Allison straightened and stood.
Sam shut the door of the SUV and looked at her. “You’ve got quite a way with them.”
Allison shrugged. “I love children.”
“I can tell.” She was going to make some kids one fantastic mother someday. “They really like you.”
She looked over his shoulder and waved at the kidlets one more time. “They’re fantastic children, Sam.”
“Well, thank you.” He cleared his throat. “Sometimes I have my doubts about how good of a job I’m doing.”
“Three-year-olds are notoriously challenging,” she said with a sympathetic look.
“Maybe,” he said. “I just feel like I can’t do anything right.” Teresa shared the sentiment. Or at least made him think she did. Her way of keeping him in line? Maybe. She used manipulation all the time. But when his kids were at stake, he had to pay attention.
Allison touched his arm, creating a warm spot clear to the bone. “I think most parents in your position feel like they’re floundering.”
“I guess you’re right.” He studied her. “They seem to listen to you more.”
“You mean o’operate?” she asked with a quirk of an eyebrow.
“Exactly,” he replied.
“Well, I’m sure it’s just because I’m novel, and that’s always fun. You, on the other hand, are old news to them, and you’re the rule enforcer by necessity. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“I’ll try not to be,” he said, appreciating her viewpoint, which was so different from what he usually heard.
An awkward silence ensued.
Allison spoke first. “Well, it’s been very nice seeing you again, Sam. I’ve been working really hard to the exclusion of just about everything else, so it feels good to reconnect with an old friend.”
Old friend. Right. Perfect. “Yeah, it has.”
“Okay, so I’ll see you tomorrow. At Story Time.” She gave him a wave. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
He watched her walk away. The wind blew her hair around, and he thought of how soft it had felt against his face, like fresh peaches wrapped in silk. In a few moments she disappeared around the corner.
He climbed into the SUV’s driver’s seat and, with his hands on the steering wheel, sat for a long minute, deep in thought. He sure liked how Allison interacted with Nicky and Rosie. She was fantastic with them. So he’d take them to Story Time tomorrow. But that would be it. His divorce had taught him he just wasn’t cut out for love.
Chapter Five
The day after she played in the park with Sam and the kids, Allison left Viv out in the store in the morning and sequestered herself in the tiny room that served as her office. She was in charge of everything that went with running a retail store, and lately, the inventory-control software had been giving her fits.
Josh Smith, who owned the Cozy Cup Café and was also a computer guru of sorts, had helped her set up the whole computer system and software when the store had opened in July. She’d thought she had a pretty good handle on the system lately, but the inventory-control program hadn’t been loading properly. With her high-tech thinking cap on, she hunched over the desktop that took up most of her desk and did her best to figure out what was wrong.
All she ended up with was less hair. So at lunchtime, needing a break and some fresh air, she stretched, told Viv she’d be back soon and headed to the Cozy Cup to ask Josh if he’d have time soon to take a look at the system. She wasn’t above asking for help; she’d do it all day if it meant making the business run smoother. The last thing she needed was a hinky computer system causing problems.
She found Josh behind the counter at the Cozy Cup, dressed in jeans, a red shirt and an apron with the Cozy Cup logo on the front. He was a tall man with dark red hair and green eyes, somewhere in his midtwenties. In Allison’s opinion he was extremely intelligent, if a bit nerdy in a let-me-fix-your-computer kind of way, and was also clearly very enterprising.
“Hey, Josh.” She looked around, taking note of the small glass-topped tables scattered about. “You’ve done such a wonderful job here.” He sold pastries from Sweet Dreams Bakery, along with coffee and tea.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ve been meaning to come by the bookstore and order a few books to keep on the bookshelves I’m going to install in the next week or so.”
“Excellent,” she said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll put together a list of my favorites that you might want to include.”
He nodded. “You’re the literature expert, so I’ll welcome the advice.”
She beamed. Literature expert. Wow. “Great. Maybe I can ask you for the same.”
“Shoot,” he said, drying off one of the coffee cups sitting on the counter in front of him.
“I’m having a terrible time with the inventory-control software, and I was wondering if you could see your way over sometime in the next day or so to help me figure out what’s wrong.”
“Of course,” he said. “I love computer challenges.”
“Yes, well, I don’t, so I’d appreciate any help you can give.”
He promised to stop by soon, and then after serving her a to-go cup of his lovely signature roast, she left to walk back to Happy Endings.
She strolled along the wide sidewalk of Main Street, taking in the sights, loving the old-fashioned look of downtown Bygones. Wrought-iron lampposts marched down the street, and matching benches dotted the sidewalk, providing a nice place to sit for anyone needing a break while shopping. Big clay pots filled with large evergreens also sat here and there, adding a wonderful sense of texture and color to the street. The tan buildings, which she knew had been built in the 1930s, were in good condition and sported colorful awnings and nicely painted contrasting door frames, which contributed a wonderful, welcoming ambience to the town.
She still couldn’t believe she owned a business here. In her hometown, on this perfect street. She was so blessed, so fortunate. She had to make Happy Endings a success.
