Echoes Read Free

keep them anyway.”
    “When did that ever happen? Name one time,” Lauren challenged, her hand on her hip.
    “You know what?” Jeff said, adding cream to the two mugs of coffee. “It doesn’t matter. As long as you’re happy with it, that’s all that counts.” He walked away from her with his mug in his hand, leaving hers on the counter. Then, as if he were being defiant about having anything to do with her choice of a “pink” furniture cover, he went over and sat on the floor, leaning his back against the easy chair.
    “You can sit on it,” Lauren said, grabbing her mug and joining him.
    “I’m fine right here,” he said.
    Lauren settled herself comfortably on her Victorian sofa, propped a pillow under her arm and said, “So tell me what’sgoing on with the Harrison Furniture account.”
    Jeff sipped his coffee and took his time before saying, “I’m unemployed.”
    Lauren thought he was joking. “What are you saying? Did Granddaddy Harrison reject the jingle again?”
    “Lauren, I was let go yesterday.”
    She slowly lowered her mug and met his eyes. “Jeff, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me? What happened?”
    “Anchor was bought out. Nobody in my division knew about it. They’re consolidating with a firm from South Carolina, and both companies will be part of Burrows, James, and Tompkins in New York. Everyone from my department was let go except Garry.”
    “Garry? Why Garry? He’s only been working there a few months.”
    Jeff ran his finger along his mug’s rim. “Seems Garry was more or less a corporate spy from the New York agency. He used his three months with us to decide who should stay and who should go. He apparently has a whole new team hand-picked for Nashville. I’m not one of them.”
    “But it sounds as if nobody from your department was one of his choices,” Lauren said, not sure if the logic would cheer him up any.
    “No,” Jeff answered slowly.
    “You can find another job in Nashville. The wedding isn’t until February. That gives us, what? Eight months? That’s plenty of time for you to find a new job.”
    “It looks as if I already have a new job,” Jeff said slowly.
    “What?”
    “Garry recommended me for a position in New York. I’d be a fool not to take it.”
    “New York?” Lauren said, sinking deep into her bed of roses. “New York?”
    “It’s a huge career opportunity for me, Lauren.” He leaned forward, looking alive for the first time all night. “You could learn to like New York.”
    “Jeff, I’ve been to New York. I don’t like it. What about all our plans to move to the country? All along we’ve been talking about moving out of Nashville after we’re married. Remember? Some land with a garden and maybe a guest house out back. We could never live like that in New York.”
    “Sure we could. They have ‘country’ homes with vegetable gardens in New York, too.”
    “No, they don’t Jeff. Not for miles and miles. You would have to commute hours every day. And we could never afford to buy a house there. This is …,” Lauren put her mug on the floor and dropped her head in her hands. “This is not what we planned.”
    “You mean not what you planned.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    Dead air enveloped the gulf between them as Jeff paused, and the CD player mysteriously stopped for thirty seconds before starting the next song. It was one of Jeff’s favorites. The song began:
    I’m not the kind who takes chances
,
But baby, I took a chance on you
.
And I’m not saying

You’re not worth romancin’

But have we got what it takes

To see us through?

Call me when you wake up

When you smell the coffee

When the scent of roses

Is enough to clear your head

You call me …
    “What are you saying, Jeff?” Lauren asked. Inside her a huge wave of emotion was about to crash over her.
    “I don’t know, Lauren. You tell me. Can you live in New York?”

Chapter Two

    M onday at lunch Lauren poured out her