocery store, which surprised her. She’d had the day off, but apparently he hadn’t wanted to be late. Mrs. Lopez could be really cranky if she had to close the store later than she wanted.
“You got your talking points?” he asked, not the first thing she expected him to say.
“I know what I want to say,” she said.
“Okay, let’s do this.” He flashed her a grin, held the door for her, and they walked into the store.
A couple of customers were shopping, but for now, Mrs. Lopez was alone at the register.
“Hey, Mrs. Lopez, can we talk to you for a minute?”
