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“Take the weekend. Talk it over with him. New York is a long way to go for a temporary move, especially with a child. Whatever you decide, I’m going to do my damnedest to make sure you have a job.” I didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to me earlier. Even if Carter Energy couldn’t take her as one of the fifty from Houston, I could afford to pay her salary. She could work for me.
“Exactly how long before we need to be in New York?” she asked, seemingly undeterred no matter what I said.
“By Monday. I’d like you to come as soon as possible if you decide that’s what you want to do.”
“It is,” she said firmly. “This will be good for Gabriel. For both of us.”
Something in her voice gave me pause. Did shewantto get out of Houston? It sure as hell sounded that way.
I studied her for a moment, her green eyes resolute. “Pack what you need,” I finally said. “I’ll have someone do the rest later. We’re going to be running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but together it will be easier.”
“You seem calmer than I thought about having to move. You hate New York.”
“I don’thateit. I just, well, there really isn’t any other option,” I finished, Gabriel arriving right on time with a sugar cookie in the shape of a tree, frosted with green icing. “Thanks, Firecracker.” I took a big bite out of the cookie, and the sugar dissolved on my tongue. “Just what the doctor ordered.”
“What’s going on, Miss Jacobs?” he asked, his expression weighted with burdens no five-year-old should have to shoulder. But he was the man of the house.
Holly touched the tip of his nose. “We’ll talk about it later,” she answered, much to my relief.
I finished my cookie and stood. “I gotta hit the road. Think about it and let me know Sunday. And try to enjoy your Christmas.”
Holly got to her feet, and Gabriel grabbed my hand. “You just got here. You don’t have to go, do you?”
“I’ve got a long drive ahead of me, and my grandmama will cook my goose if I’m not home for supper.”
He wrinkled his nose. “You have a goose?”
“It’s an expression. Miss Jacobs doesn’t have a goose,” Holly explained as we walked to the door. Gabriel opened it for me, and I marveled at the incredible job she had done raising him on her own. The boy had better manners than I did. Of course, a wild hog did at times.
I paused in the doorway, and Gabriel threw his arms around me. “Merry Christmas, Miss Jacobs.”
“Merry Christmas, Firecracker.” When he let go, I hugged Holly, catching both of us off guard. I’d never done anything like that before.
“See you Sunday,” she said.
“Think about it.” As much as I needed her, this was a burden I didn’t want to put on either of them. Gabriel was a tough little dude, but a move like this was huge. I didn’t want to take him away from his friends and everything that was familiar.
“Don’t need to.”
“Do it anyway.” I stepped off the porch. “We’ll talk over the holiday.”
“What time do you want to fly out? And are you going commercial?”
Of course she’d be thinking about that already too. She raised a good point. Did I have use of the Carter Energy jet anymore?
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know,” I said, feeling so thankful Holly would be by my side.
“Sounds like a plan. In the meantime, I’ll see to it everything you need makes it to New York,” she called when I was halfway down the sidewalk.
“I packed enough for a week or so—shit, I forgot work shoes.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened, and Holly covered his ears. “You’ll have them by Monday.”
“Thanks, and uh, sorry about that, Firecracker.”
“That’ll be a dollar—”
Holly squeezed his shoulder and shook her head, her blonde locks flying. He immediately clamped his mouth shut.
