Chapter 12 Part 12
Maggie
“Hi, you must be Maggie,” the woman inquired, as she stood up with a too-sweet smile.
“Yes, I am,” Maggie said.
“Come on through to the back where we can talk. I’m Lorelei,” she said, and Maggie almost tripped over her own feet. Uh-oh.
Lorelei sat down behind her desk while Maggie took the visitor seat in front of it. She clasped her hands together on her lap, and looked intently at the woman. She was very beautiful, with glowing skin, and dark brown hair. Her brown eyes twinkled like she knew something nobody else did, and Maggie could see how Asher had dated her for ten years. She was stunning.
“Have you ever worked in real estate before?” Lorelei asked her.
“No, but I do have experience in administrative duties, and payroll, too,” Maggie said.
“I see here on your resume that you have a daughter.”
“Yes, I do.”
Lorelei smiled sweetly again. “I assume she’ll go to daycare during the day?”
“Yes, she will. It won’t be a problem.”
“And if she gets sick? I see no wedding band on your finger, which tells me the daddy isn’t in the picture,” Lorelei said.
Maggie shifted uncomfortably. “Children do get sick, but I’ve been lucky so far. I have some friends in town that will help out if I need them to.”
“That’s nice. So, tell me, Maggie, why did you choose this town? Of all the places in the world to go to, why Two Bear Meadow?”
The dislike for this woman began to grow, and Maggie didn’t know why, but she got the feeling she wouldn’t be getting the job. “I like small towns.”
“Hmm, and tell me, is Asher the daddy of your baby?”
“What?” Maggie’s frown grew deeper. “No.”
“And you think you can come here to our town, and wrap him around your finger? Are you that desperate to find a daddy for your baby? I’ll tell you one thing right now. It won’t be Asher Fitzgerald. He’d never settle for someone like you.”
Maggie bristled, but tried to keep calm. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a woman who got knocked up, and is now looking for a man to take care of her. Am I right? Did your baby’s daddy realize his mistake, and run for the hills? Your type isn’t welcome in Two Bear Meadow. This is a respectable town.”
Maggie gripped her purse tightly, and stood up. “You don’t know anything about me.” She turned on her heel and walked out of the real estate office, almost feeling Lorelei breathing down her neck as she gripped the door handle.
“He’ll realize soon enough what trash you are!”
Hot tears ran unchecked over her cheeks, as she got back into her car, and sped away from the real estate office. She turned at the light and pulled over to the side of the curb. Her hands covered her eyes as she started to sob.
Was that how people here saw her? She had the sinking feeling that Lorelei was going to make her life miserable. She’d obviously seen them at church, and made her own deductions. She knew, in that instant, that she wasn’t going to get a job in this town. Lorelei had grown up there; she knew everyone, and she’d poison them against her. She didn’t stand a chance.
Her heart felt like it was shattering into a hundred different pieces as the pain tore at her. She’d fought so hard to be free; she’d done nothing to the woman, except befriend the Fitzgerald family. A family Lorelei had discarded for another man.
She wasn’t sure that she should stay there. She should pack up their stuff and move on. The sooner she left, the easier it would be to forget Asher, and the way he’d changed her life in a few days. She’d miss him, but the sooner she cut the cords, the better it would be.
He didn’t deserve to be ostracized because of her. That was the downfall of small-town living. Everyone knew everyone’s business, and people talked; they always talked. Maggie knew she couldn’t stay. She wasn’t a bad person, but maybe this was her reckoning for stealing that money, for running away.
She had no idea how long she sat in her car, but the ringing of her phone broke through the haze, and she hastily answered it. “Hello.”
“Hey,” Asher said, and more tears welled in her eyes. “I was getting a bit worried.”
Maggie looked at the watch on her wrist and almost gasped. She’d been gone for two hours, sitting in her car and crying. “I’m so sorry. I won’t be long.”
“Maggie, is everything alright?”
She resisted the urge to sniffle and break down. “Yes, everything’s great. I’ll be there soon. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry. Melody’s been a joy. See you in a bit,” Asher said.
“Yeah, see you soon,” she said, ending the call.
She wiped her eyes, and stared at her red, blotchy face. There was no hiding that monstrosity. She sighed and started her car. As she drove back toward the main road that led out of town, Lorelei’s words came back to her.
‘He’ll realize soon enough what trash you are!’ She couldn’t fight the tears. She had no idea what she was going to tell Asher when she reached the ranch. He’d notice what she looked like, and she knew he’d keep on asking until she told him something.
Maggie hadn’t realized how fast she was going, and her tires slipped on the loose soil of the dirt road, spinning out of control, and slamming into the wooden poles of the fence along the side of the road. She screamed as the car hit the ditch and rolled.
Something wet trailed down her face, or was it up her face? She couldn’t tell; she just knew that everything felt wrong. Her head was pounding, and when she touched her head, she saw blood on her fingers.
Black spots danced in front of her eyes, and then everything went dark.