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manila envelope and handed it to the woman.  Betty studied it for all of a half-second before she looked up.  "Can you answer a phone and take down correct information?"
    "Uh…sure.  Absolutely."  She supposed it was a pertinent question, but couldn't most people handle those duties?
    "How are you on reliability?  The last gal I hired never showed up on time on Saturdays because she stayed out too late partying the night before."
    "I'll be here unless I’m on my deathbed." 
    The older woman laughed.  "I don't know if you need to go that far."
    "I really need this job, Mrs. Johnson.  I promise I won't disappoint you." 
    "Then it's yours.  Can you start now?  Today is my anniversary, and my husband's taking me to dinner tonight in Roosevelt.  I'd like to get a head start if I could."
    "Sure."  Lily tried to hide her surprise as the woman gathered her purse. 
    She slipped a key off her ring and handed it to Lily.  "You can lock up at five.  Until I can train you a little better, all I want you to do is answer the phone and take a message."
    Then Mrs. Johnson was gone.
    The small office was eerily quiet.  Lily walked to the front of the building and peered out at the parking lot.  It held exactly five vehicles, and she couldn't see many people.  Quiet was an understatement. 
    It appeared the hardest part of this job would be finding a way to occupy her time.  With a sigh, she opened up the browser on the computer and started searching for jobs. Sitting still and doing nothing was not in her nature.
    *        *        *
    Lily spent the past week settling in and unpacking.  She'd steered clear of hanging out in town unless she was working, hoping to avoid an encounter with the sexy cowboy she'd been unable to forget.  It wasn't that she didn't want to see Luke.  Quite the opposite.  But she'd lived long enough to recognize trouble when she saw it, and that man was a mountain-sized, testosterone-fueled bucket of trouble.
    With today's workday behind her, Lily closed up the shop and headed across the parking lot to the grocery store.  There was a new recipe she'd found for a tomato basil soup that sounded interesting, and she needed a few ingredients in order to create it.  It would be soup for one, though.  Hannah was in Roosevelt with friends.  Her trips there had become a regular occurrence.
    Lily didn't mind Hannah taking off, though.  Her friend hadn't been the same since she'd returned home.  Besides, Lily was quite fine being alone, enjoyed it actually.  She could make dinner, and afterwards, go for a run.  The quiet road in front of her house made the perfect jogging path.  Very little traffic passed and being in the fresh open air lifted her spirits, reminding her that life was full of possibilities, and the little bump she'd experienced recently would soon be a faded memory.
    She pushed through the doors of the market, still amazed at how tiny a country store could be.  It carried the essentials and pretty much one brand of everything.  It lacked the polished gleam of the superstores she'd visited in L.A. and Salt Lake, but she didn't miss the crowds. 
    "Hey, Lily."  The friendly blond cashier greeted her with a wave.
    "Hi, Ashley."  Lily loved that people knew her name even though she'd only been in town a short time.  She enjoyed feeling like she was part of a small, caring community.  The residents always asked after her and Hannah's family, and they seemed genuinely interested in her response. 
    Lily removed her shopping list from her purse and headed down the first aisle, snagging a canister of oatmeal that would provide breakfast for the next couple of weeks.  Next was basil.  She'd probably have to use dried instead of fresh, but that was okay. 
    As she reached the end of the aisle, the sound of a little child squealing with laughter caught her by surprise.  She looked up as a small brown-haired girl barreled around the corner from the opposite direction