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My voice trailed off, but Everett seemed to already know where I was going. He looked a little bit shocked.
“Wendy, you don’t think that I would fire you over this, do you?” he asked. I didn’t really have anything to say, so I gave a slight shrug. He shook his head, leaning toward me. “Listen to me. Your job is not in any danger. At all. You did nothing wrong, and you are the one hurt in this situation. Yes, you’ll be out for a while and not able to work, but, again, that is not due to anything you did. You aren’t going to be punished for a mistake another person made.”
“Really?” I asked, the relief flooding through me.
“Absolutely,” Everett said. “You are already a valuable part of the company, Wendy. And I have it under good authority you are doing a really great job with your survey training.”
I looked over at Gerry, who nodded.
“You really are. A little more learning and studying, and you’re going to ace that test,” he said.
“Then you’ll be even more important to the team,” Everett said.
I was almost overwhelmed with relief. The possibility of losing my job had been a big worry for me, even though I knew I didn’t cause the injuries or do anything wrong. I desperately didn’t want to lose my position at the logging company, especially now that I was advancing so much.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“You don’t need to thank us,” Everett said. “It’s the only right thing to do. Along with making sure you are well taken care of and properly compensated for everything you’re going through. Obviously, the company insurance will pay for your medical expenses. But I want to offer more as well. Go ahead and look over the package and let us know if you decide you want a lawyer to advocate for you.”
I already doubted I would choose to get a lawyer for the situation. There was no reason to make this more complicated or to turn it contentious. They were clearly eager to take care of me and make things better as much as they could.
I read through the compensation package and saw Everett was offering to pay my housing and living expenses for the time I was out of work and the next month, and to pay double my paycheck during that time as well.
“This is incredible,” I said as I reread the information to make sure I hadn’t missed something. “Thank you so much.”
“You deserve every bit of it,” Carter said. “You just focus on healing up and getting back to us when you feel up to it and your doctor thinks you are in good enough condition to do it.”
“I will,” I said, nodding.
“And don’t worry about your training,” Gerry said. “I’ll come by when I can and do book lessons with you. Since you can’t do the on-site learning right now, we can do the studying part and practice for the test.”
I groaned but laughed at the same time.
“I thought one of the perks of being an adult was you don’t have to go to school anymore,” I said.
“Myth,” Gerry said, shaking his head. “Sad but true.”
I laughed again. “Fair enough. Thank you for offering to do that for me. I definitely don’t want to lose any time with that.”
It didn’t feel like enough, but it had to be.
We sat around drinking our coffee, eating pastries, and talking for another hour before they needed to head in to work. They’d left Deacon in charge and didn’t want him to feel like they’d completely skipped out on him.
As I was cleaning up after the impromptu breakfast and closing up the bakery boxes they left behind, I had the sudden realization that I was thinking of the guys as my crew now, and the job was my place. I would have to take some time and think about that. I never expected to really feel settled here or to want to. I always thought getting this job was just a stepping stone toward my future, not the future itself.
17
FINN
There was no going back. I knew that much. My life was now divided in before and after that night.
That kiss.
It rocked my world and sent me into a tailspin of thought that kept me from focusing on anything else. I found myself dreaming about it. I could still feel her lips on mine the next morning when I woke, tingling. Never in my life had I ever felt so drawn to a person, so connected to them, than I did with Wendy. It didn’t make sense. But it was true.
I went into work the next day, ostensibly as a backup. I was middle shift, which most people hated doing but I never minded. It wasn’t like I had a whole lot going on besides work anyway. Tony was opening, and Roger wanted to work the closing shift with Helen’s mom, Dina. No one was going to tell the woman who the diner was named after no, and since three cooks in that small kitchen was one too many, I was only working the swing shift.