She returned to the store and received a delivery of books, and then spent an hour or so unloading and shelving them with Viv. They discussed changing the layout of the fiction section of the store, but decided to leave things be for the time being until they had a better idea of what was selling and what wasn’t.
Joe Sheridan, the chief of police and also a member of the SOS Committee, stopped by midafternoon.
“Hello, Miss True.” He sported a dark blond crew cut and wore the blue jeans and chambray shirt uniform of the Bygones Police Department. He also had a pair of sunglasses hanging from his breast pocket, which was emblazoned with the police department logo. She’d guess he was in his midforties.
“Well, hello, Chief Sheridan.” She came out from behind the counter. “Everything all right?” She hoped he wasn’t here on any kind of police business.
“Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to pick out a book for my wife, Inez, who’s feeling poorly with a cold. She’s really into medical thrillers. What do you recommend?”
“I have some excellent new titles that just came in.” She crooked a hand and gestured to the fiction section. “Why don’t you come back here and I’ll show you some of my favorites?”
After much discussion, the chief picked two titles by a relatively new author and then followed her to the register. As she rang up the books, he looked around. “You’ve done a great job here.” He got out his wallet. “How’s business?”
“It’s all right,” she said. “Things have picked up a little in the past few weeks.” But not enough. Yet. “That’ll be sixteen dollars.”
He dug out some bills. “I was just talking to Mayor Langston about how the success of the new businesses is so important to Bygones.”
“Yes, I agree. And I’ve been working long hours to make sure I pull my end.” In fact, twelve-hour days were the norm right now. Her night with Sam and the twins had been the first one in many that she hadn’t worked straight through until midnight.
�
�Excellent. The schools and police force still aren’t safe, so we on the SOS Committee appreciate your hard work.”
Which meant Sam’s job was at risk, along with a lot of other jobs in town, too, and, hence, the very lifeblood of Bygones. “I’ll do whatever necessary to make sure Happy Endings is around for a very long time to come, Chief.” She put the books in a bag, which had the Happy Endings loaded-bookshelf logo she’d designed on it, and handed it to him, along with his receipt.
“That’s why we chose you, Allison. And just between you and me, you also have a history here in town that gave you an edge over some of the other applicants. We’re confident you’ll make this store work.”
Pride spread through her. “Well, I’m grateful for the opportunity, believe me.” She’d been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and she wouldn’t squander it. “I won’t let the committee or the town down.”
With a wave and a hearty thank-you, the chief left, and Allison went back to work with Viv for the rest of the afternoon. She lost herself in straightening, helping customers and fiddling with some accounts-payable paperwork she’d started at about eleven o’clock last night.
She’d just gone out front when she spied Sam and the twins walking into the store a few minutes before Story Time began. She paused for a second, and then moved out from behind the counter and made her way over to the Franklin family. Sam wore well-fitting black sweatpants and a red fitted athletic long-sleeved T-shirt that really showed off his muscular upper arms.
She noted in what she told herself was a very analytical way that he’d definitely filled out in the ten years since she’d seen him, though he was still tall, lean and fit.
“Hey, Nicky and Rosie!” she called, waving. Sam and the twins were now making a beeline for the Kids’ Korner, with Nicky leading the way.
The three of them turned. The twins smiled and so did Sam, flashing white teeth that lit up his face like a ray of sunshine had burned a hole in the roof and hit his mouth just so. She half expected those teeth to glint with an exploding star, cartoon style. Boy, was he handsome.
Nicky and Rosie ran to her. “Miss Allison!” they crowed. “We are here!” Two sets of chubby arms went around her knees.
She pressed a hand to the back of each dark head and her heart turned to mush. “I see that. Just in time for the story.” She’d picked out two stories specifically with them in mind, one about a race car and his vehicle buddies and one about a certain princess named Rapunzel.
“Car story?” Nicky asked.
“No, no, Nicky.” Rosie wagged a finger at her brother in what Allison was beginning to think of as her signature move. “Princess story.”
Nicky shoved out his chin. “Car story, Ro-ro!”
Another finger wag. “Princess!” Rosie barked.
“Car!” Nicky retorted, lifting hand towards Rosie’s ponytail.
Allison quickly put herself between the two kids as she looked at Sam and gave him an amused grin. He rolled his eyes and grimaced in a vague semblance of a grin; clearly, dealing with the twins’ discordant dynamic day after day got old fast.
She gave them a stern look. “Don’t worry, I have stories for both of you two munchkins. As soon as you quit bickering and sit down and become story listeners, we’ll get started.”
The kids took the bait, and ran over to the story rug, plopping down next to the other two kids who’d already taken a seat.
Sam moved nearer, and she caught the scent of something spicy and masculine. Warm and rich. Aftershave? She hadn’t smelled that yesterday….
“More like story arguers,” he said, his eyes tinged with embarrassment. “I’m sorry for that little skirmish.”
She discreetly sidled backward, hopefully out of smelling range. Why torture herself? “Don’t apologize. They’re little kids. It would be weird if they behaved perfectly.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I dunno…” His jaw tightened and he shook his head.
