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"You were sayingsomething about a job?"
"Remember metelling you about that position at a huge company?"
A frown touched hermother's brow. "I don't-"
"It doesn’tmatter." Pulling up a chair in front of the sofa, she took hermother's hands. "You’re looking at the head of PR and thesalary is amazing."
A smile touchedRachel's lips. "You always were such a smart girl."
"It means I canmore than afford to have you staying here." That was one of thethings that had worried her since her company folded. Her motherneeded the privacy and wouldn’t do well sharing with aroommate.
"You’resuch a good daughter." Rachel squeezed her daughter's handslightly.
"That's becauseyou’re such a good mother. What did you have for lunch?"
A frown crossed herbrow again as she tried to recall what was on the menu.
"Some sandwichor another. I ate in the dining room for a change."
"That'swonderful."
"I think old Mr.Carmichael was flirting with me." She added. leaning forwardwith a mischievous smile on her lips. Allison could almost see theformer Rachel Simpson coming to the fore and felt hope clutching ather for a minute, before it dissolved. The doctors had warned her notto expect a full recovery.
"Your mother hasretreated to a safe place inside her head to avoid the pain of awfultragedy in her life." Sometimes it seemed there was a ray ofsunshine behind all the dark clouds.
"Isn't hepushing ninety?" She asked teasingly.
"He’sninety-six." Her mother nodded. "He wanted me to dance withhim."
"Did you?"
"Of course not!Your father wouldn’t approve of me dancing with another man.He’s very jealous, you know."
The slight hope tooka dive and shriveled. "He is."
Rachel patted herdaughter's hand. "Now, tell me about this job of yours."
*****
The apartment wasdetached and suited her fine. It was small with one bedroom and asmall room she used as an office. It could have been worse, that waswhat she kept telling herself.
Shrugging out of herjacket, she hung it on the coat tree just inside the doorway. She’dbeen forced to sell her house in order to offset the costs of themedical bills and putting her mother into a nursing home.
For all their carefulplanning, her parents had never taken out an insurance policy,something that was astounding to her. Her father had been anaccountant and her mother a librarian and neither of them had seenfit to plan for the future. Slipping off the heels she’d wornfor the interview, she padded into the tiny kitchen to put the kettleon.
She’d thoughtabout keeping her mother at home with her, at first. "You’renot equipped to take care of her." The doctor had told herfirmly.
"Her mind isdeteriorating and there are times she’ll become disoriented andwants to wander off. You can’t leave her by herself. She’llwant to go and fix herself a meal and forget that she left the stoveon. I advise you to put her somewhere she can get the proper care."
It had left her intears, but the doctor had been proven right the next day. Allison hadgone upstairs to gather some clothes to take to the laundry room. Asshe came back, she smelled something burning.
She ran the rest ofthe way into the kitchen and saw the frying pan smoking. The smokealarm was going off like crazy and her mother was standing at thestove staring at the smoking pan. That had settled it for her and thenext day, she’d started searching for a place to put her.
Sitting down, shetook a deep breath. Fishing out the contract from her pocketbook, sheleafed through the pages and started reading. It was going to bechallenging work, but she’d never been afraid or backed awayfrom a challenge before.
An image of thedark-haired, amber-eyed man came to her. Nash Hamilton was going tobe a challenge, but hopefully their contact with each other would beminimal. The man scared her and she didn’t scare easily.
She’d readabout his childhood trauma. His mother had died giving birth and he’dgrown up with an abusive father until he’d run away when he wassixteen. Allison couldn’t imagine how tough his life had been.She admired him for fighting the odds to become the person he wasnow.
