“I gave it some thought, and I’d like to offer you the job.”
“Oh.” I didn’t quite feel real. I cleared my throat. “Sorry, this was… I wasn’t expecting….”
He chuckled, the sound coming across as warm. “I can imagine. You mentioned a long job hunt, after all.”
“Uh, yeah, it’s been a while.” I scratched the back of my neck as I tried to find something to say.
Luckily Crew took over. “So it would be the salary and benefits we talked about yesterday with the start date as soon as you’re able.”
“Right. Okay. The package was generous so that’s… I appreciate it and accept. It’s just that I’m a single parent and since we live a few hours away, I’ll need to figure out a place for us and a daycare for Tony first.”
It was a testament to his concentration that Tony didn’t lift his gaze from the cow he was coloring orange.
“We can take care of housing,” Crew started, sounding a bit thoughtful. “We have an empty cabin. It's only one bedroom, but has all the amenities. If you want it, it's yours.”
Immediately frowning, something inside me feeling wrong, I asked, “Is that a part of the package or…?”
“Yes. It's included, at no additional expense or pay cut. It has sat empty for a while and it’s not used for anything else. I would’ve offered you the bunkhouse; there’s room there, but with a kid….”
“Yeah, yeah. I understand.” It still rubbed me the wrong way, but…. I glanced at Tony. “Honestly, I think we’ll accept that. There’s still the question of childcare, so it might take me a bit to figure that out.”
Crew chuckled, this time almost sheepishly. “That’s where my mother comes in. She anticipated this issue and told me to let you know that she can watch Tony for you until you can find him a placement.” He quickly added, “She does this for anyone who needs it on occasion. Several of our employees have families and sometimes there are emergencies. It’s no hardship. She loves kids.”
One would hope so, given that she’d had ten of them.
This time I rubbed a hand over my face and gritted my teeth. It was the perfect solution. It would get us out of our month-to-month lease just before it renewed, too.
I huffed out a breath. “Okay. I accept that offer. It’ll speed things along significantly which is good.”
I could hear the smile in Crew’s voice. “Excellent. You have my number now, so whenever you want to head this way, let me know. Or call the ranch number and Mom will get it. Either way, welcome to Blue Creek Ranch, Malachi. And Tony.”
I let out a small laugh that somehow drew Tony’s attention better than his own name. “Thank you. I’ll let you know our schedule as soon as I can figure it out. In the next few days, though.”
“Talk to you later.”
I put my phone on the table and grabbed my milkshake, taking a long pull.
“Who was it?” Tony peered at me curiously.
I grinned. “It was Mr. Crew. I got the job.”
Tony froze for a second, then he threw his hands in the air and yelled, “Yay!”
He scrambled from his side and came around the table to climb onto my lap. Then he squeezed me around the neck as hard as he could.
Laughing, I squeezed him back gently but firmly, the way he liked the best.
“Oh, another thing,” I added. “We’re going to live on the ranch.”
The way his eyes widened, and mouth turned into an O was comical. The expression seemed to be reserved for the ranch.
“Juanpablo!”
Or maybe it was just for the donkey.
Four days later, two days before our lease would’ve renewed, we started the drive that would hopefully be the last one of this kind for a long time.
Tony was in good spirits. He sang along with the radio and then wanted to listen to a kids’ audio book, so I got out his headphones and iPad he got to use for a couple of limited games and his books.
