“Okay, now all I have to do is hope that Mr. Giampalo accepts my counteroffer,” she said to herself.

She took a sip of tea and, again, reviewed the pdf file Angela had sent. She would have to go to Seattle as soon as she signed on the dotted line, meet Mr. Giampalo, and get started. Of course, all of this was contingent on his accepting the terms she’d asked Angela to present to him. If not, she’d just have to cross that bridge when she came to it. She knew this was the opportunity of a lifetime and would hate to pass it up, but she felt that, given Mr. Giampalo’s requirements, she might have the power to negotiate a few of her own.

Lauren looked at her watch; it had been almost two hours since she’d spoken to Angela. Fearing the worst, she used the pharmacy’s Wi-Fi and logged onto the Internet again. She pulled up her Facebook page and saw the little green dot by Angela’s name, showing that she was online; Angela was always online. She typed out a short message.

She waited a few seconds, then saw the gray dots blinking, indicating that Angela was responding to her message.

Angela: CALL YOU IN TEN MINUTES.

Lauren: WAITING IMPATIENTLY!

She heard the jingle on the door—another customer. She quickly logged off the Internet and stepped out of the office. She liked to greet customers, even if they were most often locals just browsing. It was her father’s policy and one she actually agreed with.

The three girls she’d given the afghan and scarf to. What were their names? Lee’s daughter was Charlotte, and the others she couldn’t recall, but that didn’t stop her from acknowledging them as though they’d been friends for ages. Weren’t they in school on Monday?

“So glad you all came back. I was hoping I’d hear from you. How is your mom doing?” she asked, directing her gaze to Charlotte, who lingered behind the two girls whose names she couldn’t remember.

Both girls turned to look at Charlotte.

Chapter 5

Suddenly alarmed when she saw tears in the girls’ eyes, Lauren gathered the three of them close to her and led them to the office.

“Please sit down.” She motioned to the sagging sofa.

They did as she asked.

“Charlotte’s mom is in a bad way,” said one girl. “You remember us, right? I’m Lacey, and this is Kiley.”

“Of course, I do,” she said, crossing her fingers behind her back to cover her little white lie. “What’s going on?” Lauren asked, genuinely concerned.

“It’s really bad,” Lacey said. “Charlotte’s mom, Lee—well, they don’t have very good insurance, and she’s really sick, but the hospital says she has to go home today.”

“What? I don’t understand. How can they send her home if she’s ill?” Surely the girls were mistaken?

Charlotte scooted to the edge of the sofa and wiped her eyes with her shirtsleeve. “Mom has leukemia.”

Oh dear Lord, Lauren thought. This is not a happy visit for sure. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Tell me exactly what happened. Who told you this?”