by Tara Randel
Numbers were her comfort zone. They didn’t let you down. They made sense in a sometimes chaotic world.
The door opened and a woman walked in, taking in the shop as if deciding where to start browsing.
“Good morning,” Heidi greeted her. “Can I help you find anything?”
“Just looking for a gift,” the woman replied.
“If you need assistance, just let me know.”
Returning to the spreadsheet, Heidi thought about her first few clients. Once she’d become financially solid, thanks to them, she’d thrived. She’d started off visiting each location to get any paperwork she needed, then worked from home. Her apartment was not cutting it in terms of the space needed for the growth of her business, and she hoped that once she bought her own place, she’d create a dedicated home office.
So much was riding on that house.
The door opened again, snagging her attention. Heidi called out a hello to a group of women entering the store. They waved, clearly caught up in an ongoing conversation. Placing her elbows on the counter, she dropped her chin into her upraised hands.
She was thankful to Reid for giving in. He hadn’t liked her bargaining chip, made obvious by the flash of hurt in his green eyes. Bringing up that night was low, made worse by the fact that she was desperate. She couldn’t lose this house.
But when he’d smiled again, a genuine smile that glowed from deep inside, it made her chest tighten. He didn’t share it often, especially since the falling-out with his father. She’d missed it, because she missed her up-for-any-adventure friend. The one she got into mischief with one minute, followed by a heated debate over the merits of said risky decision the next. If anything, could their time together be a way of bringing the old Reid back? Even if her strange awareness of him was anything but friendly?
Shaking off the vision of Reid strolling out of her house like he owned the world, she tried to tamp down her frustration. He hadn’t known she was serious about that property. But if he had, would he still have bought the house? She’d never know now, but at least he was letting her work alongside him, albeit reluctantly.
Would inserting herself in the middle of Reid’s project affect his livelihood, ultimately destroying their friendship? She bit down on her lower lip, pondering that thought before brushing it away. She had to take the risk.
Heidi sent him a quick text, reminding him to let her know when she could start. She had her schedule to rearrange, after all.
“Excuse me,” the first customer who’d come into the store said as she approached the counter. “Do you have another box of this stationery? I’d like to buy two.”
The memo pads featured a beautiful drawing of Golden Lake from the vantage point of Pine Tree Overlook. Serena was a talented artist, her original designs on stationery, cards and other paper products making up the bulk of their inventory. Heidi couldn’t draw a stick man to save her life, but she admired Serena’s ease with her colored pencils and watercolors.
“Sure. Let me get one from the back.”
Her phone dinged as she hurried to fetch the customer’s request. Grabbing it as she passed the counter, she swiped the screen to see that Reid had answered her text. Excitement curled in her belly as she opened it.
Excitement about the house or Reid?
Heidi went still. Reid was her friend. Always had been. Yeah, she couldn’t help but notice his broad shoulders today. And his moss-green eyes seemed especially bright, his gaze switching from indulgence to humor as he kept up with her conversation. She’d always thought he was handsome, but what was so unique about today? Was it because he was helping her achieve her plan to get her house?
Shaking off her silliness, she read his answer.
Tomorrow morning at six.
“Yes,” she said out loud with a fist pump to the air, startling a woman browsing the wall of greeting cards.
“Sorry. Good news,” she explained.
The woman nodded and continued picking up a card here and there to read while Heidi continued on her mission. After bringing the requested box of stationery to the pleased customer, Heidi typed a return message to Reid.
See you then, boss.
Then added a saluting emoji face, sure to annoy him.
She’d just put down the phone when the door opened and a teenage girl strode in as if she owned the place. Heidi frowned, acknowledging that a whirlwind had just arrived.
CHAPTER THREE
“MIA, WHAT’RE YOU doing here?” Heidi asked the leggy teen with long, curly blond hair as she zigzagged around customers to reach the counter.
A puzzled look crossed the girl’s face. “You said if I needed help to tell you.”
“Yes, at our group meeting at the community center.” Heidi glanced at the wall clock. “It’s only eleven. Shouldn’t you be in school?”
The girl shrugged, swinging her designer leather backpack onto the counter with a thud. How the girl managed to look so effortlessly stylish in a pair of denim shorts and off-the-shoulder peasant shirt was beyond her. Heidi worked hard to pull off a decent wardrobe and still never came that close to trendy.
“I skipped out before lunch.”
Heidi pinched the bridge of her nose. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Mia shrugged. “I have a test later and I need your help.”
“We went over the material just last night over the phone.”
The teen’s fingers stalled over the zipper enclosure of the backpack. “But I’m nervous,” she said, her anxious expression touching Heidi’s heart.
When Heidi had agreed to facilitate a math tutoring class at the community center, she hadn’t expected all the teen drama that went with it. Tears, frustration and derision were just a few of the attitudes she dealt with on a weekly basis. Had she been this melodramatic when she was that age? Heidi didn’t think so, not after the childhood she’d experienced. Because of that, it was sometimes hard for her to relate to these kids, but for all the town of Golden had given her, she had the deep-seated desire to give back. Math happened to be Heidi’s strong suit, so when Mrs. Arnold had asked her to sign on as a tutor, she hadn’t hesitated.
