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nobody’s hiring in town.”
    For a second Adele studied her. “What an extraordinary story. And you actually went through with your friend Anna’s plan?”
    Tess attempted a smile. “I may not have been thinking too clearly, and Anna can be very persuasive. And she is my best and oldest friend.”
    “And you say you’ve worked at an events planning company called La Dolce Vita? What job did you hold there?”
    “Jobs, really. Giorgio Bissi, the owner, was willing to let me try my hand at everything, from waitressing to basic line cook duties, to organizing parties and events. Giorgio hired me knowing that my hope was someday to open my own events planning company. His favorite joke was that I should forgo raises since he was giving me such great on-the-job training.”
    Adele smiled but remained silent.
    To avoid appearing too nervous or desperate, Tess fixed her gaze on a large painting that hung behind Adele’s desk. Rolling meadows tinted a summer green and spotted with round woolly clumps of sheep grazing contentedly led to a dark green slope of a forest-covered mountain. A brilliant azure blue sky met the mountain’s jagged range. Though the color scheme was different, as January now marked the world with grays and browns, Tess knew she’d seen this same landscape while her car had rattled its way up the long private road. Then, as now, its vast openness intimidated.
    Adele’s voice drew her attention away from the painting. “Unfortunately at the moment we don’t have any full-time openings, either. Unless you also happen toknow how to rope steer or have experience in animal husbandry.”
    She couldn’t manage even a sickly smile as her hopes plummeted like lead.
    Great, she thought. She was stuck in Nowheresville, California, and the only place to work that seemed remotely viable wanted applicants who knew about animal husbandry. What a joke. She hadn’t even been able to make her human husband happy.
    When she got back to Acacia, she’d return to the organic grocery store on West Street or perhaps Spillin’ the Beans, the coffee shop located a couple doors down from Ava Day’s salon, and throw herself on the owners’ mercy.
    But the truth was, she’d gotten her hopes up as soon as the ranch’s main lodge with its stone and timber façade had come into view. Her spirits had risen even higher once she’d stepped into the lobby and seen the wood and reddish tan upholstered chairs and sofas scattered around the lounge to the right of the main entry, and noticed the enormous urn filled with a combination of fresh flowers and twisted dried branches. She’d begun to think the unthinkable had happened—that she’d lucked out. But no.
    And now she was going to have to ask for a tow truck. Mortified, she started to rise from the chair when Adele spoke again. “If, however, your references check out, and you pass a background check, I’ll take you on as my assistant.”
    Surprise had her sinking back onto the cushion to babble her thanks.
    Adele brushed them aside with a smile. “I’ll be honest with you. I hadn’t planned on hiring a new assistant until June or even the fall. But I’m impressed that you’re willing to honor your friend’s rules to the letter and make an effort to live and work as close to the point onthe map where your finger landed. That kind of resolve is special. It is,” she insisted when Tess protested. “And we appreciate that sort of attitude here. Who knows, maybe your arrival at Silver Creek Ranch is a sign for us as well. I wouldn’t want to contemplate the bad karma I might invite by turning you away. So let’s see where this fateful decision leads us.”
    This time Tess managed to offer her thanks. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am or how lucky I feel right now.”
    “You’re welcome. Though you may come to question your luck after a few days with me. I put in long hours.”
    “I like working hard.” That was true. And, besides, what else was there to