Page 113 of The Rebel

“I think issues with your woman qualifies.”

I instantly felt cold. When he put it like that…

“Fuck,” I exclaimed. I needed to know how seriously Daisy was considering this, and I couldn’t wait another second.

Daisy

As soon as I finished my workday, I reread the job offer Samantha sent me. I’d been shocked when she emailed me saying that she had a very good offer for me in North Dakota. She seemed extremely excited by it. I, on the other hand, had been fretting ever since she sent me that email.

I honestly never thought she’d find anything. It wasn’t exactly a hotspot. But they’d even attached a draft of the contract.

“They’re seriously considering you just based on your résumé. Apparently, it’s not easy to find talent like yours in that area,” Samantha had said.

Well, that was certainly true. It was for a company producing rain cloaks. I didn’t even know they were located in North Dakota. The pay was nice—nothing like what I’d get in Chicago or New Orleans, of course, but living costs were also much lower there.

I read the job description at least five times, trying to hype myself up. The job itself was exactly what I was looking for, but my heart wasn’t in it. It was two hours away from my parents, so I could realistically only help them out on weekends.

Why the hell did I even tell Samantha to look for jobs there? I needed to talk to my parents. As a kid, I’d always asked for their input—even when I got the offer from Cornell. They’d fully expected me to enroll in a community college near home. They’d been thrilledandshocked by my news, but they were 100 percent supportive.

I decided to FaceTime Mom and Dad before I fretted any longer.

“Hi, Daisy,” Mom said.

“Hi, Mom. Is Dad around too?”

“No, but I can go to the bedroom and put him on speaker.”

“Yes, please do that.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to determine the best way to approach this. Then I decided to just rip off the Band-Aid.

She turned on the camera, too, so I could see both of them. Dad looked much better.

“Have you been out in the sun?” I asked. His skin was slightly tan.

“Yeah, the Tanner boys stopped by today, and they helped me outside. I’m starting to get sturdier with the sticks as well.”

“Dad! The doctor told you to take it slow so your ribs heal.”

He waved his hand. “When have I ever listened to doctors?”

“Don’t worry, Daisy,” Mom said quickly. “I’m keeping a close eye on him. So, how have you been?”

“Great. Busy. The music scene in New Orleans is fascinating. But… I want to run something else by you.”

“Of course,” Dad said.

“As you know, as much fun as this job is, it’s not exactly what I went to school for. So, I’ve asked the recruiter to keep looking for marketing jobs.”

Dad nodded. “That’s very smart.”

“And she found one.” I bit the inside of my cheek again. “Not too far away from home.”

“Oh, so you want to stay in New Orleans, then?”

“Home as in North Dakota.”

Both my parents went completely still.