Until she actually had to interact with students who didn’t have a clear understanding of mathematical concepts. And for some reason, Mia had decided Heidi was the person to solve all her problems.
Focusing on the teen, Heidi asked, “Did you study the worksheet I made up for you?”
“Yes.” Mia frowned as she extracted a notebook from her bag. “Are you sure all those equations are important to study?”
“Do you want to go to college?”
Mia wrapped a finger around a strand of curls and twirled. “Not really. I want my car back.”
One of the reasons Mia had ended up in Heidi’s group to begin with. She had to lift her failing grade in order to get the keys to her sporty BMW.
Heidi rephrased. “Your parents want you to go to college, so you need to pass.”
“But Algebra II? I barely made it out of Algebra I alive.”
Heidi hid a grin. Same story for most of the kids she tutored. “Mia, you’re capable.”
The girl bit her lower lip. “Not in math.”
No, unfortunately not in math. They’d spent hours going over the same concepts until they were both ready to pull their hair out. But, as Alveda pointed out, she hadn’t taught Heidi to quit, so she’d stuck it out with Mia, hoping one of these days the formulas would click.
Heidi pushed her sleeves up. “All the more reason to work harder.”
Mia’s shoulders sank. “I want to be a cosmetologist to the stars, not a rocket scientist.”
“Didn’t your folks say this was the last math class you had to take?”
“Yeah, but it’s ruining my life.” Mia fluffed her hair over her shoulders. “Math is dumb.”
The same o
ld rhetoric. Math is dumb. I won’t use it in real life. Can’t you just take the test for me?
Heidi gestured toward the backpack. “Show me where you’re tripping up.”
Mia opened a notebook full of squiggles that had nothing to do with numbers and letters and pointed to the worksheet. “Why doesn’t this make sense?”
It was one of the more complicated equations. Could Heidi come up with a way to explain it so Mia would retain the principle?
“I wish I was a senior,” Mia muttered. “Then I’d be off to Hollywood this summer.”
“Senior year is the best. Don’t rush it.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Please. I’ve already been to prom twice. What’s left to accomplish?”
Heidi stared at her.
“What?” the teen asked in an affronted tone.
Shaking her head, Heidi said, “I don’t know how to answer that question.”
Mia rested her elbows on the counter. “I promise if you help me figure this out, I’ll give you tickets to the school play. We’re doing Beauty and the Beast this year and I get to do all the makeup!”
The arts were not in Heidi’s wheelhouse, except for the year she painted the mural, but when she spied the passion in Mia’s eyes, she understood why getting through math wasn’t as important as it should be to the girl. Hey, if Heidi could help Mia pass with a solid C, she’d consider it an accomplishment.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll help you and buy my own ticket to support the school.” Heidi grabbed a pencil and worked out the problem again, slowly and in a way she hoped Mia would retain. From the blank expression in Mia’s eyes, Heidi was worried about the outcome of the test.
Throwing down her pencil after trying to figure out an equation, Mia looked close to tears. “This is useless. It’s like a black hole.”
A customer chose that moment to bring items to the counter to check out.
“Mia, why don’t you take a seat at the activity table and I’ll join you in a minute.”
Collecting her things, Mia muttered, “Fine,” in a tiny voice before moving away.
“Looks like you have your hands full,” the woman said with a sunny smile as Heidi rang up the sale.
“One of the students I tutor.”
The woman chuckled. “My daughter hated all things math. It seems like her high school years were a litany of us ruining her life because we made her learn a skill.”
Heidi grinned. “I hear that all the time. Thankfully the kids keep coming back.”
As the customer handed Heidi her card, she asked, “Do you have children?”
Heidi paused, not expecting that question. Sure, she thought about a family, but shied away from imagining what it would look like. There was no chance she’d allow a child to grow up the way she had. That’s why she needed a house before thinking that far into the future.
She finished the transaction, then placed a half dozen cards and stationery boxes in the bag. “Not yet,” she said with a smile.
The woman took the bag Heidi held out to her. “It’s a special time. I highly recommend it.”
A loud sigh carried over from the table Serena used for her calligraphy and greeting card classes. Heidi and the customer exchanged glances before chuckling.
As the group of women left the store, Heidi strode toward the table. Suddenly, she came up with an idea that might help. She pulled a chair close to Mia’s and sat. “Do you act in any of the plays at school?”
Mia wiggled the pencil between her fingers. “I did, but now I work backstage.”
“So, you’ve memorized lines?”
Curiosity glittered in Mia’s eyes. “Yeah, why?”
Heidi held up the worksheet. “Look at this problem as a line in a play. If you can close your eyes and picture it, it will help you when you take the test.”
“You mean like when we ran through our parts?”
“Yes.”
Doubt wrinkled Mia’s forehead. “Are you sure? That sounds too easy.”
Heidi held out her hands. “I can’t think of a better way for you to focus on the material.”
Mia stared at the notebook, then at Heidi. “I can try.”
