Chase Our Forever (Sutten Mountain #3)

7. Liv

7

LIV

I have nothing to wear for this job interview. If you can even call my meeting with Dean a job interview.

I’m still undecided if I actually want to be a nanny or not. Clara was great in the little amount of time I spent with her, but kids have never been my thing. But as I lay awake last night at the cute little inn Pippa recommended, I thought about how it wasn’t that I didn’t like kids. I just never had the chance to spend time with them.

After yesterday, I actually do think I’d enjoy children and spending my days with a child. There was something about Clara that spoke to me. She was so excited about everything. The color of the pink crayon, the way the icing was spread on top of the cupcakes. She was just so happy, and I could use more happiness in my life.

Despite all that, I do have questions on why Dean needs a nanny in the first place and why he hasn’t been able to keep one. Is it just him and Clara? Is there something I need to know about him that explains why no nanny has wanted to stay?

Even if I want the job—which I might, depending on how this meeting with Dean goes—I’m not sure I’ll get it based on the clothes I have packed. My wardrobe in Florida consisted of jean shorts and T-shirts. Never did I think I’d choose somewhere cold to possibly settle down in, and now, as I try on my final outfit choice, I realize I’m going to look entirely unprofessional.

“Ugh.” I fall face-first into the mattress, letting out a small yell of frustration.

“Everything okay in there, dear?” a voice calls from the other side of the door.

I fly off the mattress, embarrassed someone heard me. “Totally fine!” I call back, my cheeks heating as I nervously walk toward the sound of the voice.

“I’m here to drop off your breakfast,” the voice on the other side of the door explains. It sounds like the same woman from the front desk last night—Carmen. She was an older woman with gray hair and a pair of glasses who was sweet as can be as I explained how I needed a place to stay for the night.

I pull the door open, giving her a warm smile. “I didn’t know the stay came with free breakfast.”

Carmen smiles, holding out a plate with a silver dish over the top of it. “It typically doesn’t, but I felt like cooking for company. Although I’m afraid I forgot to ask you last night if you had any allergies.”

I shake my head. “No allergies. But you didn’t have to make food just for me.”

Carmen’s smile doesn’t falter. She has the best energy. I don’t have to know her well to know she’s kind. But then again, it seems like everyone in this town is kind and welcoming. “I wanted to. The quiet season is always kind of hard for me, so I like things being busy. It was exciting to wake up and fix you some breakfast.”

I take the plate of food from her and give her a shy smile. Her generous offer means more to me than I can even find words for.

Before I can thank her, Carmen looks over my shoulder at the absolute mess of the room and raises an eyebrow. “Quite the mess for one night.”

A nervous laugh escapes me. “I have a job interview this morning, and it turns out I have nothing to wear.”

This makes Carmen laugh. “What’s the job?” Her eyes travel over my outfit—or, really, my fifth outfit, considering the amount I’ve tried on.

“A nanny,” I answer, looking at the length of my denim shorts. I can’t show up to an interview wearing a pair of cutoffs. Dean was practically in a suit yesterday.

Maybe I just shouldn’t go to the interview at all.

Carmen chews on her lip for a moment. “We have a gift shop. There’s got to be something in there better than this.”

“Really?”

She nods. “Eat your breakfast, then meet me in there. It’s right by the front desk. We’ll find something that’ll work for your interview, dear.”

“Okay,” I say, nodding my head in understanding.

She walks out the door and shuts it behind her, leaving me alone with the smell of bacon wafting throughout the room.

I can’t get the food into my mouth fast enough. I’m happy there’s no one to witness the way I shove the piece of bacon into it. It’s delicious. It has the perfect crunch, and I revel in having a home-cooked breakfast made for me for the first time in forever.

The omelet might be even better than Pippa’s pumpkin cinnamon roll—although I’d never tell her that. It’s close between the two, that’s for sure.

I pretty much inhale the food. Carmen cooked up an omelet loaded with veggies, the perfect bacon, and even included some breakfast potatoes that are to die for. I eat every last bite, pretty much clearing the entire plate.

The moment I’m done eating, I grab my bag and head to the gift shop. Since I woke up early, too nervous for the interview to sleep, I still have about an hour before I’m supposed to meet Dean. Even so, I want to make sure I get a new outfit and am ready well ahead of time so there’s no chance of being late.

Carmen waits for me at the front desk, her body hunched over a book as I make my way to her. When she hears my footsteps, she looks up with a wide smile on her face. “That was quick.”

I return her smile. “Yeah, well, I think that’s the best breakfast I’ve ever had.”

She swats at the air before sliding out of her chair. “You give me too high of praises.”

“They’re deserved. I’m not kidding. That was the best omelet of my life. And don’t even get me started on the bacon.”

She laughs as she leads the way to the gift shop. “You’ll have to tell my husband that. He told me the bacon was overcooked today.”

I gasp. “No, it was perfect.”

Carmen winks over her shoulder as she walks to a rack of clothing. “I know it was. He’s just trying to keep me humble. Men ,” she adds, exasperated.

