Carrie led the way to her cramped office, then regarded her nervous guest with confusion. “Lucy, you’re always welcome here. After everything you and your mom have done for me, are still doing for me, I consider you to be much more than mentors. You’re friends. Now have a seat and tell me what’s on your mind. Is your mom in town with you? She didn’t mention you were planning a visit.”
Lucy shook her head. “No, she’s been at the day-care center since dawn as usual. but we did come down yesterday. It was a last-minute thing. I talked her into it. She didn’t want to admit it when we were here the last time, but she fell in love with Chesapeake Shores the same way I did.”
Carrie laughed. “Everybody does. Did you go back to Brady’s?”
“Actually we just grabbed a sandwich at Sally’s Café, and then spent some time with a real estate agent, a woman named Susie Franklin. She said she’s your cousin.”
Ah, so that explained Susie’s absence from yesterday’s dinner. Carrie had feared she was avoiding Sam and Bobby. Maybe her, as well.
“Susie’s great, and she certainly knows every single piece of property in the town. Are you all seriously thinking of relocating? That would be fantastic!” She frowned as a thought crossed her mind. “Your mom’s not worried that I’ll think she’s watching over my shoulder, is she?”
“Not at all. I actually think I’ve just about convinced her that it’s time to retire, or will be when her current clients are too old to need her anymore. That’ll take another two or three years, but for that long she could commute, just like you told her.”
“She’d close her center?” Carrie asked, startled.
“She’s done really well with it, but to be honest, she’s had no life. I’ll be graduating from college this year, so that financial burden will be behind her.”
“How were you able to persuade your mom to consider this move?” Carrie asked.
“I told her she’s not getting any younger.”
Carrie winced, but said nothing.
“I told her it’s way past time for her to do something for herself,” Lucy continued earnestly. “I think this town is the place for her to reinvent herself. She’s starting to agree.”
Her expression brightened with the bubbly enthusiasm that made her so great with kids. “We actually made an offer on a house yesterday,” she revealed. “Your cousin called last night and the offer was accepted. My mom turned pale, but I really think she’s as excited as I am, just a little scared about taking such a huge step.”
“Oh, my gosh, that’s incredible!” Carrie said. “I’m so happy you’re going to be close by.” She studied Lucy and saw that she was still a bundle of nerves. “But you didn’t come by just to share that news with me, did you?”
“No,” she admitted, then drew in a deep breath. “I came to ask if you’d consider hiring me, part-time till I graduate in the spring, and then maybe full-time.”
Carrie’s jaw dropped. “You’re serious? You’d want to work with me here?”
“I like you. I can already tell I’ll love this town. This facility is beautiful. You’ve created a wonderful environment for kids. For me it’s exactly where I’d want to wind up after graduation. I don’t like where we’re located now, even if it would mean taking over an established day care.” She shrugged. “I might as well seize the opportunity now, if there is one.”
“And your mom doesn’t care that you’re abandoning her?”
“Like I said, she’s already cutting back. Pretty soon she won’t have a place for me, anyway. She was the one who suggested this, as a matter of fact. Do you still need any help? Please tell me I’m not too late.”
Carrie stood up and threw her arms around the girl. “You, my friend, are the answer to my prayers. I’ve hired a couple of promising employees, but I’d despaired of ever finding a good candidate for assistant manager. You have the experience and qualifications for that, if you’re interested. I know it wouldn’t be full-time at first, but I think we could get through this year okay till you’re finished with school. I know how good you are, Lucy. Not just with the kids, but with the business side of things. When your mom was hitting me with too much information that sounded like a foreign language, you turned it into plain English. Please, please say you’ll do it.”
A smile spread across Lucy’s face. “I came in here scared to death to ask you for a favor, and now it almost seems as if I’m doing one for you.”