“Trust me, they’re fine. And normal. I can’t tell you how many fights I broke up between my little sisters over the years.” Allison had regularly mediated between her siblings. In her parents’ absence, she became an expert at keeping the peace in the True household.
Sam’s face softened and his rich dark gaze roamed over her face. “How is it that you always make me feel better?”
She blinked, speechless. She somehow found her voice. “Um…well, I’m not quite s-sure,” she stammered. She was certain she had a flashing neon sign on her forehead that read FLUSTERED. She had to find a way to handle that reaction or she’d die of embarrassment before the week was out.
“Well, you do, and I appreciate it.” He gestured to the twins, who were sitting quietly on the rug without arguing or even speaking, their temporary halos firmly in place. “And so do the other kids and parents here for Story Time.”
His heartfelt praise had a rosy flush spreading through Allison. “I’m just glad I could help.” She managed to sound normal this time. Good, she could keep Sam where he needed to be.
Then her eyes caught in Sam’s gaze and she froze, staring. Her tummy flipped, her heart rate sped up and for the life of her she couldn’t look away.
“Miss Allison?” Nicky’s voice jerked Allison back to reality.
She broke the visual connection with Sam and looked at Nicky. “Er, yes, Nicky?” Allison said, trying to make her voice sound normal.
“We waiting quietly for the story,” Nicky said.
“Why, yes, you are, sweetie.” Allison cleared her throat. What was wrong with her? “Good job.” She glanced at Sam. “Um, I’m going to read.” She avoided looking directly into his eyes again and then moved past him to the story rug. The scent of his aftershave wafted by again, and her heart gave another blip.
She gritted her teeth and willed her pulse back under control. Sternly she reminded herself that getting hung up on Sam again was not an option. She wasn’t in the market for a man—she was in the market for a successful business; a healthy Bygones, which she’d been entrusted to help bring about; and saving her own self-worth by making Happy Endings a resounding success for years to come.
And that was more than enough for her any way she cut it.
*
Sam sat in an adult chair while Allison talked to the kids before she started the story.
He’d been well aware of his and Allison’s little eye lock just now, and he was determined to pass it off as his natural reaction to an attractive young woman. No harm in that, as long as he didn’t get carried away.
He wasn’t ready for any kind of romance, what with the turmoil in his family right now. All he wanted to do was focus on his job and the kids, and keep his heart out of the whole thing.
Just as Allison started the story, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He stood and headed away from the Kids’ Korner to take the call as he looked at the screen. Teresa. He tightened his jaw reflexively.
He pressed Talk. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s me.”
“Yes?” Given how his and Teresa’s marriage had ended, their relationship remained strained, and probably always would. He wasn’t going to lie; he was still bitter. Normally, he’d count on God to help him with that problem. But lately, he and God hadn’t been that close.
“Listen, Spense and I have decided to go out of town for a few days.”
“What?” Sam gripped his cell phone hard. “I’m supposed to drop the kids off in less than an hour.” He and Teresa had an every-other-week shared-custody arrangement, and on his week, she watched the kids during the day while he worked.
“I know, but Spense really needs to get away.”
“Spense needs to get away?” Sam resisted the urge to laugh. He needed to get away, too, and had since his marriage had gone south. But that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“Well, yes. You know how much pressure he’s been under at work.”
Sam wanted to laugh; he’d heard through the grapevine that the attorney only worked
four days a week and played golf at least two afternoons a week. “What do you expect me to do with the kids?”
“Can’t you find someone else to watch them? What about Lori?”
Sam squeezed the space between his nose and his eyes, wondering where the old Teresa had gone, the one he’d fallen in love with in college. That seemed like a lifetime ago. She’d turned into a self-centered mess. Perhaps he’d only seen what he wanted to see back then. Honestly, though, motherhood had never agreed with her, and if not for Sam, he knew now she probably wouldn’t have had kids at all. “Lori is out of town at Jeff’s insurance conference and Dad’s still fighting that flu bug going around.”
“How about Mrs. Jamison?” Delores Jamison was Sam’s neighbor.
“She’s eighty, Teresa, and you know she broke her hip three months ago. She can’t watch the kids anymore. They’d run circles around her.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
Convenient. Teresa only remembered things when it made her life easier. He switched the phone to his other ear. “I was counting on you.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not going to be available for the rest of the week.” A male voice said something in the background. Spense. Teresa paused, then went on. “Listen, I have to go or we’ll miss our flight.”
This kind of move was so Teresa; she’d become even more flaky ever since she’d met Spense. “And you just had to wait until the last minute to tell me? I have to be at practice at five-fifteen.”
“These plans were sudden or I would have called you sooner.”
Sam bit his cheek, determined not to stoop to her level. “Fine.
“When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure.”
Sam didn’t think he could trust himself to be civil, so he held his tongue and retorted, “Let me know when you come home.”
“I will,” she said. “Goodbye, Sam.”
Sam clicked off and then stood for a moment, looking at the floor, feeling his pulse surging in his head. Teresa was impossible, and she had him over a barrel. That was reality, and he had to accept it, or go crazy.
Storybook Romance (9781460320433) Page 6
