Page 81 of Make It Last

I took a slow breath. “Josie, thank you.”

She paused, her gaze sobering as she looked at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said softly. “It’s just a lot. I’ve been through some stuff, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad I broke my ankle.”

She smiled uncertainly. “It gave me time, and that time gave me perspective. I need this change. I love it here in Willow Brook. I can’t go back and work with my ex and his… I don’t even know what to call her.” Josie winced in sympathy. “It’s not that I’m mourning our marriage. I’m not. It hurt, but I’m just so embarrassed.” Pausing, I shook my head sharply. “You offering me this job right now makes this possible for me.”

Josie’s expression softened. “Well, I need you as much as it sounds like maybe you need this job. But before you get ahead of yourself, please look at the paperwork. Oh, wait.” She brightened. “I printed it. I hate reading things on a laptop.” She wrinkled her nose again, and I laughed.

Twenty minutes later, I had read every page. “The salary…” I stared at the number again. “Are you sure?”

“I’m positive,” Josie said firmly. “We have funding, and we’re using it. Tate may not look like it because he’s a firefighter and looks like some rugged Alaska mountain man. He is totally hot, if I don’t say so myself.” Her cheeks flushed slightly. “But he’s a savvy businessman. He snagged this property at a serious deal. I still don’t know how he did it. I lined up a bunch of grants, and we’re ready to roll.”

“It probably helps that you’re an Olympic skier,” I pointed out.

Josie rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“You were in commercials,” I stated.

“I know,” she said dryly. “Anyway, this salary is competitive with other ski resorts. We want to become a premier location.”

“I love it,” I breathed. “I’m getting excited.”

“So I have to email it to you. You need to sign it from your own email address.”

“Do it right now. I’ll sign it on my phone.”

A moment later, it was official. We stared at each other for half a second before simultaneously squealing. We high-fived and hugged.

“When do I start?” I asked.

“When do you want to start?”

“Well,” I said, sobering slightly, “I do need to go back and sort things out. I can start doing some things remotely. But I need to box up my stuff and ship what I want to bring up here. I don’t even know where I’m going to stay.”

“You can stay here until you figure it out.”

“I can?”

“You’re already here. It’s available. After the winter months, if you’re still here, Tate will want to charge you. But it’ll be reasonable.”

“That’s fine. I need to pay rent.”

“We’re planning staff apartments too,” she added. “You can help organize that.”

“That would be awesome.” I felt the excitement all the way down to my literal tippy-toes.

“Okay,” Josie continued. “The guys are leaving for a fire.” My stomach dipped. “Are you going to leave while Tanner’s gone?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted.

“Let’s simplify this so you don’t feel frantic. Start next month.”

I exhaled slowly. “Oh. That’s perfect. I love that.”

“Meanwhile,” she said, clapping her hands once, “let’s celebrate. We’ll round up everyone who comes to card night.”

“I love that idea. What should we do?”