I nod, even though my experience with men in any kind of romantic way is severely lacking. Basically nonexistent at this point. But I pretend like I have any idea of the bickering that comes with having a partner.

Carmen sighs, moving the hangers along the rack as she sorts through the clothing. “Our store is really geared toward the tourists, but I know there’s got to be something in here that’ll work.”

I swallow, my eyes roaming the small corner of the shop that has clothes. She’s right. There are definitely clothes here, but most of them have “Sutten Mountain” stitched across the front or have outlines of mountains embroidered on them. They might still work better than my thrifted T-shirt and cutoff shorts.

“What about this?” Carmen asks excitedly, pulling a tunic from the rack. It’s a dark green plaid pattern. It buttons up the front, cinching slightly at the waist but not by a lot. There’s a pocket on the front where, if you look close enough, you can see “Sutten Mountain, Colorado” stitched on the front, but it isn’t too noticeable.

“I think this could work perfectly,” I tell her, trying not to eye the price of it. It seems like nice, sturdy fabric. Add in the fact that the words seem hand-stitched to the front, and I’m a little nervous about how much it’ll cost me. However, I don’t have much of an option, so I grab it from her.

“Do you happen to have leggings or tights? Really anything I could wear underneath that’d work for the occasion.”

Carmen purses her lips, deep in thought. Suddenly, her eyes light up. “We do have a pair of black leggings. There’s a bear on the rear, but you’d never notice it with how long the shirt is.”

“That’s perfect,” I say in relief. Somehow, I think I’ll be able to show up in something somewhat professional for this interview.

Carmen points to where the leggings are, and I walk toward the table. I grab my size and hold them up, confirming that they’ll be perfect for the outfit. We head over to the checkout counter as she rings up the two items.

“Is the nanny position for someone here in town?” Carmen asks as I hand her the cash for the clothes. They weren’t as expensive as I thought they’d be, making me let out a small sigh of relief.

“His name is Dean. Dean Livingston,” I add, remembering the name printed on the business card he’d handed me yesterday.

“Oh,” Carmen gets out, seeming a little shocked.

“Is it that bad?” I ask nervously. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, wondering if something’s wrong with him. I feared there might be, with everyone’s mentions of how he seemed to fire nannies so frequently. I had brushed it off since, to me, he seemed pretty normal yesterday. He might’ve been a little quiet and standoffish, but maybe it just takes him time to warm up to people.

Both Pippa and Lexi gave him the green light of approval as a boss, but maybe I missed something.

“No, I’m sorry. Dean is great. He just hasn’t quite been the same since his wife, Selena, passed tragically in a car accident a few years ago.”

My chest constricts at her words. I wondered if Clara’s mother was in the picture or not. But I kind of assumed it was the same situation as my own mother. “Oh my god,” I whisper, feeling sorry for Dean and Clara.

Carmen nods as she puts my clothes in a red paper bag. “It rocked the entire town. We all watched their love story unfold from the time they were teenagers. He kept to himself for the longest time, and it took him a year to really even talk to anyone in town. I can’t imagine what he went through.” She pauses for a moment, as if her mind is going back to years ago. “He had to grieve his wife while taking care of a newborn. He was all alone in the house he and Selena had just finished building together.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I can’t imagine,” I mutter. I know I should probably say goodbye to Carmen and change before meeting Dean, but my feet stay planted because I want to know more.

“So Dean isn’t a bad guy at all. In fact, he used to be the town’s golden boy, but he changed after Selena passed. We all understood. It’s hard to expect anything different. I just want you to know if he’s grumpy or short with you, it isn’t you, my dear. It’s just the way he is now.”

I nod. He wasn’t the friendliest person I’ve ever met, but he didn’t seem as bad as Carmen’s warning is making him out to be. Maybe we just haven’t spent enough time together. Either way, I can deal with a grumpy man. That’s easy. I grew up with far worse. “Thank you for telling me all of this. It really helps me understand the situation more before potentially working for him.”

Carmen smiles. The crinkles at the corner of her eyes get deeper with the movement. “Of course. Please still consider the job. We’ve only spent a short amount of time together, but I really like you, dear. It seems like you might be the perfect fit for Dean and sweet Clara. That baby girl needs someone who will stay.”

I swallow at her words. I hadn’t thought much about if I got offered the nannying job and I accepted it, how long it’d be for. When Pippa first suggested I stay in town for a little while, it didn’t seem like a bad idea. I could nanny for as long as I wanted to stay in Sutten and then leave.

But should I still be considering the job, knowing I probably won’t be here for more than a few months? I guess it’s something I’ll have to discuss with Dean today.

“Thank you again for your help this morning, Carmen,” I say, tucking my hair behind my ear and changing the subject. “It means a lot to me. I’m not used to strangers being so kind to me,” I admit with a nervous smile.

Carmen reaches out and places her hand on top of mine. Her smile is so warm and comforting, putting my nerves at ease. “We don’t believe in strangers here in Sutten.”

Her answer makes me smile. Her words feel like a sign that being in this small little town tucked into the middle of the mountains is exactly where I’m supposed to be.