Ring of Fire Book Two of the McKay's (17 page)

Kellie stopped her horse and stared at him
. "Look, I live like all the others in our class. My mom stays home now, but she helps my dad. My dad helps run this place. We are an ordinary family. You seem awfully interested in money Aiden, and you're still just a kid."

"Sorry, I
'm really interested in you, it's just I've never known any rich kids before," Aiden explained.

"Well
, from now on, I'd appreciate it if you would treat me as any other girl in your class," Kellie insisted.

"Okay
," he agreed and they grew silent for a while.

Good, Kellie put Aiden in his place right away!

Chapter Eleven

"I really want the job," Letty repeated to the man sitting in the huge chair, behind the big oak desk.

She fumbled with a piece of lint on her skirt.

The vice-president of the bank was a broad man, in his mid-fifties, with graying hair and not a lot of personality. He dressed impeccably and Letty reasoned he probably did everything else just as well.

"But I thought old man McKay left you girls his fortune
," the man was saying, wiping his head with a handkerchief.

It seemed to Letty as though everyone was concerned with their fortune.
"That's true enough, Mr. Saunders. That is if we live up to certain conditions, yes, that's true. But I don't want my father's money. I want a job."

The banker stared at her
. "You're kidding, right? This is some kind of joke?"

"No, it's not
a joke. I need the job," Letty repeated. "I want to work."

"I don't understand…" he
began. "Why?"

"I know you don't
understand. No one in this entire town seems to understand. But you have a position open as a clerk, as I gathered from the sign out front and I want the job. I'm quite capable of handling money." Letty smiled. "As you can see on my resume."

"Yes, I'm sure you are."
The man stared at her for a long moment. "I see, well, let me go over your application, do a background on you and I'll be back in touch. How's that?"

"Is there any reason I don't qualify for the job?"
she asked.

"No…no, of course not. But it shows on your resume you were going to law school. I imagined you'd want to finish that, not be a bank teller all your life."

"One can go to college and work at the same time…"

"True, but here at the bank, once we start training an employee, we'd like to think they would stay with us."

"And you don't think I would, is that it?"

"Partially, yes."

"I see, well good day, Mr. Saunders," she clipped.

She saw his eyebrow inch higher when she started to protest.

She managed to be gracious, but fury followed her out the door, with a mixture of frustration and anger. She was over qualified for the job; why had he hesitated? It made no sense to her. And why was everyone in this town so interested in the McKay inheritance?

Surely her college background was enough to get the job, after all, she wasn't asking for the vice-presidency of the bank, just an honest job as a teller. And still he hesitated.

What was wrong with everyone? She'd been willing to start at the bottom and work her way up. Why couldn't they understand? She'd been in several businesses today, applying and it looked as though no one wanted to hire her, even though no one was breaking down their doors to apply for the openings, at least as far as she could see. Did she have her clothes on backwards? Did she not list all her qualifications? There had to be an answer.

Frustrated and tired, s
he went to a small café across the street and plumped herself into a chair.

She didn't remember this café being here last time she came to town, but how long ago was that?
Years, her memory corrected her.

The waitress came and studied her a moment. She was chewing gum, and getting her pencil ready to take the order, but her face registered questions.

"Had a bad day, have you?" The woman never missed a lick on her gum.

Letty's mouth hung open
; how did the woman read her so well?

Letty sat back in the cha
ir and looked at her. The waitress was fortyish, with dyed red hair, and too much lipstick, but she had the most welcoming smile on her face. And after the morning she had, it was refreshing. It was hard to be mad or aggravated when someone smiled like that, Letty had to admit.

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"What's the problem honey, maybe I can help?" The waitress was not put off by a customer insisting on another cup of coffee. She whirled about, got the coffee and was back before Letty could say a word.

"Lose a boyfriend?" she asked.

"No, not exactly. I'm looking for work."

"Oh my
, a job, huh?" The waitress's smile began to fade. "That's a tough one. Only so many jobs in a small town like this, and most of them are taken before the sign goes up that they have one. Maybe you'd have better luck if you went to a bigger city."

"I'm sure I would. But I grew up here, and I don't want to leave.
And to tell the truth, it doesn't look like anyone has bothered to even apply for these jobs, and yet they don't seem to be considering me. How can that be?"

"Oh well,
honey, you've got to live in a small town to understand it…." The waitress smiled big again, her lips stretching the expanse of her small face. When Letty looked puzzled by her remark, she finished, "You see, in small towns when there are openings for jobs, it usually goes to someone's daughter that they know, or cousin, you know, a friend or family member. They don't even have to bother with an application; they just do it so it looks as though they are offering work to anyone. But they don't hire just anyone, you understand. A recent graduate from the local high school, a relative, those are the ones that get the jobs. Jobs disappear fast like that. No, if you want a real job, you'd best go to a bigger place."

"I see. But I
am
a local. I've lived here all my life. Well, until the last few years I have."

"Well…what kind of work you lookin' for?"

"I started out this morning looking for work in the bank, or that new dress shop that just opened down the street from here. But they wouldn't even consider me. I just don't get it. I'm dressed correctly, I have a nice resume, what am I lacking?"

