Page 39

Chloe loved walking the dog. They’d probably end up at the park

for a few hours. Peppy would have to wait patiently while Chloe tried out

every single swing or slide like she’d never been there before. Taylor knew

she’d have to resort to some form of bribery to get her daughter off the

equipment and back home for supper, but she already planned on using a

bath. Chloe also loved baths, especially if they had a lot of bubbles in them.

Taylor rinsed out the cloth, then used her wet hands to smooth back

the wild strands of hair that had escaped her messy bun. She thought about

the farm. She thought about Chloe. Taylor really did want to make it to the

end of June, but it was only mid-September. After all her recent failures,

she was losing hope. How much opportunity was really here for them?

Would she ever find someone to share her life? Maybe it wasn’t impossible

if she wasn’t in Austin. Maybe she could go back home and just— just—

suck it up and be who they wanted her to be, at least on the outside.

Stop. You’re going to make it work. You’re going to get a job.

Someone will call. The bad luck streak has to end sometime.

Taylor knew she already had friends here. Chloe’s school was great.

So maybe her first jobs hadn’t worked out, but that didn’t mean she should

just give up, pack it up, and resign herself to a life of being someone she

wasn’t because that was what everyone else wanted. That was a horrible

way to live. Even if she loved the farm more than anywhere else, she didn’t

love lying to herself.

Some of her determination came back, and Taylor promised herself

that she wasn’t going to give up. Not on finding work. Not on finding

someone. Not on turning her idea that she’d pitched— and flopped— into a

reality. Not on getting a job. As long as she could make it work in Austin,

she’d stay, even though it was hard. Financially though, if she didn’t get a

job soon, she knew she was in real trouble.

Chapter 7

Christina