Heidi placed a hand over Mia’s. “That’s all I ask, Mia.” Heidi pointed to the girl’s head. “It’s in there, I’m sure of it.”
“At least someone is,” Mia muttered as they went over the subject material a final time.
As Mia closed the notebook and stuffed it in the backpack, Heidi asked, “I thought Todd was helping you?”
A pink sheen brightened Mia’s cheeks. “He was, but he has his own problems to worry about.”
The blush was a sure sign that Mia had a thing for her classmate.
“Like what?”
Mia stood. “Getting Mr. Masterson to sign off on his woodworking project.”
At the mention of Reid’s name, that twinge of excitement from earlier tickled her insides. Her cheeks heated. Good grief, she was as bad as Mia. It’s about the house, she assured herself.
The groups she and Reid worked with at the community center met on the same night. She’d seen Mia and Todd hanging around afterward on a few occasions, but usually she and Reid hurried off. Why didn’t they ever hang out like they used to? she wondered. That would change once she started working on the house with him. While she was happy to rekindle her friendship with Reid, she was a tad concerned that her current awareness of the man might make things awkward between them.
“What’s Todd making?” Heidi asked, gathering up the extra pencils from the table.
“A birdhouse.” Mia giggled. “It’s truly awful.”
Heidi thought about the cat bed she’d attempted to make for Mr. Whiskers and flinched. “We can’t all be creative.”
Mia hesitated, then said, “I’d help him but he won’t let me.”
Sounded familiar.
“You can work with tools?” Heidi asked.
“A little bit. My uncle used to let me hang around when he was building stuff.”
Heidi found herself jealous. She had to prove to Reid that she wasn’t clueless when it came to construction.
“If you want to branch out from cosmetology, maybe you can build stage sets too.”
Mia’s eyes went wide. “How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“I’m already working on sets for the play.”
Heidi chuckled. “I didn’t. It was just an idea.”
“A good one.” Mia slung on her backpack. “And another reason I don’t need math.”
Heidi held up a finger to stop Mia before she escaped. “Really? Do you measure and cut?”
Mia nodded.
“Put together pieces of wood at different angles to build a prop?”
Mia frowned like she didn’t get Heidi’s point.
Heidi grinned. “That, my friend, is math.”
Mia rolled her eyes again with such teen disdain that Heidi decided Mia must have the strongest facial muscles ever.
As Mia moved to the door, Heidi called out, “You have my number. Text me with your grade if you get it before our next group meeting.”
“Thanks, Heidi.”
“Anytime.” She met the girl’s unsure gaze. “I mean it.”
Heidi knew the importance of someone caring about you, mostly because she’d grown up completely the opposite. Alveda had stepped up, interrupting her own quiet life when Heidi needed her the most. She’d never forget what a lifeline the older woman’s sacrifice had meant to her.
And Reid? Having his friendship, no questions asked, when she’d been so withdrawn and raw, had also given her faith. She didn’t want to jeopardize their friendship by exploring this puzzling attraction she was struggling with.
The teen stopped and looked as though she was going to say something else,
then waved and took off.
“Just another day in Golden,” Heidi said. The store phone rang and she took an order for one of Serena’s personalized products.
She’d just hung up when the back door slammed. Before long, Serena’s roommate Carrie materialized, holding an open laptop in her hands. She glanced around the store.
“Where’s Serena?”
“Off taking care of details for the engagement party.”
“Let me guess. With Mrs. M.?”
“Yep. What’s up?”
“I wanted her to read my résumé.” A frown marred Carrie’s forehead. “I’ve been over it a dozen times and I’m seeing double.”
Heidi hesitated. She and Carrie had become friends since Carrie landed in town, but they weren’t as tight as Carrie and Serena. “I can take a look if you want?”
Her face lit up. “Really? You wouldn’t mind?”
At the positive response, Heidi nodded. “Not at all.”
Carrie handed her the laptop. “I can man the desk while you read.”
“It’s been quiet.” Heidi placed the laptop on the counter. “Serena has a class this afternoon, so with the extra traffic things should pick up then.”
Tossing her honey blond hair over her shoulder, Carrie bit her thumbnail. “This isn’t the first résumé I’ve put together.”
Heidi looked up. “But?”
“I don’t know. It just feels important.”
“You’re really going to stay in Golden?”
“For now.”
Given the uncertainty in Carrie’s tone, Heidi didn’t question her. She understood keeping one’s business to oneself.
Ten minutes later, she’d finished reading. “I only made a few notes,” she told Carrie, “It’s clear you know how to hook an employer.”
“Phew. After the debacle at my last job, my confidence took a major hit.”
“Any business would be happy to have you,” Heidi said, and meant it. Then she thought about this morning, how she’d talked Reid into letting her join the house project and bit back a grin. He was clearly not thrilled that she was on board, but he hadn’t said no. Not that she’d given him a chance. But the range of emotions on his handsome face had been fun to watch, not to mention they went a long way in lifting her spirits. And if she were being honest, they also made her heart beat a little faster, which made her question, why? Reid had been her friend forever. Working with him was going to be fraught with potential problems if she didn’t get a handle on these feelings.
