“So you’re a teacher?” Lorna said. “I thought you were a journalism major.”
“I was, briefly. But during the summer between my freshman year and my sophomore year, I worked at a day-care center. I loved working with kids so much, I decided to switch to early childhood education. Up until I got married, I taught kindergarten.”
“Up until you got married?”
Amy nodded. “My ex didn’t want me to work.” Seeing the look on Lorna’s face, Amy added wryly, “How could I focus all my time and energy on him if I was working?”
Lorna made a face. “Oh. That kind of man.”
Amy shuddered. “You have no idea.”
“And yet he was okay with you moving and taking Calista with you?”
“He didn’t have a choice.”
Lorna nodded. “How long were you married?”
“Seven years. Seven long years. How about you?”
“Six years.”
“What happened? If you don’t mind my asking?”
“A twenty-year-old Dallas Cowboys cheerleader with big boobs.”
“Oh, Lorna, that stinks.”
Lorna shrugged. “The bloom was off the rose by then, anyway. I realized early on I’d made a bad mistake, but I hung on stubbornly, thinking I could make it work if I just tried hard enough. Thing is, it takes two, and Keith wasn’t trying. He was looking for greener pastures…or should I say someone more adoring than I was ever going to be.”
“Were you living here in Morgan Creek when this happened?”
“Uh-huh. And that may have been a big part of the problem. He hated working for my family, but more than that, he really hated that I had more say-so in the running of the company than he did. Keith has to be top dog and he wasn’t.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe if I’d loved him more, I would have tried harder to make him happy. It wasn’t all his fault.” For a moment she was silent. Then she smiled and lifted her glass of lemonade. “But that’s water under the bridge. Now here we are, two women who have learned some tough lessons but who are cutting their losses and moving on. To survival!”
Amy clinked her glass against Lorna’s. “To survival.”
Chapter Two
Bryce Hathaway wasn’t looking forward to the evening. Although his family had always made a big deal out of birthdays, especially those of his grandmother, Stella, the oldest living Hathaway, he knew tonight’s celebration would be a trial because Stella Morgan Hathaway had been on the warpath for the past week.
The reason was Bryce’s youngest sister, Claudia. Since earning her MBA, Claudia had worked in the family business, but it was apparent to everyone that, unlike Lorna, she hated it. With Bryce’s encouragement, Claudia had begun to investigate other job opportunities. This meant there was a high probability she would be leaving Morgan Creek since there were few other job prospects in this town for someone like Claudia outside of Hathaway Bakery. But the truth was, part of the reason Claudia disliked working for the family business was the fact it was in Morgan Creek, as Bryce well knew.
Bryce couldn’t blame his youngest sister for the way she felt. As she’d put it last week, what were her chances of finding a guy she might want to spend her life with if she stayed in what she called “this one-horse town”? Bryce knew the answer: slim to none.
Hence Grandmother Stella’s displeasure, which was now aimed not only at Claudia but at Bryce himself.
Bryce grimaced. On top of having to contend with his grandmother’s dark looks and heavy disapproval, there was also the immediate problem of a nanny for his daughters. The second one in less than six months had abruptly quit the previous Friday. Bryce guessed he understood why it was so hard for him to keep a nanny. Claudia wasn’t the only educated woman who didn’t want to be stuck in a small town like Morgan Creek. And even if these women didn’t mind the town, they did mind the six-days-a-week, live-in requirements of the job. Not even the generous salary and private suite of rooms seemed to make up for these negatives.
Plus there was Susan.
Bryce knew he should be angry with his younger daughter, but it was hard for him to stay mad at Susan, no matter how far she tested his patience, because she was so vibrant and full of life. In those dark months after Michelle’s death, Susan had been the only one who could make Bryce smile and forget his pain.
But the nannies employed since the death of his wife three years earlier weren’t as forgiving of Susan’s pranks and subtle forms of torture as he was. Even Stella’s sweetness couldn’t make up for her younger sister’s hijinks and sometimes aggravating behavior, as one recent nanny had told Bryce in exasperation.
“I’ve had all I can take,” the woman had said.
“Look, I’m sorry about the lizard—”
“Yes,” she’d said, “I’m sure you are, but I’m still leaving.”
The lizard in the jewelry box was only the latest in a series of calculated attempts to get the nanny to resign. Susan had made no bones about the fact she didn’t like Miss Reynolds, and no matter what kind of punishment he exacted, he also knew Susan would never change. Until he found a nanny she liked, she would continue to drive them away.
“Daddy, I’m ready.”
Bryce blinked, then smiled down at Stella. It always amused him that his grandmother’s namesake was totally unlike her in temperament, whereas Susan personified the phrase “chip off the old block.”
“And where is your sister?”
“She’ll be here in a minute. She’s fixing her hair.”
Stella’s own hair, a rich golden brown like Bryce’s, lay in perfect waves held neatly back from her face with a coral headband that matched her coral sundress. Around her neck was a strand of coral beads.
“You look very nice, honey.”
Stella ducked her head in shy pleasure. “Thank you.”
“I hope your sister has taken the trouble to look good for your grandmother, too.”
Before Stella could respond, Susan came racing down the stairs—hair flying, face flushed, eyes immediately zeroing in on Stella’s.
Bryce knew that look. Susan was up to something she knew he would disapprove of and was silently commanding her sister to keep her mouth shut. He also knew it would be futile to question either girl. Whatever it was Susan was planning, he’d just have to wait until it happened. Then he would deal with her.
He quickly inspected Susan, who—miracle of miracles—had chosen to wear a green flowered sundress just as pretty as Stella’s. Even her curlier hair—a shade lighter than Stella’s—looked good.
Bryce smiled his approval. “All right. Let’s gather up your grandmother’s presents and get going. You know how she feels about people not being on time.”
Susan made a face, then grinned at Stella.
Stella returned Susan’s smile.
Sometimes it pained Bryce to see how much Stella wanted to please—not just him, but everyone. He hoped she would outgrow this tendency and become more independent in her thinking. Otherwise he was afraid she was bound to have lots of problems in life, not to mention the very real possibility that she might decide she needed to please the wrong people. He knew he would have to keep close tabs on her, maybe even closer tabs than on Susan.
It was damned hard being a parent, and being a single parent was even worse, especially