by Joan Kilby
As she came level with the store, Brianna stopped dead. The mannequin in the display window wore a wedding dress, with puffed sleeves, nipped-in waist and flaring satin skirt decorated with white-on-white embroidery.
The gown looked identical to one she’d seen in a shop in Marietta five years ago at the height of her romance with Angus. She’d been tempted to buy the dress then but hadn’t, afraid she’d jinx the relationship if she bought a wedding gown when she wasn’t even engaged. Not a week later, she’d found out he’d gotten the scholarship and acceptance to the college in California. After that, buying the dress was out of the question.
She came closer to the window. It sure looked like the same dress.
“Yoo-hoo, Brianna!” Kylie stood in the doorway of her store, and had clearly been calling her name for some time. “Are you going to come in?”
“Oh, hi, Kylie!” she said. “Sorry, I was a million miles away. Where did you get that dress?”
“It came with the case lot I was telling you about. A vintage shop in Billings went out of business,” Kylie said. “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?”
“It’s mi—” She bit off the word. It wasn’t hers and never had been. To claim the dress as her own would sound very odd. She started again. “I want—” This time she clapped a hand over her mouth. Did she have Tourette’s syndrome?
“Sorry, what did you say?” Kylie asked.
Brianna took a deep breath. “I think I saw it in Marietta, years ago. I thought it was beautiful then. I was tempted to buy it, but well, I wasn’t engaged.”
“My motto is, if you see something special, don’t pass it up,” Kylie said. “You might not find it again.”
“Any other dress, I’d agree, but a wedding dress?” She gave a nervous laugh. “No.”
“Do you want to try it on?” Kylie asked.
“Oh, no thanks. I’m still not in the market for a wedding dress.” She waved a hand, embarrassed now. “But I’ll see what else you have for spring.”
Kylie led her to a rack of vintage dresses and picked out a blue floral number with a fitted bodice and flaring skirt. “This would look amazing on you. Or this one.” She passed Brianna three or four more dresses in various colors.
Brianna went to the fitting room at the back and tried them on, one by one, coming out to show Kylie for a second opinion.
“I like the blue the best,” Kylie said.
“I do, too.” Brianna checked her watch as she headed back to the change room. “Oops, I’ve got to go.”
“Got a date?” Kylie asked.
“I’m meeting a man but it’s business.”
“Uh-huh,” Kylie said with a knowing look.
“It is,” Brianna insisted. “Angus Adams is overseeing the building of the community hall. We need to go over the plans.”
“Friday night?” Kylie said, wryly sceptical. “Pull the other one.”
“I have the drawings right here in my briefcase.” She pointed to the leather satchel at her feet.
Kylie’s lips curved in a smile. “That’s your story and you’re sticking to it.”
Brianna threw up her hands and headed back to the fitting room to change back into her jeans and silk blouse. She carried the blue dress up to the cash register. While Kylie was ringing it up, Brianna wandered back to the wedding dress and stroked the smooth satin skirt. Part of her had always regretted not buying the dress, even after her relationship with Angus fell apart. Maybe the dress suddenly appearing in Sweetheart at the same time as Angus was a sign? And, don’t forget, he’d sent her flowers for no reason. Her favorite flowers.
Yes, but he was moving to Sacramento. Firmly, she thrust her fantasies to the back of her mind. She’d made the rule that they were to stick to business and she would be wise to keep to that if she didn’t want her heart broken again.
Anyway, there were no such things as signs or portents. The dress coming to town was pure coincidence with no connection whatsoever to her and Angus. She tore herself away with a last lingering glance and went back to the cash register.
“I could take twenty percent off,” Kylie murmured. “Grab it before it slips through your fingers again.”
Brianna hesitated, seriously tempted. Then reason prevailed. “No! That would be silly. I don’t even have a boyfriend, much less a fiancé.”
“One day you will,” Kylie said. “Some things are meant to be. Maybe that dress is one of them.”
