Chapter 2

As it turned out, Marqi had just enough to pay the towing fee and still have enough left over for a cup of coffee. She reckoned she needed to get a job, and fast. She walked out of Anderson Towing and into the town of Jasmine Falls. To the right there was police tape all around a demolished building, so Marqi chose to go left. She had to walk about ten blocks before she found something suitable, but when she finally arrived at Home Fries Diner, she knew she’d found just the right place.

The bells jingled merrily when she came through the door, and while Marqi took no notice of the other patrons in the diner, there was at least one of them that took notice of her.

Jenna Jessup looked up from her station at the counter and said with a smile, “Just sit anywhere.”

“Okay, thanks,” Marqi said, and walked up to the counter. She was tired and it was late and she had still not figured out how she was going to get back to the college campus. She didn’t have enough money for bus fare and she doubted her mother would be pleased to take off work to come fetch her and take her to school.

“You want something to drink?” Jenna asked.

“Coffee?”

“Sure.”

Marqi waited while a mug was retrieved from beneath the counter and filled with hot coffee. Jenna pushed the creamer toward Marqi and asked if she needed anything else.

Marqi laughed dryly. “I do need something else: a job. Something temporary, because the summer session of college is going to be starting next week.”

“You go to Jasmine Falls Community College?” Jenna queried, wiping down the counter with a white rag.

Marqi shook her head. “No, USC.”

“Oh,” Jenna said, nodding.

“I’m kind of stuck here till my car gets fixed,” Marqi added ruefully. “And even then, I need a way to pay for the repairs.”

Jenna just nodded. “Well, if you’re looking for work, I think they’re still hiring cherry pickers up there at the Hawke Ranch.”

“The Hawke Ranch?” Marqi repeated.

“Well, they own the orchards up there on the hill,” Jenna said. “Their daughter ShayAnne was in here handing out flyers earlier today. Seems like they would probably still need people.”

Jenna pointed to the window where ShayAnne Hawke had taped up her flyer that very morning. Marqi went to the window and pulled it down, saying, “Thanks.”

Jenna nodded and picked up a tray full of dirty dishes. She disappeared into the back of the diner, leaving Marqi alone with the other customers.

A short, Asian man with a tattooed forearm stood up and came over to where Marqi stood.

“I couldn’t help overhearing that you’re looking for a job,” he said, startling her.

“Oh, yes,” Marqi said.

“My name is Teh Tsu and I’m a modeling agent,” he said, holding out his hand. Marqi shook it, giving him a closer look as he went on, “You’re quite beautiful. I’m certain I could find you immediate work if you’re interested. In fact, I don’t know when I’ve seen such a beautiful girl.”

“Uh huh,” Marqi said flatly. After the run in she’d had earlier with complimenting men, Marqi was in no mood to be flattered. “Well, thanks, but I doubt I’m cut out to be a model.”

Teh Tsu shrugged. “It pays a lot of money. You especially could make a lot of money; you have such a beautiful body.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marqi snapped at him. She was still plenty angry at herself for what she had allowed to happen with Dennis Braxton, and she was ready to take that anger out on someone.

“Nothing,” the man said, holding up his hands. “I was just saying you’re beautiful, that’s all.”

“Well, keep walking, Sparky,” Marqi told him shrewishly.

“Is there a problem here?” Jenna asked, emerging from behind the swinging kitchen door.

There was a moment of silence, then Teh Tsu said, “No. No problem.”

He laid a twenty dollar bill down on the counter to cover his meal and walked out the door. Marqi watched him go and then said to Jenna, “What a creep that guy is.”

Jenna scrutinized the short guy as he walked past the window. She never could tell a creep from a nice guy in her life.

“I’ll take your word for it,” she said.

“Thanks for the coffee,” Marqi said, her face relaxing into a smile. “And for the lead on the job. Now, any idea how I get to this place?”

The door’s bells jingled again and Jenna couldn’t help but grin. “You might ask the girl behind you; I’m sure she knows.”

“Ask me what?” ShayAnne said, dropping the door. “I just came to pick up dinner. You got Daddy’s extra curly fries?”

“Mm-hm,” Jenna said, extracting a large white bag from beneath the counter. “Right here.”

ShayAnne pulled out her wallet and paid for the food, instructing Jenna to keep the change. The red-haired heiress to the Hawke fortune turned to smile at Marqi. “What were you going to ask me?”

Marqi held up the flyer and said, “I need a job. Do you know if there’s anything available? I gotta get back to USC next week, but for now, my car’s at the mechanic’s, and I’ve got to find a way to pay for the repairs. Plus, I guess I’m stuck here in Jasmine Falls till it gets fixed.”

