“Right.” Mia tipped her head and evaluated her for a moment before smiling. “We might have something for you that isn’t in the kitchen. If you’re interested.”
A flutter of excitement filled Bonnie’s chest. Helping kids was what she lived for. She had been so excited to ask Mia about the spaghetti pool, and she had so many other ideas after seeing what the kids were eating. There was so much she could help with.
“I’d love to!” Bonnie grinned, then pulled it back. She had to remember why she was here. “But, I did tell you that I’m kind of on the run. I can’t guarantee how long I’ll be able to stay here.”
Mia frowned. “You know we can help you with that, right? We have a lot of resources around here.”
“Thank you, but it’s complicated.” If that wasn’t the understatement of the year, Bonnie wasn’t sure what was.
“It always is,” Mia agreed. Mia checked her baby to make sure she was still sleeping and then looked over at Bonnie. It felt like she could peer straight into Bonnie’s soul and see exactly what she had hidden there. “I’m going to take a chance on you, Bonnie. I have a pretty good track record with people, and I have a good feeling about you.”
“Are you sure?” Bonnie asked. She fiddled with her hands in front of her. “I mean, I would love to work with these kids, but I just don’t want to put you in a difficult position if I have to leave suddenly.”
Mia chuckled. “One thing I’ve learned since starting this is that there’s always some sort of difficult position with everyone. Employees are hard work.”
“Thank you for believing in me, Mia,” Bonnie said softly.
Mia reached out and put her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder and smiled. It was the first time since leaving the police station she’d let someone get close enough to touch her. It was nice to have the connection. She’d missed interacting with people, and she was surprised by just how much the simple touch made her chest ache for friendship and belonging.
“I’ll let you know when your background check clears.” Mia smiled and then turned to continue her walk. “Keep on working hard. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Bonnie stared after her. Her heart felt heavy and light at the same time, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.
Chapter 8
Bonnie
“You go take a break for a bit,” Chef told Bonnie, patting her on the shoulder. “You got all the dishes done. Dinner will be soon enough, and it's going to be a doozy.”
Bonnie's arms were tired. Her feet were tired. She'd washed dishes all morning, all afternoon, and was preparing herself to wash dinner dishes again this evening. It was hard, but it was worth the room and board.
“That sounds great. Thanks,” Bonnie replied, putting her drying towel up on a rack. “What's for dinner?”
“Tacos,” Chef informed her. “My secret recipe for the salsa.”
“I'm already looking forward to it,” Bonnie said. “I mean, the meal. Not the dishes.”
Chef laughed. “Go take a break. You've earned it.”
Bonnie thanked her and took off her apron. She stepped out into the warm summer mountains sunshine. The scent of pine was almost overwhelming, but it was dry and pleasant. There was no humidity up here, even after all the rain.
She walked past the garage, sad to see that Dylan wasn't in it working. She'd enjoyed peeking out the kitchen window to see him up to his elbows in grease as he worked on her car. He had some of the older camp kids helping him out during the day as they fixed up cars and farm vehicles.
She liked a man that could work with his hands. If he saw her walking past, he would always smile and wave. Yesterday, he'd even invited her to come to the garage if she wanted.
Bonnie's phone chirped in her pocket. She looked down to see that it was a calendar reminder to check her email. She grinned and hurried back to her cabin. It was mail day.
She made sure the door was securely locked behind her. It didn't really matter, but it made her feel safer nonetheless. She found the laptop she'd bought in Kentucky on her way here and pulled it out of a bag. It was time to check in on her brother.
She logged into the throwaway email account she'd made for him to contact her. He had one of his own. Waiting in her inbox was an email from Brett. She grinned and opened it up.
Dear Sis,
Things here are good. It's kind of boring right now, so my “friends” are teaching me all about their jobs. I think they are just sick of me beating them at poker every night, but I kind of like it. They say after this is done, I might be able to get a job. I'm seriously thinking about it.
Anyway, that's it here. I hope you are safe. Love you.
His “friends” were the police officers keeping him safe. She let out a sigh of relief. He was safe.