"
Probably being related would help. Well, Joe back there is hiring for the lunch rush. Wouldn't pay much, but you can make pretty good tips from the lunch crowd since most of the people we get are from the construction site down the road."

Letty glanced at where the waitress pointed and saw a big burly man cooking in the kitchen.

"Is that Joe?"

"That's him. Don't let his size fool you. He's a sweetheart to work for."

"But I've never done waitress work…"

"Don't let that bother you. I can teach you in a snap
; I've been doing it for nearly twenty years."

"Twenty years?" Letty's brow rose.

"Yep, everyone in town knows me."

Letty eyed the man, and then glanced about the café. She'd never been here that she could recall and thought the place was nice considering the menu of all home-cooked food.
The place was clean and had a diner look about it with its stainless steel furniture and black and white tile floor.

She cleared her throat
. "Well, I'll keep it in mind."

The waitress nodded and took her order.

While she waited, Letty watched the people come and go. It kept a steady stream of customers. The job seemed easy enough, but this wasn't the kind of job she had in mind and it was hard to see herself in a café. Still, if she couldn't find anything better, maybe she would apply. She wasn't going to a big city to work, it was too far and she needed to be close to home.

This kind of job would certainly shock Hank!
Heck, it would shock her family!

She needed to keep looking.
But the fact that small towns tended to hire family and friends first stuck in her head. Not only that, but everyone seemed under the impression that the McKay's didn't need jobs. There were only two attorneys in town and they had been there forever, so if she ever had ideas to find her law career here, she had better rethink it.

Two weeks past and Letty still had no job offers. It all seemed so hopeless.

She had registered online to finish her degree. Obviously, if she gave up her inheritance she might need it to get any kind of job.

She had barely seen Hank and even then only for a moment or two before someone or something interrupted them.

It seemed he'd grown a wall around him, he barely spoke to her.

Letty's hopes of having any kind of future with Hank were slowly sinking. Maybe she had put too much stock in those hot kisses of his. Maybe she really was hitting her head against a brick wall. Still, having the man of her dreams was worth fighting for.

She wished she could get to know him better.

Determined not to be discouraged with her plan, she hated the idea of moving to town. This was her home and she had loved being here. She could finish school online, work part time in town and then do some shoots with Mike and support herself nicely. She didn't need her dad's money, especially if she lived here on the ranch.

Rethinking her future, she called Mike.

"I'm just calling to let you know I am available for some work, off and on," Letty informed him.

"Okay." His voice sounded puzzled. "Gett
ing bored on the old ranch, huh?"

"Not exactly, I just feel like working.
Doing something with my time. I've signed up for computer college classes, and I'm thinking of taking a job in town."

"A job? Are you nuts? You are about to inherit a fortune
, why would you do something like that?" Mike chuckled.

"Because I feel like it, I guess
," she replied flippantly.

"
You McKay's astound me in every way."

"Do we? I suppose you are also talking about my sister, Sandy too."

"Yeah. She's the best. We have a lot of fun together."

"Well
, you do know I'm her big sister, don't you?" She chuckled good naturedly.

"Of course. I'd never hurt her
, if that's what you are driving at. You ought to know me well enough to know that. Right now, we are good friends."

"Good. That takes a load off my mind
." She laughed.

"
Well, look, I'll see what I can line up for you and give you a call back about mid-week. How's that?" Mike laughed pleasantly.

"Sounds good, Mike, thanks.
Say Mike, is it getting serious with you and Sandy?"

There was a long silence then he answered, "Letty, you and I have worked together a long time. We respect each other. But I draw the line in cutting you into my love life, you know that.
"

Letty smiled into the phone
. "Yeah, you are right. It's none of my business."

"That's right.
I mean, I could ask you the same thing with that cowboy."

"What cowboy?
" Letty tried to play innocent.

"The one you keep knocking yourself out in front of.
" He chuckled.

"That cowboy you are referring to isn't interested in McKay women.
"

"Oh, one of those macho men, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Well, maybe he's not for you, then."

"Yeah, maybe."

She heard Mike
chuckle softly.

"It isn't funny
, Mike."

"I know…believe me…I know."

"Okay, talk to you soon…" Letty laid the phone down and got back online to check out when her classes would start. She could do them during the evening hours.

For some reason
, the waitress job filtered through her head. She could take that, working part time and then do some shoots with Mike and she'd have a pretty good income without trying very hard. It sounded like a plan. And she felt invigorated that she was busy again. Her chores around here hadn't been enough to keep her mind working. In that regard, she missed her studies.

She'd managed to put her plans into action, all but the job in town.

That was next on her list of to-do's.

Chapter T
welve

Joe turned out to be a very friendly fella. Although he was a big burly man that stood over six feet, and had a cigar in his mouth almost all the time, he wasn't intimidating. His dark brown eyes shone with kindness and inner peace. His apron was always dirty, but his hands were immaculate and well-manicured, Letty noticed. Funny the kinds of things she noticed in a man these days.