Brianna stared at her friend, wondering if Kylie had gone nuts, but aware at the same time of a strange stirring inside her chest. Or maybe it was in the air because it suddenly seemed charged, almost sparkly. Maybe positive ions from an impending thunderstorm. Oh, she hoped not, that might damage the blossoms.
She paid for the dresses and picked up her briefcase and the shopping bag. “Thanks, see you later.”
“I could put it aside, hold it for a few weeks,” Kylie said, as Brianna went out the door.
“No!” Brianna said, horrified, then relaxed when she saw Kylie’s smile and realized she was teasing her. “Stop it,” she said, laughing.
She checked her watch, saw she was now ten minutes late and picked up her pace. As she walked, her head cleared. What kind of spell had that dress thrown over her? She wasn’t even interested in getting married.
*
Angus caught a glimpse of bright blonde curls in the bar mirror and spun his stool to see Brianna in the doorway, looking around. He waved. “Here she is now.”
As she started toward him he noticed she was carrying a briefcase, as if to emphasize that this was not a social occasion.
“I didn’t expect to run into you two.” Brianna greeted Will and Mia with warm hugs. “Hello,” she added to Angus, her smile friendly but guarded.
After chatting a few minutes, Will and Mia got a call that their table was ready and they had to go.
“Thanks for the drink,” Will said to Angus. “I’ll catch you next time. Oh, hey, do you want to come to our place next Saturday for a barbecue? We’re having a few people around. Brianna’s coming.”
Angus glanced at Brianna. She gave a tiny shrug as if to say she wouldn’t stop him if he wanted to accept. And he did, very much, partly to see all his old friends, but also because in a purely social setting Brianna might be more relaxed around him. At the very least she wouldn’t be toting a briefcase.
“Sounds good,” he replied to Will. “See you both then.”
After Will and Mia left, he and Brianna moved to a corner table where a waiter brought her a glass of wine.
“Is it going to bother you if I go to the barbecue?” he asked. Seeing as she had the prior invitation, he should double-check.
“Not at all. Why would it?” She sipped her wine, not meeting his gaze.
He knew her well enough to know she wasn’t expressing her true feelings but he decided to drop it. If their relationship was so firmly in the past, as far as she was concerned, why the attitude? She didn’t act this coolly to complete strangers.
Before he could probe her on this, she opened her case and brought out a roll of architectural drawings. “Blake dropped these off on his way out of town tonight. He asked me to apologize for not being able to brief you himself. He’s heading to a big ranch construction job near Missoula.”
“Let’s have a look.” Angus unfurled the drawings, and for the next half an hour they discussed the layout of the building and the orientation on the lot. As she’d said, the design was simple but functional. “How soon can we get workers on site?”
“They can start tomorrow morning.” She handed him a sheet of paper with typed names and phone numbers. “Bill Stuckey is our foreman. Here’s his number, as well as the contact details for all the subcontractors. The plumber Blake hired fell through but there are several in town. I’ll call some tomorrow.”
“I’ll chase that down. I know you’re busy with the festival.”
Silence fell over their table. Now that they’d finished talking about the project neither se
emed to know what to say next.
“Thanks again for the flowers,” Brianna said. “They’re lovely and they smell heavenly.”
“You’re welcome. It was an impulse, just a friendly gesture. I didn’t mean anything by it.” He glanced at her empty glass. “Another drink?”
“No, thanks,” she said. “I still have work to do tonight for the festival.”
“Dinner then. You can’t work on an empty stomach.”
“I have leftover lasagna in the fridge.”
“My favorite,” he said hopefully.
“Forget it,” she said, laughing. “I see what you’re trying to do here.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
She sobered. “Turn this into something it’s not.”
“Even business associates can enjoy a drink or a meal together, can they not?” he asked, still smiling.
“Not business associates with a personal history.” She gathered up her briefcase. “Plus, we both have work tomorrow.”
