A Bride for Jericho Bravo. Christine Rimmer

They followed him out. She was left alone with her huge brother-in-law who did not look especially thrilled to see her.

      Jericho hitched a hard thigh up on the edge of Gus’s desk and rested his big tattooed elbow on his knee. “Okay. It’s just us. What’s this about?”

      She told the simple truth. “I’m staying in San Antonio for a while. And I need a job while I’m here. I looked in the want ads … and there was Gus’s ad. It seemed kind of …” I don’t know, karmic maybe?”

      “Karmic.” He didn’t look amused. He ran a huge hand down his face. “Look, Marnie …”

      Everything about him—his voice, his glum expression, the tired way he dragged his hand down his face—it all said that this was not going to happen.

      Grabbing her purse, she stood. “Okay. Getting the picture here. Karmic was a really bad word choice—because you have no intention of hiring me, no matter what I say.”

      He had the good grace to look pained at least. “I’m sorry.”

      “Don’t be. Hey. I get it. Can’t have someone working for you who steals the merchandise.”

      “It’s not that. We’re past that.”

      “Well, I thought we were.”

      “It’s … you’re kind of up in the air now, right?”

      “Yeah. So?”

      “Around here, we gotta have someone we can depend on to handle the front. You could decide tomorrow that you want to work things out with your boyfriend and you have to go.”

      “There won’t be any working things out with Mark.”

      “You say that now.”

      “And I’ll be saying it next week. And every week after that. He ended it with me. There’s no going back.”

      “Maybe he’ll snap out of it, realize he made a big mistake.”

      “Too late. I’m done.”

      “But Marnie, come on. You could always have a change of heart.”

      “How much clearer can I be about this? It’s over between me and Mark. Finished. Dead with a stake to the heart. And as far as my just taking off, no. I would never do that. If I give my word that I’ll be here till your regular person comes back, I’ll be here.”