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“I could. But I have a feeling I won’t want to. But I would miss you.”
“Will miss me. You’ll miss me like crazy,” she smiles. “But I’ll come visit. And you’ll come here, maybe split the holidays. People do it all the time!”
I hug her, and cry my heart out.
“You met the one, Will. I know you did. And all because of me.”
We split up, laughing and wiping our eyes. And with hope in my heart, I say the magic word, “Yes.”
Gemma heads out so I can get ready, after walking Thor for me, to help. As soon I finishing blow-drying my hair, I call Ben.
“Hey,” he answers, voice sexy, happy to hear from me.
“Hi. Can I have your mom’s phone number? I want to ask her about this job.”
“Of course.”
“I just want to…you understand.”
“Totally. This is a lot. But I’m very excited you’re seriously considering it. Very.”
He gives me the number and I thank him, so close to saying I love you before I hang up that I even open my mouth to. But I abstain. Takes a heck of a lot of will power! I guess I want it to be in person and…oh, I don’t know!
“This is Rachel,” she answers.
“Mrs. Cocker?”
“Rachel. Hi Willow. I recognize your voice.”
“Yes, I just spoke with Ben and he said you might need help around Sunflower?”
“We do! Are you thinking about it?”
“Yes. I think it would be a dream.”
I hear her energy brighten. “Okay, so I told Ben that you could have your own room at the house and we would teach you the ropes.”
“I’m not great at painting. Or yoga.”
“You’re going to learn!” I hear her call to Jaxson, “It’s Willow! She’s considering the job and boarding!” Back to me she says, “Sylvia and I are getting up there in age and we’d love to have some help. There used to be three of us, but well…something happened and that friendship turned out to be not true. It’s been just us for some time. Jaxson helps with things outside, horses, lessons about ranching, etc. But everything here we do ourselves. We’d train you, and your staying here would give you and Ben and Jonny a chance to get to know each other without the crazy distance, or too much lack thereof. He told me he asked you to move here already and I told him any sane woman would balk at it being too soon. Then of course he admitted it would be too much of a rush for Jonny. Especially with…you know.”
“Yes.”
“Willow, you know how when you meet some people you immediately know you like them? That’s me with you. Sylvia agrees. You’re very easy to get along with, and we think the way you handled some of the more difficult things while you were here, that you could handle any challenges that come up with all of the different personalities that coexist within our doors for uninterrupted days on end. And you don’t have to be a painter to give people paint and let them find their own creative sides within themselves. You just need to know how to clean a brush!” She laughs. “That’s a metaphor for everything isn’t it?”
“I have to go to work, but I can’t tell you how excited this makes me, just hearing about it! Not one cell of my body is saying no.”
“That makes me very happy!”
“I hate to tell you first, but since you’re the one hiring me and giving me a home, Ben will have to accept the fact that I’m telling you, before him,” I laugh, “I’d love to take you up on this offer.”
“So it’s a yes?”
“It’s a yes! It’s a huge YES!”
“Jaxson! Willow accepted our offer!”
He whoops in the background, straight cowboy style, “Woohoo!!!”
