Perfect Pair

By Marilyn Conner Miles

Stunned by the loss of her paralegal job and with nowhere to live, city girl 
Amber Preston agrees to take a temporary job as a house-and-pet-sitter on a mini-farm. 
Problem is, she’s never had a pet of any kind, and now she must care for a collection of large and small animals. when handsome ferrier, Mick Christopher, comes across her path, Amber begins to wonder if all things come in pairs. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books To Go Now
• Release date: Apr 22, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386353225

Book preview

Chapter One

Amber closed the cardboard box, and looked around the empty cubicle. She’d plucked all of her personal possessions off the mauve-colored fabric walls and cleared off her desk. She picked up her purse, draped it over her shoulder and lifted the box off the desk with both hands, balancing the small potted plant on top. She looked around the large room filled with identical cubicles and then, with her head down, walked down the long corridor and out to the reception area.

Well, I guess that’s it, she told Stacy, before she realized the receptionist was speaking into the mouthpiece of her headphones. Stacy held up a finger. She hoped the receptionist would hurry. She felt so embarrassed to have lost her job. Amber had gone in early, hoping to pack up her things and get out of the building before anyone saw her. But she’d already turned in her keys and needed to wait for someone to unlock the law firm’s door. She felt relieved that Stacy was the first one to arrive.

The receptionist turned to her and frowned. I’m so sorry, Amber. I’ll miss you. You’ll stay in touch won’t you, and let us know how you’re doing and where you’re working? Maybe we could meet for lunch someday soon.

Amber managed a brief smile. Sure Stacy. I’d like that, she said but doubted she would.

Well, you know my number, Stacy said with a half-smile.

Yeah, I have it memorized, Amber replied and was about to say more, but just then the phone rang, so she waved at Stacy and headed to the front door.

A blast of wintry wind greeted her as she struggled to pull the heavy door open with her arms full of the box, plant and the purse strap which slid off her shoulder. A hand reached out and grabbed the door and held it open for her. She looked up. Oh great. It was Barbara, the office manager—the one who’d told her they were letting her go.

Goodbye, Amber. Good luck with your job search. Be sure to get signed up for unemployment right away. We’ll get your final check out to you soon. The woman actually smiled as she said it.

Thanks, Amber mumbled as she walked through the door and out to the street where she’d parked her car at a meter.

Amber struggled to get the box and plant up the two flights of stairs and then open the door of her apartment. She wanted to sit down and cry, but knew she needed to sign up for unemployment benefits as Barbara had reminded her. At least she didn’t have to leave the apartment to do it. She plopped down on the sofa and hunched over her laptop. She brought up the website and filled in the information...and then reality hit. She would not be able to afford her rent on the monthly amount shown on the screen. She had no real savings to speak of. She’d lost her job and her home. Now what?

Amber picked up the phone and called her mother’s work number. Hi, Mom.

Amber? Why are you home? Are you sick today?"

I suppose you could say that, she replied, and took a deep breath. Mom, I got laid off. She waited for her mother to say something, but it was quiet on the other end for what seemed like forever, until her mother finally spoke.

Oh honey, I’m so sorry. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight and talk about it?

Okay Mom, thanks.

Food seemed to be her mother’s way of dealing with any situation—good or bad. Amber didn’t really want to face her family, or anyone else, with her self-esteem at an all time low, but she supposed it was a good time to ask her parents if she could move in with them for awhile.

I’ll let you go for now. See you then. Amber sighed as she pushed the Off button. Better start looking for work.

The rest of the morning. Amber sent out emails to everyone she could think of who might know of a paralegal job available. She also applied online for several jobs on various job websites. When she tired of staring unblinkingly at the screen, she logged off her computer, headed for the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Hmm. Not much here. I need to go grocery shopping. She reached for a small carton of yogurt, shut the door and grabbed a spoon. As she scraped the spoon around the small carton for the last bite, her phone rang.

She didn’t recognize the number on her cell phone screen and hoped it might be a call back from someone who’d received her resume. Maybe they wanted to set up a phone or in-person interview. If she got a job, she wouldn’t have to give up her apartment and this whole nightmare would be over.

Hello, this is Amber, she said into the phone, trying not to sound desperate.

Hi, kiddo.

Blake? What’s this phone number? Where are you? she asked her brother who lived and worked in San Francisco.

This is my new phone number. I’m with Brenda right now.

How is my future sister-in-law? She flew down to see you?

No, I’m in Seattle. I’m back for good, right hon? Amber heard a female voice respond in the background.

I bet Brenda’s over the moon.

Yeah. Amber could hear the smile in his voice. Hey, sis, we’re going to be at Mom and Dad’s for dinner tonight. Will you be there?

When did you talk to Mom last?

