Bonnie Winn - Falling for Her Boss

After college Tessa and Cindy had reconnected over tea. Both had been invited to a luncheon for women in the oil industry. Tessa had been new to Traxton, and Cindy was representing her family business. Squeezed together at one of the last tables, they had caught up over a pot of spiced orange pekoe. College had taken them in opposite directions. Destiny brought them back together.

Ironic that Rosewood had become a sanctuary for them both. Right now Tessa didn’t relish the thought of returning to Houston, something that worried her parents.

As though reading her thoughts, Cindy asked about them.

“They just want me to be happy,” she summed up, thinking she would have to invite them for a visit when she could handle it. The thought of entertaining anyone, even her parents, was exhausting.

“Natural.” Cindy hesitated. “If you’d like, I could invite them for a weekend.”

“The cottage has a spare bedroom.” Tessa took a deep breath. “I know you’re just trying to help, but I’m not quite ready for a weekend visit.” Especially because some days it was difficult just to breathe, to force herself to go to work, to interact with anyone.

“I remember days of curling up in bed, wishing the world would go away.” Cindy’s eyes darkened in reflection. “I just want to help.”

“This—” Tessa snagged her friend’s elbow “—this, spending time with me even though I’m not fun. It’s helping...more than I can tell you.”

Cindy squeezed Tessa’s hand in return. “Fun isn’t a friendship requirement. I don’t remember being much fun several years ago. But that didn’t stop you from being there for me.”

“It was all a plan so I could disappear from Houston.” Tessa dredged up a laugh. “And to find a new tea source.”

“That I can promise.” They had reached the Tea Cart. “And after today you’ll wonder how you lived this long without Maddie’s specialties.”

Meeting Maddie, Tessa tried to relax.

“I hope you’ll come here often,” Maddie told her.

The bell over the door jangled. Being Saturday, the shop was busy. They found a table by the window, affording a view of Main Street. Tessa had immediately taken to the Victorian town that still looked as though horse-drawn carriages could travel its cobblestone streets. Thriving businesses populated the original buildings. Unlike so many towns that had dried up because of a superstore’s dominance or that catered strictly to tourism, Rosewood maintained its own identity. On the sidewalk directly outside, café tables sat beneath a canopy of aged trees and nineteenth-century streetlamps.

A few young couples sat at these tiny tables, absorbed in each other. Just as young love, any love, should, Tessa realized. Had she and Karl ever stared at each other with such devotion?

It wasn’t something she remembered. Why hadn’t she noticed that back then? Had she really not paid attention to the details of her marriage? It was one of the questions that itched in her thoughts, robbed her of sleep, resonated in her loneliness.

“How do you like your tea?” Cindy asked.

Tessa pushed away the nagging thoughts and picked up her cup to taste. Surprisingly, the effect was immediately piquant. She took another sip. “This really is good.”

“I knew you’d like it.” Cindy put her own cup in a saucer. “It doesn’t seem like it today, but the time will come when little things like this will make you smile again.”

Tessa didn’t think they would.

“I know you don’t think so right now,” Cindy continued, echoing Tessa’s thoughts. “But I wouldn’t try to convince you if I didn’t believe it.” Her cell phone rang and she glanced at the screen. “Sorry. I have to take this.”

Tessa sipped her tea while trying not to listen, but she couldn’t miss the distress in her friend’s voice.

“Something wrong?” Tessa asked as Cindy clicked the phone off.

“An inconvenience really.” Cindy’s face filled with regret. “It’s the Children’s Home,” she began, referring to the organization she had founded that fostered children. She had established the home as an outgrowth of a class she taught at church. It all began with one unwanted child, which led to forming the Rainbow class for kids who needed extra attention. The group had grown, then taken on a life of its own. Cindy’s house had been adapted as a permanent home for children without homes of their own.

“Something you need to take care of now?” Sensing her friend was feeling bad because their outing was about to be cut short, Tessa made an impulsive offer. “What if I come with you? That is, if I can help at all.”

Cindy’s face brightened in an instant. “What a wonderful idea! I’m sorry to cut our tea short, but the kitchen at the home is stocked with Maddie’s goodies, so I can brew us a pot of fresh tea. I make a run at least twice a week.” She reached for her purse and pulled out some cash. “This is mine.”

Seeing how pleased her friend was at the offer to join her, Tessa swallowed the regret her impulse was now causing. Surely she could take herself out of her own worries to help. Feeling ashamed of herself for the regret, she picked up her own purse.

Cindy left a generous tip on the table. She acted so naturally that Tessa often forgot that Cindy came from wealth. As they drove toward what had once been Cindy’s home, Tessa guessed much of her inheritance had been spent on the children she took in.

It didn’t take long to reach the neighborhood, which was just on the perimeter of Main Street in one of the oldest areas in the town. The house was an aged Victorian that wore its years well. Tessa could picture Cindy at home here, taking on a dozen tasks as she was wont to do.

Children spilled out of the doorway like errant sunbeams. Tessa felt the tugging ache of knowing none would ever be hers. As a single woman, she understood the difficulty of adoption, reluctantly acknowledging that if possible every child deserved two parents. Certainly more than a lone parent who worked sixty-plus hours a week.

However, it was nearly impossible to hold on to the pain as children rushed toward them, toward Cindy.

“So many smiles!” Cindy greeted them. “Saturday smiles?”

“Miss Cindy!” the voices chorused. Several hands tugged at hers. Tessa swallowed, wondering at these little ones who were so fond of her friend.

The door stood open and slowly they traveled up the walk and inside. It was impossible to hurry with so many little bodies pressed close.

“Who wants to run and get Miss Donna?” Cindy asked them.

“Me, me!” was shouted as several headed toward the kitchen.

“Do they all live here?” Tessa asked when there was a semiquiet moment.

“No. Some are here for the day. It’s one of our programs to help single and/or working parents. And the full-time residents enjoy the company.” Cindy hung her purse on a tall coatrack in the hall.

Tessa followed suit, noticing the exquisite detail in the moldings and woodwork. The floor appeared to be made of rare longleaf Texas pine. “This is just as pretty as you told me.”

“You should have come and visited while I lived here,” Cindy replied. “It made a wonderful home.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Not really. I still see it so often. And my heart is with Flynn and the kids. Wouldn’t matter if we lived in a bamboo hut. Wherever they are, it’s home.”

Genuinely glad for her friend’s happiness, Tessa didn’t feel any envy. Just puzzlement. Why did some people get it so right the first time?

Cindy caught her gaze. “Something heavy weighing on your mind?”

“Didn’t realize I was so transparent. Just wondering how some people choose the right person first time around.”