“Why are you being so detached?” he said bluntly. “It’s almost as if you were afraid of me.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“What you feel for me, I meant.”
She sucked in a breath. “Angus, I’m sorry, I don’t want to be rude, but I don’t see any point in us going down that road again.”
He studied her tight mouth and slight frown and decided to let it go for now. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her. “Never mind.”
“Well, good night.” She started to move away.
“Wait, I almost forgot.” He dipped into a side pocket in his jacket and brought out a piece of carefully folded tissue. “When I rode through the Starr orchards this afternoon I thought of you.” Just about everything in this town made him think of her or something they’d done together, but he didn’t think she’d want to hear that.
She unfolded the tissue to find a slender sprig from a cherry tree with a cluster of furled buds. Her face softened into a smile. “They’re sweet. Did you put a photo on the blog?”
“I’ll do it now.” He took a quick photo with his phone and uploaded it. “Stage one. The beginning.”
Her gaze flashed to his, as if searching for a hidden meaning. He kept his expression noncommittal. There were lots of beginnings he could be referring to—the blossoms forming, construction of the community hall, his upcoming job in Sacramento, her new job with the tourist department.
Last but hopefully not least, the renewal of their friendship and possibly their romance.
“Thank you.” She carefully refolded the sprig and placed it in her purse. “Good luck tomorrow. I hope it all goes smoothly.”
“Thanks, I’m looking forward to it.” Tipping an imaginary hat, he bid her good night.
*
“Are you going down to the build site?” Sarah asked the next day as Brianna prepared to head out at lunchtime. “See if the logs were delivered?”
“That won’t be necessary. Angus would have let me know if they weren’t,” Brianna said. “I’m going to Polson to pick up office supplies. Now that the community hall is definitely going ahead, I can kick organizing the festival into the next gear.”
“And that requires a truck load of new notebooks, fancy pens, multicolored markers, highlighters, and Post-it notes,” Sarah deduced.
“Exactly.”
“I’m your assistant,” Sarah said. “That’s my job.”
“I feel like a drive.” Anything to keep herself busy so she didn’t give into the temptation to go to the build site. Angus was too nice, too attractive. Every time she saw him, he wore down her resistance a little bit more.
At the Polson office supply store, she got a shopping cart and started going down the aisles, looking at her list of items to purchase. As she rounded the end of an aisle, her cart bumped into a man bending over to pick something off a lower shelf.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, but we have to stop meeting like this,” Angus joked, straightening. His T-shirt fit snugly over tanned arms and broad shoulders and a glint of gold chain peeked from beneath his crewneck.
“Angus!” Brianna said, surprised to see him. Strange, she’d never known him to wear a gold chain. It was a small thing but another change in him. “I thought you’d be at the building site.”
“This store will be closed by the time we knock off so I came down on my lunch hour.” Glancing at her cart, he raised his eyebrows. “Stocking up?”
“Just getting a few things.” His cart was loaded with drafting tools he surely already owned as well as packages of tiny craft logs and tubes of glue. “What’s all that for?”
“My architecture equipment is in storage so I picked up a few things in case I need them,” he said.
“And the log cabin sets?”
“I’m going to build a scale model of the community hall. It helps me visualize the final building and work out any design bugs in advance.”
“What a great idea. When you’re done with it, can it go on display in the tourist information center?”
“Sure. I won’t need it once I’ve built it. If I do, I’ll know where to find it.”
Together they continued down the next aisle. This was nuts. She’d come shopping so she wouldn’t go see him and here they were, pushing their carts side by side. Nuts, but also kind of nice.
“Did the logs arrive this morning?” she asked. “And the guys?”
“Bill, Jordan, and Tony, the apprentice, all rocked up on the dot of seven. Logs came shortly after, so we’ve made a good start on stacking,” Angus said. “Oh, and I lined up a plumber to come by later in the week.”
