Prejudice Meets Pride by Rachael Anderson Page A

already Googled her and checked into her family connections. And if she was asking about the date and not encouraging him to look elsewhere, his mother obviously approved of what she’d found. Just as Kevin knew she would. Nicole was not only intelligent and successful in her own right, but her father was a renowned cardiologist.
    But her impressive credentials weren’t the reason Kevin had asked her out. He didn’t even know about them at the time. He thought she was beautiful, had a great sense of humor, and seemed genuine. They’d met in a furniture store when they’d both eyed the same recliner. She’d wanted it as a gift for her father, and Kevin, as a gift for himself. They shared a few laughs, figured out they had several things in common, and ultimately she walked away with the recliner and Kevin with her number. Win-win. The fact that she was everything his mother wanted for him, and seemed to be everything he’d always wanted for himself, made her the perfect candidate as the future wife of Kevin Grantham.
    Why, then, wasn’t he more excited about the second date he’d lined up?
    “Well…?” his mother prodded when Kevin didn’t answer right away.
    “It went great, thanks for asking.”
    “Wonderful.” Her voice was actually tinged with some enthusiasm this time. “I take it you will be seeing her again?”
    “That’s the plan.”
    “Perfect. I can’t wait to hear all about it.” Not that she really meant it. His mom never wanted the nitty gritty details—she was much too busy for that. She only wanted to assure herself that Kevin wasn’t veering too far from the course his parents had outlined for his life. And Kevin agreed that it was time for him to settle down, but he didn’t want to marry just anyone—he wanted something more than his parents had. He wanted something real.
    And Nicole could be it. Only time would tell.
    “I’ve got a lawn to mow, so I’ve got to go,” said Kevin.
    “I thought you had a service.”
    “I do.”
    “Then why—”
    “I’m planning to mow my neighbor’s lawn.”
    “Why?”
    “Because her lawnmower isn’t working and she can’t afford to fix it.”
    “But you don’t have a lawnmower.”
    “I do now.”
    There was a pause on the other end of the line before his mother said. “And how old is this new neighbor of yours?”
    “I have no idea. Old enough to have two kids.”
    “Oh.” A pause. “Why isn’t her husband mowing her lawn?”
    “She doesn’t have a husband,” Kevin said. “Listen, I really need to go. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
    “Very well,” came her curt reply.
    Kevin shoved the phone back in his pocket, pushed the mower’s choke lever down like the instructions dictated, and yanked on the pull cord. A satisfying rumble sounded as Kevin started his first lawnmower engine.

    Emma’s purse hit the kitchen counter with a thud as her eyes strayed to the backyard, where the girls were running around on grass that seemed a little less yellow every day. At least that was something to be happy about, unlike the horrible interview she’d just come from.
    A stack of mail sat on the counter, and Emma flipped through the letters, wishing she’d left them alone when she came across the credit card bill with a balance nearing the maximum limit. She tossed it aside and glanced at the next letter. When she saw it was from Waterworks Plus, a soft water company she’d interviewed with the week before, her stomach clenched. They would have called her if she’d gotten the job, so the letter obviously meant she hadn’t. She ripped it open, and sure enough, it was a rejection letter.
    The words “We wish you success with your ongoing job search” blurred as tears of frustration dampened the corners of her eyes. Emma leaned against the counter and gazed at the girls once more. What was she going to do? She’d been through seven interviews this week and already had five rejections to show for it—no, make that six because