Free Yesterday's Tomorrows by M. E. Montgomery

did you score extremely high on the English and history portions, but you have a perfect score on the math section." She turned the computer screen to show me.
    "Oh," I chuckled to cover my embarrassment, "I like math. It's always come easily to me."
    "Well, that's our most requested subject for help, so we need all the math experts we can find," she assured me. "I’ll send you home with the rest of the application, and as soon as you're able, bring it back with some letters of recommendation. I look forward to hearing back from you, Madelyn."
    I accepted the papers she held out to me. "Thank you, for everything."
    She smiled and nodded, and seconds later I was on my way home, smiling big and with a new bounce in my stride. Tomorrow, I was going to find that hair salon!

8
Holt
    I sighed and leaned back in my chair and rubbed my hands over my tired eyes. I'd read the same paragraph for the past thirty minutes, but I may as well have been staring at black and white hieroglyphics for all I got out of it.
    Why the hell I'd chosen to drown myself in legal documents instead of a bottle of Macallan Scotch might have been a serious misjudgment on my part. Today marked an anniversary of the worst day in my life. Had it really been five years since I buried Claire? Five years since I had to yield her to the cold, hard ground rather than the security of my arms?
    On good days, if I closed my eyes, I could still feel her warmth pressed against my body; I could hear her sighs as I moved my mouth along her soft curves. But other times, like today, all I could feel was her weight as she collapsed in my arms, and the only sounds were my anguished cries as I begged her not to leave me.
    Time had eased the daily heartache, but it hadn't healed the hole in my heart. It was always a day I struggled to get through, even years later. But four hours ago when my buddy James called and invited me out, I'd been determined that for the first time in five years I could handle the memories that were stronger today than other days. However, as the office area grew quiet, my thoughts grew louder. All of the sudden pep talks from my family caused the tug and pull of my emotions to be worse. They didn't understand the promises I had made, the reassurances I had given.
    The guilt I felt.
    It wasn't as simple as they wanted me to believe.
    Thunder rumbled outside, a perfect match to my dark mood. I put the papers I was reviewing into a folder and made a note for Linda, my secretary, to have copies made for the other members of my team. Linda Talbot was a godsend in our office, but I'd never admit that to her. She was the most efficient person I'd ever seen and she expected nothing less from those who worked around her. Those of us who worked with her thought her mouth was only capable of two movements: straight across or turned downward. I doubted an appearance by the President of the United States would rattle her. She'd probably scold him for not making an appointment and would usher him to a chair to wait his turn.
    So to find her happy about the new clerk who finally got things right had caused more than one of us to stop dead in our tracks. I'd grown used to hearing Linda grumble about how things were done sloppily and rarely on schedule. Now she was singing the praises of one Madelyn Stone and insisted that 'Maddy' be the only one to handle our paperwork. 'Did you have a chance to try the treats Maddy left in the break room? Quite the baker, that girl.' 'I heard Maddy brought a card around for everyone to sign when Mr. Sigmon had his surgery. Such a thoughtful girl.' 'Did you see the card Maddy brought me for my birthday? She wrote such a nice note on it.'
    This last comment had a glare attached to it since I was guilty of forgetting this significant event and had to quickly make up for it with a generous gift certificate to Linda's favorite restaurant. And to top it off, apparently Maddy was able to perform all these extra workplace treats while never