“Oh, that sucks!” ShayAnne said. “Well, listen, why don’t I give you a ride up to the house? It’s kind of late, but I’m sure Daddy will want you to fill out an application. Even if you’re only here for a week, we really could use the extra help. Come on!”

ShayAnne picked up her bag of food, thanked Jenna one last time, and led the way to her jeep. “Hop in.”

Marqi got in and after she’d fastened her seatbelt, she volunteered to hold the food for ShayAnne while she drove.

“So, you go to USC? My sister Beth goes there,” ShayAnne said. “Only she’s out for the summer.”

“Well, I’m out, too,” Marqi said, wrinkling her nose, “but I signed up for the summer session, so I’ve got to be getting back to campus by the end of next week. I have a dorm room there, so that’s no big deal, I just have no money and no transportation for the time being.”

ShayAnne smiled again. “That’s awful. If you want, you can call your family when we get to the house. Where’d you say you’re from?”

“My mother lives in Marshfield.”

“That’s only a couple hours from here,” ShayAnne pointed out.

“Yeah,” Marqi agreed, “but my mom works a lot, and she can’t just drop everything to come get me. I mean, I guess she would if I asked her, but I hate asking for favors.”

Marqi’s mother didn’t exactly approve of helping anyone. Her mother was a tad on the bitter side since Marqi’s father had walked out on them when she was six. Ever since then, her mother had pushed the concept of hard work, nothing’s for free in life, and the like. Marqi couldn’t blame her mother; she’d never learn to function as an adult if her mom bailed her out every time things got a little rough.

She stuck on a smile and said, “So, your family needs… fruit pickers?”

ShayAnne laughed. “Yeah. Unfortunately we seem to be abnormally short-handed on seasonal help this year. It’s terrible since the crop was so good! We’re going to end up losing a lot of good produce just because we can’t get it down fast enough. The only way to do that is to have more bodies.”

Marqi nodded absently as she listened to ShayAnne chat about her family’s orchards. It seemed very likely that she would be hired, even though it was only temporary, and so she optimistically kept a happy face.

“Here we are,” ShayAnne announced, pulling her jeep to a stop in front of an enormous ranch-style house with a circular drive.

“Wow,” Marqi said. It was not as showy and ostentatious as Dennis Braxton’s house had been, but it was impressive nonetheless. It had a rustic feel to it for such a large property, and when she got out of the jeep, Marqi just stared until ShayAnne prodded her toward the house.

“Come on in,” ShayAnne said, leading the way. Marqi followed her inside and tried not to gawk too much at the beautiful finishings in the entry. It sure was something compared to her own humble dorm room, and her mother’s small place. ShayAnne pointed through a doorway into a small sitting room. “Phone’s in there. It doesn’t matter if it’s long distance—and I’ll go find daddy!”

“Okay, thanks,” Marqi said. She walked into the room and picked up the white cordless phone from its perch. She punched her mother’s home number and waited while the phone rang. After the fourth ring, the answering machine picked up and Marqi heard her mother’s voice rattle off the phone number and instruct the caller to leave a message. The beep sounded and Marqi spoke quickly into the phone, “Hello, Mom? Are you there? … Um… My car broke down in Jasmine Falls. It will take a couple of days to fix. I’m at the Hawke Ranch… but I don’t know if you’ll be able to reach me here. I’ll talk to you later. Love you!”

She added the last bit in a rush and hung up the phone before she could ramble on any more idiotically. ShayAnne appeared with a pen and an application, followed closely by her father.

“I’m Bill Hawke,” the man said.

“Marqi Dublin,” the brunette said, reaching out to shake his hand.

“Marqi, well, I hope you are ready for some hard work,” Bill said with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Oh, Daddy,” ShayAnne said over her shoulder as she walked out of the room, “don’t scare the poor girl! I’ll see you tomorrow, Marqi.”

“Yeah, see you, ShayAnne,” Marqi called after the redhead, “and thank you!”

ShayAnne vanished into the house leaving Marqi alone with Bill. He cleared his throat, and then said, “Well, why don’t you take that and just fill it out and bring it back when you can. The pay’s minimum wage, and we’ll see you for work first thing tomorrow morning.”

“All right, thank you,” she said. Bill walked her to the door and Marqi went outside and sat under a tree, promptly filling out her application. She went back up to the house and rang the doorbell, but was greeted by the housekeeper. She turned over the pen and the application and walked away, wondering where she was going to sleep tonight. She ambled slowly down the driveway, her stomach sick at the thought of sleeping in a community center.

She really, really hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She’d heard awful things about those places. She only had to tough out one more week and then she’d be able to get into a dorm room. She prayed that an answer would drop from the sky.