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.Not when the financing had fallen through on B&B number6.Not when B&B number 1 had lost its roof to a tornado.Both times, he d simply sighedthen gone back to work.New financing on better terms.New roof with an expansion.Newpossibilities.That was Wyatt. At the picnic table, he said just before they separated. Yeah.I ll only be a moment. He nodded, then paused. Megan, if it s really too painful She flashed him a bright smile. It s terribly painful, so I expect my raise effectiveimmediately. Immediately? he cried in mock outrage. It s the middle of a pay period. I think your math skills are up to the challenge, she drawled, relieved to see the pinchbetween his brows ease.Then before he could say more, she ducked into the bathroom.Ten minutes later, she was sitting at the park bench with her back to the freeway andher gaze on a row of evergreens.It was really very pretty here.The sun had warmed herseat and was now pleasant on her face.The breeze was non-existent, which was a goodthing considering it was early spring.All in all, it was quite nice for April in the Midwest.Her phone dinged and she winced.Looking down, she saw that it was her mother.Sheshould never have taught the woman how to text.Scanning the missive this one a rantagainst inconsiderate women at the grocery store she tapped out a quick response.Sorry about the rude people.In a meeting.Talk to you later.She hit send, then turned the phone to silent.And when she looked up, it was to seeWyatt standing across from her, his eyes hooded. Problem? he asked.She shook her head. My mother.She s just lonely. She needs a hobby. She needs to get laid. Then her eyes widened in horror.Had she just said that outloud? And to her boss?Apparently so, because he snorted a laugh. Can t help with that.But maybe she couldgo on one of those bus trips.We passed at least five of them in the last hour.Lots ofpeople her own age, lots of potential friends. Megan s eyes widened.Had he just given her the perfect solution for her motherproblem? If nothing else, it would keep the woman occupied for a while. Her birthday iscoming up, she said. There you go.Give her a trip, then guilt her into going. I could do that. She suddenly brightened. I will do that.Thank you! He shrugged. Glad I could help. Then he sat down across from her, his expressionserious, his body very, very still.And he waited while she watched the way the windflattened his tee shirt against his very broad chest.What if she didn t work for him? Whatif instead of taking her promotion, she asked him out on a date instead? What would hesay? Megan? he asked.She blinked, abruptly jerking her thoughts away from her sudden longing.She loved herjob, she reminded herself.She was not going to tank it just because her boss was thegreatest guy she d ever met. Okay, she said, mentally re-ordering her thoughts. You remember when I was a maid for you? At that first B&B? He nodded. Tie-dyed tanks, ripped cut-offs.Best maid I ve ever had.Er, employed. You got that right, she said with a smile. It was a week or so before you offered methis job.I was talking with Paulita about weddings.She was pregnant, you know, and shewas so happy.They d only been married a month, but she d wanted a kid.So bam, herdreams had come true. Over the years, Megan had thought often about Paulita.Was thewoman still as happy as she d been then? Did she miss having a job? Money?Independence?Meanwhile, Wyatt was frowning, obviously sorting through his memories. She neededthe job, needed the money, but I didn t know if she could work pregnant.It s a strenuousjob. Don t I know it, she murmured.Working in housekeeping had convinced her that shewanted a desk job. Then, at the end of my shift, you called me into the office andshowed me a spreadsheet. An early form of my Employee Risk Evaluation. Yeah, that. She bit her lip remembering the neat column of figures. It wasn t justrisk.You tabulated marketable skills, education, health, any number of other factors.Youlaid it all out there and boiled everything down to a single number. She d been a 6.On a37 point scale.She remembered staring at that number and all but sobbing on the spot.Her whole life, all of her reduced to a single digit number. I remember.I had blank spaces on your line.Things I didn t know or couldn tevaluate. Megan took a breath, forcing herself to continue. You told me you saw possibility inme.That there might be a better job for me but only if I got that number up to doubledigits. You hadn t graduated from college yet.I knew you were tired.You were studyingevery break you had.I was& I was trying to give you incentive to finish. Her lips curved into a smile. You were afraid I was going to drop out? Yes. A single word, but it explained so much. Well, it worked.I took that damn paper homeand stared at it.I filled it out for my parents, my brothers, my boyfriend.Hell, I evenwrote it out for Paulita.Her greatest ambition was to stay home and have a dozen kids.That gave her a big fat zero according to your spreadsheet on all sorts of line items
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