Last night.

Ohh...well, you haven’t heard my news, then. She looked at her watch. Oops, I gotta get ready. See you at dinner.

What news? Wait. Don’t hang up. Amber could hear her brother’s voice but she said a quick goodbye, ended the call, and sank down into a chair.

When Amber reached her parents’ house in Bellevue, across the lake from Seattle, she saw Brenda’s car in the driveway and another car on the curb that she was pretty sure belonged to her oldest brother, Carson. Yup, there was a car seat in the back. So, the whole family would be there tonight. She sighed. Mom rallied the troops.

As Amber looked around the kitchen table, she smiled to see Blake and Brenda together. It hadn’t always been that way. They’d broken up six years ago because of a total misunderstanding. Blake broke up with Brenda, but led his family to believe she’d broke up with him. He’d taken a job in San Francisco shortly after and moved there. Amber supposed he thought he’d never see Brenda again, but he hadn’t thought about the effect it had on his family back home in Washington State.

When he came home for a friend’s wedding, Brenda was there—as were Amber and her parents. And then an accident forced them all together. Once Amber learned the truth, she found that she actually liked Brenda. Amber didn’t think she could ever forgive a man the way Brenda forgave her brother for his lie—or fib, or whatever he called it. But then, Amber reminded herself, she’d never been in love.

Everyone drifted into the family room with its big screen TV and the grandkids’ toy box. But when their youngest child got cranky, her sister-in-law turned to Carson and said, It’s your turn. Her brother rose from the family room sofa to change his son’s diaper and Amber saw her chance.

Mom, can I talk to you for a minute? She’d hoped to get her mother aside earlier, but this was her first chance, as everyone wanted to talk about Blake’s and Brenda’s plans now that he’d moved back.

Sure. Why don’t you help me in the kitchen? her mother replied.

Once they’d stepped into the kitchen and the swinging wooden louvered doors closed behind them, Amber told herself, No time like the present. Just get right to the point.

Mom, without my job, I won’t be able to pay my rent or make ends meet, so I was wondering if I could stay with you and Dad for awhile until I get back on my feet, she said in rush, then looked hopefully at her mother. She didn’t like the frown that formed on her mother’s lips. Uh-oh.

Honey, you know we’d be happy to have you, but...

It was Amber’s turn to frown. But?

"...Carson and Kim and the boys will be staying with us for...actually, I don’t know how long."

What? Why? She hadn’t seen this coming. She’d just assumed...

When they started the remodel on the master bath, the construction workers found a huge leak under the tub and then a major mold problem. It’s so bad, they have to bring in some ʽmold remediation’ experts and get out of the house while it’s being worked on. They were going to go to a hotel, but of course your dad and I persuaded them to come here. They’ll have the guestroom and den. I suppose you could sleep on a sofa in the family room, but we’d planned to use that as the boys’ playroom. Oh dear.

That’s okay, Mom. Don’t worry. I’m sure I can couch surf with a friend for awhile. She tried to sound upbeat, but inside, she wondered if what she told her mother was true. One of her friends lived with a boyfriend Amber didn’t like, and the other lived in a small studio where the couch was a futon and that’s what her friend slept on. Now she didn’t know what to do. Well, is there any room in the garage for me to store some stuff?

Oh sure. Her mother looked relieved. Ask your dad.

Amber quietly set the table in the dining room and had begun to bring platters of food from the kitchen, when Brenda joined her, grabbing a dish from one of her hands. They worked in silence for awhile after that until her mother asked her to call everyone in to dinner.

Amber waited until dessert to tell the rest of the family that she’d lost her job. She got sympathetic murmurs, and sorry to hear that, Amber, from the adults.

If you lost your job, Aunt Amber, I can help you find it again, her five-year-old nephew, Max, piped up. Mommy says I’m really good at finding things I lost.

Well, thank you, Max, I appreciate that, but I’m not even sure I want to find that job. I think I need to get a new one. In fact, I just might try to find something entirely different.

But what will you do, Amber? her sister-in-law Kim asked with a puzzled look on her face. I thought you went to school to be a paralegal."

Amber sighed. "Yeah, I did, but...I’m not sure that’s what I want to do anymore. It’s pretty stressful. As for what I will do...I really don’t know."

There was a general silence around the table, until the baby began to fuss. Kim rose from her chair and unbuckled him from the high chair and carried him away from the table. Then Amber’s mother rose and cleared the dessert plates from the table, and Blake joined her. Brenda started to get up, but Blake told her to stay; she and Amber had already done their part and it was the men’s turn to help out in the kitchen.

Thanks, bro, Carson said with a frown. But he gestured to Max. Come on son, you’re not too young to learn how things work at Grandma’s house.

When it was just the two of them still