Part 8 (1/2)
”I'm sorry it didn't work out for you,” she said. ”I'll miss you.”
”I'll miss you, too.” She picked up her sweater. ”He won't eat breakfast. But maybe my replacement could bring him a roll or a246.247.
bagel occasionally. He'll eat it if it's put in front of him with coffee.”
”I noticed,” Nurse Turner said dryly.
”It was just a thought.”
She hugged Kitty. ”Where will you go?”
”There are always jobs for a good typist,” Kitty said simply. ”I'll find something.”
Nurse Turner hesitated. ”Aren't you going to tell him goodbye?” she asked, nodding toward the back of the office.
Kitty hesitated, but only for a minute. ”No,” she said rawly. She left the office without another word.
Two weeks later, she was enjoying a s.n.a.t.c.hed cup of coffee when her new boss, Matt Caldwell, peered around the door.
”Got that disk copied yet?” he asked.
She grinned and held it up, in its jacket.
”Good thing for me you were tired of being a receptionist just when my secretary went into labor. You've saved my life. These are herd records for that group I've got at the Balleng-er's feedlot. I want to show the birth weight ratios to a prospective buyer.” He stuck the computer disk in its case into his pocket. ”You're a jewel, girl. Don't know what I'd do without you.”
She chuckled. ”I doubt that. Probably halfthe women in Jacobsville would have come running if you'd advertised.”
”That's why I didn't,” he murmured. ”I'm quite a catch, didn't you know? Handsome, rich, sophisticated and charming, and modest to a fault.” He took a bow.
She burst out laughing. ”I noticed the modesty right away.”
He opened the door. ”Go home early if you like. I'll be out for the rest of the day.”
”I'll stick around to answer the phone.”
”Where do you go from here?” he asked, scowling. ”I could make a job for you quite easily...”
She shook her head. ”I've got two interviews in Victoria.”
He grimaced. ”Listen, child, you don't have to leave the county just because Drew Morris can't live in the present.”
”Yes, I do,” she replied firmly. ”I'm not going to sit around here eating my heart out every time I see him. I'll be happy in Victoria. I'll find another man and marry him and have five kids.”
”You could marry me,” Matt suggested. ”I'm not interested in anyone seriously these days. And at least I'd be sure you weren't marrying me for my money.”
She smiled warmly. ”Thanks, Matt, but I248don't think either of us could settle for a loveless marriage.”
He shrugged and sighed. ”I could.” She knew his past, and she doubted it, but she didn't say so. ”I appreciate the offer,” she told him sincerely. ”I'll remember it and gloat every time a local belle swoons over you.”
He threw her a wicked glance. ”Likely story.”
After he left, she organized the filing and then just sat staring at the blank computer monitor. She was totally miserable. She hadn't really expected Drew to call, and he hadn't, but she'd hoped that he might miss her. That was wishful thinking, nothing else. He was probably happy that he didn't have her to divert him from his memories.
She was briefly ashamed of herself for being like that, when he'd loved his wife so much. She'd never be loved as Eve had, despite the feelings she harbored for Drew. Love that was unreturned was a bitter thing indeed.
As she filed the new jackets, she wondered how she'd ever come to this incredible low in her life. Not even the loss of her father had left her so depressed and miserable. If only she could work up just a spark of enthusiasm for 249.
a new job. Perhaps she'd find something in Victoria that would heal her wounds.
The worst thing about being in Jacobsville was that from time to time, she ran into Drew. It wasn't a tiny little town, but there were only two banks, and she and Drew both banked at the same one. She saw him there soon after she'd quit working for him. He was polite, but he acted as if he barely knew her. The next time they met, in the grocery store, he pretended not to see her. Her heart was breaking in two. The only thing for it was to get out of town as soon as possible, no matter what sort of work she got to do.
She couldn't find a single secretarial or receptionist job going spare in Victoria, but there was an opening at a nice-looking local cafe. In desperation, Kitty applied for it and was hired on the spot.
She didn't tell Matt what sort of job she had, just that she had one. She thanked him kindly for his temporary employment and packed her bags.
It was inevitable that Matt would run into Drew one day.
”You look like h.e.l.l,” Matt remarked250.251.
bluntly when he saw the drawn, irritable-looking physician.
”I've been up all night with a patient,” Drew muttered. He studied the other man. ”I know Kitty's working for you. Are you making sure she uses her medicines? The pollen count's going to be out of sight this week, with no rain.”
”Kitty's not here,” Matt replied, faintly surprised. ”She got a job in Victoria last week and moved there.”
”What?”
The other man's shocked expression said a lot. ”I only needed temporary help,” Matt explained. ”I have to have someone permanent, and Kitty didn't want to stay in Jacobsville.”