He moved over to allow another shopper to pass and his arm brushed hers. Suddenly she was very aware of his physicality and his skin, which was hot to the touch. Covering her confusion, she dropped her gaze and noticed something bulky in his work shorts pocket.
Without thinking, she slipped into their old banter. “Is that a T-square in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?”
“I’m happy to see you.” His eyes glinted with humor, and something intense flashed between them.
Brianna glanced away, heat rising in her cheeks. “Sorry, that was inappropriate.”
“I can take a joke, even a cheesy one like that.” Angus pulled the object out of his pocket, a rectangular wooden block with a key attached. “I rented a little fishing boat for while I’m here. The guy at the dock asked me to get another key cut since I was going to Polson. This one is worn.”
“Oh, so that was you I saw the other day at the pier.”
“Could have been.” One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Where you watching me?”
“No, I just saw you in passing.” She grabbed a packet of chocolate-covered marshmallows off the shelf at random and threw it in her cart. This was followed by a bag of kettle chips, and a jumbo chocolate bar.
“Do I make you nervous?” he inquired. “You always used to eat junk when you were upset or nervous.”
“Office snacks,” she explained. “The staff expect them.” Yeah, right. Sarah didn’t eat sugar, and she was trying to cut back.
Fortunately, he let it go and for a while they perused the shelves in silence. Why did she have such a strong response to him? Was it a holdover from the past, or a reaction to the man Angus had become? He was more polished and mature now but the easygoing, down-to-earth Angus, the man she’d fallen in love with, was still there, too. A double whammy.
A display of whiteboards on the end wall caught her attention and she pushed her cart forward, grateful for the distraction. A whiteboard was just what she needed to track the buds-to-blossoms journey, schedule festival activities, and map out the market vendors.
She was attempting to wedge the five-by-four-foot whiteboard into her cart when Angus calmly took it out of her hands and balanced it on top of his. “Do you want to go fishing with me one evening?”
Either he’d forgotten her edict about no dat
ing, or he was ignoring it. “I’m going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks.”
“Okay,” he said easily. “If you change your mind, let me know.”
As she headed for the checkout she recalled the relaxed, fun times they used to have out on the water and was half-tempted to say yes after all. But she couldn’t.
“The whiteboard is mine, too,” she told the guy at the cash register.
Her transaction complete, she waited for Angus and they walked out to the parking lot together. He followed her to her car with the whiteboard and she opened the back door.
“Allow me,” he said, and she stepped back to let him place the whiteboard inside.
He had always been good at packing. When they used to go camping, he packed their tent, tarps, lanterns, etcetera into his truck like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Part of her wished she didn’t remember those old times. Or that even now, she noticed his hair and his hands and his every glance her way. Another part of her longed for a return to their old closeness. She couldn’t have it both ways.
“Thanks,” she said when he was done. “So, I’ll see you around.”
“Saturday, at the barbecue, if not before.”
“Right, of course.” She’d turned down his fishing invitation but she couldn’t avoid him entirely. The annoying thing was she didn’t want to. Now that Angus was going to the barbecue, she was looking forward to it all the more. Before she could do something stupid like suggest going together, she slid behind the wheel. “Bye!”
Glancing in the rearview mirror as she drove off she saw him push her cart, which she’d forgotten, into his and wheel them both to the return bay. She winced at herself. He made her so distracted she forgot what she was supposed to be doing. So much for being cool and detached. No doubt he saw right through her.
Chapter Five
By the time Saturday rolled around, Angus was more than ready for a break. He’d worked alongside his crew, putting in long hours all week, with no time for anything else. He hadn’t even had the time or energy for a bike ride.
Will and Mia’s house was down a private road, deep in the orchard. When he got there, a half-dozen cars and trucks were parked in the driveway and the front door stood wide open. Angus entered and followed the sound of voices through the house and out to the backyard. The day was sunny and warm, more like late June than early May.
