Genesis' Lack of Patience #4

Chapter 2

AUBREY MANCEAUX CLOSED HER CELL phone and fanned herself with a piece of paper. The Texas heat in early June was brutal. It made her miss home. She came from generations of Colorado natives and was well aware how their climate was the best on the planet. Colorado had the perfect blend of weather and was not too hot, not too cold. Sure, from time to time, it was extreme, but not like the Texas heat. When it got too warm in Texas, Aubrey became weak because she was used to a more forgiving climate. The heat got to her. Then, when she got the news about losing her job at West Finlaw Publishing House, she felt downright nauseous.

She was not sure what to do from here. Should she cry, have a temper tantrum, or pick herself up and move on and pretend like her life was not in turmoil? She had no idea where to go from here or what to do. Life seemed to be full of mystery and Aubrey tried not to panic.

She realized she needed to contemplate what her grandmother said and try to figure out where to go from here. Luckily, she had a class in half an hour. Maybe that would be her salvation. Then again, the thought of going to class when she began to wonder if her degree was a complete waste was a little too much for her. Tears streamed down her cheeks like water down a mountain stream.

Was her time here a waste?

Why had she put all of her eggs in one basket like the cliché warned? She should have formed at least one or maybe two backup plans. How did she ever become so foolish? Her family taught her better than that. Her parents and grandparents pounded having plans A-D in her head at all times. She ignored their advice and she was now hurt because of it. Why didn’t she listen?

She glanced at her watch again. Drat. If she was going to go to class, she needed to leave now. She would be late otherwise.

Aubrey grabbed her book bag and started to shove her belongings back into it and she reached for her keys. She would go. What else was she supposed to do? She had come this far in her Master’s program. It would be a waste not to continue. Maybe she might get some answers about what to do from here from the class. Maybe ideas might come to her.

Aubrey found her way to her car and was greeted by a flat tire. "Great." She ran her hand through her long brown hair and unlocked her car's doors so she could throw her book bag inside. She would be nice and late to class today.

"Do you need some help?" A masculine voice called from her back.

The situation could easily throw her into emotional upheaval. Yes, she needed help so she could try to hold herself together. She wanted to say yes, but decided it would be smart to look at the man who made the offer. Aubrey turned around to see who it was and discovered it was a man in his early to mid-thirties. He was clean-cut, wearing slacks and wore a button-down shirt. He appeared safe enough.

"Please." Aubrey was smart enough to recognize when she needed assistance.

“I'm Noah Morley, by the way. Here's my card.” He handed it to her. “I hope this makes you feel a little less uneasy.” His voice sounded kind and sincere.

Somehow the name sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Aubrey glanced at his business card. She read on it how he was the writer of the Rand Parker series. She gasped and quickly tried to calm down when she realized he would have heard it. Oops. The next part which surprised her was how he lived in Spruce, Colorado. It was a small and quirky mountain town near Estes Park and Loveland. It was about an hour and fifteen minutes outside of Denver, her hometown.

"Wow. You're from my home state. I'm from Denver. Spruce is pretty close to my family's home." Aubrey wondered whether she should say anything or not about her recognition of him and how she loved his writing.

"Huh. What a coincidence. I'm here in Texas meeting with my editor, Nick Monahan, about the next book in my series and about the starting of a new one." Noah explained to her.