Read Online If We Dare to Dream by Collette Scott - Free Book Online Page A

set her purse in her lower desk drawer and closed it when the phone rang. Jamie could hear the sounds of a nail gun blasting like a gunshot in the background and felt a twinge of pity for her brother. Just a few short years ago he was busy with large jobs and so much work that he was constantly looking for new hires to help him. That busy time also found him confined pretty much to his office, where he was scheduling and arranging crews. The large builders in the valley had slowed tremendously when the housing market crashed in the area, and Ford had to let several crews go. Now he had so much extra time that he could personally visit his work sites, which were down to home remodels and foreclosure clean-ups.
    And he had mocked her life?
    As she muttered her tentative greeting, she wondered exactly what he wanted now. If it was a fight, she was ready. But to her surprise, Ford sounded a little nervous, perhaps even hesitant, when he spoke.
    “Hey, Jame.”
    “Hi.”
    She could hear the sounds of the workers fade in intensity as he moved away from their work to a more private area. She heard a door close and then all was muffled. That had to mean that his reason for calling was serious. She sighed.
    “I was up all night last night thinking about what you said.”
    Jamie stiffened. She was in no mood to deal with a pity party. Unfortunately, she was sure her impatience was apparent in the chilling tone of her voice. “And?”
    “Well, I wanted to talk to you about it. Are you busy for lunch today? I’m at a job out your way.”
    Though she tried to come up with an excuse not to, Jamie knew that to delay would just be putting off the inevitable. Ford would only find her later. “Hold on,” she stalled. “I’ll check.”
    Though her desk was always neat, she made a point of rattling some financial statements in a folder marked for one of her clients to make it appear as though she were busier at work than she was. It was not her usual sort of behavior; usually she was first one to stand up for her pride. However, Ford had hit a sensitive spot the night before, and she was still smarting.
    After a moment of rustling papers, she pulled up her calendar and checked her schedule for the day. Melissa usually took her lunch at 11 am, so Jamie knew she would be there to hold down the fort if she left once her hour was up. That just left any outstanding appointments. To her dismay, she found nothing around lunch.
    “I’m free after noon.”
    “Good. I’ll pick you up then. You can take an hour, right?”
    “Of course.”
    “I want someplace quiet where we can sit and speak like adults. Fair enough?”
    “I suppose.”
    “Good. I’ve got to get to work. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
    She hung up her handset and sat back in the soft leather chair. It tipped back as she spun the chair around to view the window and the clear, sunny day beyond. As she expected, the parking lot beyond her window was empty. In the week between Christmas and the New Year, she hardly anticipated anyone visiting her office in the small strip mall containing only a dry cleaner, sub shop and three vacant offices. After all, it could be classified as the slowest week of the year for most businesses with the exception of retail. Why she and Melissa were even working escaped her understanding; they should have just closed up for the whole week. Chances were pretty good that no one in corporate would even have noticed.
    As if on cue, she heard the front door to her small office open and Melissa called out her morning greeting. Jamie continued to rock as she returned the greeting, wondering exactly what Ford was going to say that struck him as so important.
    The phone rang on her desk again. The number was not one she was familiar with, so she replaced her nervous anxiety with professional calm and answered. “Jamie Morton,” she said smoothly.
    Ford and her worries would just have to wait. She had work to do, and it was important that she focus.