My Sunshine by Catherine Anderson Read Free Book Online

“And what does his annual gross have to do with anything?”
    â€œHe’s way out of my—” Laura broke off, unable to recall the word she wanted to use.
    â€œLeague,” Etta supplied. “And that’s pure nonsense. You’re an intelligent, beautiful young woman. You have a lot to offer any man, Isaiah Coulter included.”
    â€œRight.” Laura could no longer even say intelligent without her tongue getting tied into knots. Men like Isaiah wanted female companions who challenged them intellectually, women who were smart, beautiful, and successful in their own fields. What was her field—cleaning toilets? “Put it out of your head, Gram. It won’t happen.”
    The moment Laura said the words, the hair at the nape of her neck started to prickle. She remembered how surprised she’d been the night before last, when Mary Coulter had called her about a job possibility at her sons’ clinic. Then she recalledIsaiah’s words to her yesterday: If I let you leave without at least talking to you, my mom will have my head. He’d obviously been pressured into giving her an interview.
    â€œOh, Gram,” Laura murmured shakily.
    â€œWhat?” Etta asked innocently—a little too innocently for Laura’s peace of mind.
    â€œAre you and Mary hoping that Isaiah and I might—” Laura broke off, her tongue suddenly as dry as cotton.
    To Etta’s credit, she didn’t prevaricate. “And why not? He’s handsome, successful, single, and needs a wife. He just hasn’t met the right lady yet. Who’s to say you aren’t exactly the kind of girl he’s been looking for?”
    â€œOh, Gram. I was so glad to get this ch-chance, and now I f-find out it’s a sch-scheme you and Mary hatched?”
    â€œLaura, sweetie, calm down. You’re starting to stammer.”
    â€œHow could you do this?”
    â€œDo what? Laura, listen to me. This is a great opportunity for you, and it’ll benefit Isaiah, too. He and Tucker have a terrible time keeping good help in the kennels, and you’ll be wonderful at the job. Mary and I are just hoping that something more may come of it. That’s all.”
    Laura wondered if Isaiah realized that his mother and her grandmother were trying their hands at matchmaking. Oh, God. Of course he realized. He wasn’t dumb. She was the one who’d taken forever to catch on. How would she ever face him?
    â€œI n-need to go,” Laura said tautly.
    â€œSweetheart, don’t be this way. You want the job. That’s all that really matters. The rest is . . . well, a wait-and-see kind of thing. Maybe he’ll never look twice at you. If so, you’ve still got the job.”
    Laura had a very bad feeling that Isaiah had already looked twice at her and thought she was pathetic. He’d probably realized all along what his mother was up to and had played along only to please the woman. No big deal, from his perspective. If Laura was foolish enough to harbor any hope that he might be interested in her, he could quickly disabuse her of the notion by ignoring her. In the meantime, he’d be doing a good turn, giving a handicapped person a chance at gainful employment.
    Laura’s cheeks stung with embarrassment and no small amount of anger. She didn’t want to hang up on her grandmother, but she was too upset to continue the conversation. It felt as if a noose had tightened around her throat.
    â€œIt’s not as if Isaiah knows anything about it,” Etta went on. “That part is just between Mary and me—and now you, of course. There’s really no reason for you to be—”
    Laura ended the call. Then she pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the car engine, and stared blindly out the windshield. So much for her wonderful new job. She closed her eyes, her sense of disappointment so crushing it was hard for her to breathe. After the