Georgia Sweethearts

by Missy Tippens

  “May I help— Oh. Daniel,” she said, voice flat. Disappointed. She may as well have said, oh, it’s just you.

  He considered her attitude a challenge.

  “Hello, Lilly.” For the first time, he noticed one whole wall lined with cubbyholes packed with yarn of every color. “The store’s certainly well stocked.”

  “Our aunt’s inventory was depleted when we came on board. We had to place a large order of supplies.” Her sad gaze darted away as she ran her hand over a closed laptop computer, wiping away invisible dust. “Can I help you find something? A gift for your grandmother, maybe?”

  If a sale would put him in her good graces... “Uh, sure. Do you have a nice scarf?”

  Pushing long, dark hair behind one ear, she winced. “I’m afraid I don’t have many finished items left. A couple hats. A pair of children’s mittens.” Her expression brightened as she came from behind the counter. “I remember Aunt Talitha talking about Ann knitting. Maybe I can interest you in some yarn. Along with a new pattern book?”

  The hopeful look in her eyes smacked him in the gut. “I need to come clean. I didn’t really come in to buy a gift. I stopped by to talk business.”

  Her eyes shot sparks as they focused all her ire on him. “Thank goodness you’re honest, Reverend.”

  Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on him. Though he deserved the censure, he had to battle a smile. With her big greenish-brown eyes and rosy cheeks, she had to be the prettiest angry woman he’d ever seen. “I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t look sorry.”

  “I’m sorry. For not looking sorry, that is.” A chuckle rumbled out before he could stop it. When she glared harder, he added, “Sorry.”

  Before she could say anything else, he held up a hand. “I couldn’t help it. You’re just so beautiful when you’re mad.”

  She rolled her eyes toward the ceiling and shook her head. “Words a woman longs to hear. Now...since I don’t want to talk business with you unless you’re here to buy yarn, I suggest you leave before you make me truly angry and find out how utterly gorgeous I can be.”

  Even though he knew it would probably blow up in his face, he couldn’t help the grin that formed. “I like you, Lilly Barnes. I hope you’ll let me look at your basement and then listen to my offer.”

  She crossed her arms but didn’t throw him out.

  “We would pay rent, of course,” he said quickly. “And to sweeten the deal, we’d do any work you need to finish the basement, deducting the cost of materials out of the rent. Labor would be donated by church members, the teenagers I’m mentoring...and me.”

  Something akin to interest flashed across her face.

  He held up the paper with his first list. “The names of five women in my congregation who knit or crochet. Two said they’d be willing to teach you. My grandmother might even be persuaded to teach a class for you if you give her a call. She taught for Talitha when she opened the shop.”

  “Bribery, huh? I have to say, you’ve caught my attention.”

  “I prefer to think of it as incentive.” Incentive to follow through with her aunt’s promise.

  She nodded toward a door at the back of the shop. “It couldn’t hurt to let you look.”

  One small victory. He tried not to irritate her with a smile.

  She led the way down a set of steps into a cool, damp space. Definitely needed dehumidifiers. But it was a nice large space that would easily hold some tables and fifty chairs. The walls were finished, but they’d need to paint and put in a drop ceiling. Add more lighting. Maybe build a small room for an office that she could later convert to a storage closet.

  A plan began to take shape. He couldn’t imagine her wanting to deal with the renovation on her own. “It wouldn’t be too difficult to make the basement functional.”

  “Looks dreary to me,” she said. “Lots of work to make it livable.”

  He squatted down to check for moisture on a crack in the cement floor. “I’ve been on several mission trips. This is a piece of cake compared to what I’ve worked on.”

  “We still plan to hold classes down here at some point. I wouldn’t want the space tied up indefinitely.” She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if trying to warm herself.

  With the winter cold outside, he’d have to beef up the heating system, as well. “If ‘indefinitely’ is the problem, we can put an end date on the contract. And maybe work out a way to share the space so you can hold classes if you’re ready sooner than expected.”

  Surely, he’d tempted her with his offer.

  She looked around the room, her hazel eyes more brown than green in the dim lighting. Dark, mysterious eyes...beautiful. Beauty wasn’t what drew him to her, though. He’d like to get to know her better and, since they’d gotten off on the wrong foot, to make her change her mind about him.

  She shivered. “This business ownership is all very new. I’m still looking at my aunt’s records, figuring out the financials. I’d like time to look through her paperwork to see if she mentioned the agreement.”

  “Let’s go upstairs. It’s too cold to talk down here.”

  When they got to the heated area, she rubbed her hands together and the tension eased out of her shoulders.

  The warmth made him relax, as well. Though the seating area was small and had those rickety folding chairs, she’d done a nice job making it as homey and comfortable as possible. That, and the rainbow of colors from the wall of yarn, made it a place customers would enjoy spending time. And money.

  Should he bring up his second list, his suggestions for marketing?

  She shivered again. “Ooh. Goodness.”

  “Having trouble getting rid of the damp chill?” He pulled off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “There. Maybe that’ll help.”

  Before he knew it, he was lost in her eyes. He could hardly breathe as she stared back at him.

  Confusion clouded her expression, then she looked away...and retreated behind the sales counter. The solid wood structure served as a firm boundary, Lilly wielding it like a shield.

  She smiled. An impersonal, dismissive thing. For some reason, he wanted to make her smile for real. Like the first day they met, before he started talking business.

  “Well, Daniel, you’ve seen the basement now. Are you sure you still want to lease it?”

  “It’ll fit our needs nicely.”

  “You’ve made a generous offer. I’ll need to discuss it with Jenna. And I don’t want to make any decisions until I meet with Aunt Talitha’s accountant tomorrow. Is there anything else you need today?”

  “Would you go to dinner with me?” Heat blasted from his neck up to his face. Had he really said that out loud?

  The shocked look on her face confirmed it.

  “To discuss some ideas I’ve had,” he added quickly. “About marketing your shop. It’s what I do...did.” He snapped his mouth shut before he embarrassed himself further.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. Gloriously wavy, brown hair that trailed halfway down her back. “Thank you, though. It’s that...well...life’s a little hectic right now...”

  He’d flustered her. Probably messed up everything. He had to do damage control, and quick. “How about coming to our service on Sunday? Meet some folks. I think you’ll find we’d be good tenants.”

  If he’d thought she was tense earlier, at the mention of the church service she turned into marble. Whether she physically moved or not, he wasn’t sure, but she’d definitely distanced herself. Had put up a wall.

  “Um, no thank you. I help my sister with my nephew whenever I’m not working. Sunday is our day to clean the house.”

  Even though he sensed it wouldn’t do any good, he had to try. Maybe if he took away her excuses, she’d tell him the real reaso
n. “We have a nursery worker who watches the younger children. Bring both of them and come.”

  She looked all around the room as if searching for an escape route. “Look, you need to know you shouldn’t waste your time preaching to me. What little childhood faith Jenna and I had got crushed out of us by our parents.”

  Anger burned in his gut. But he tamped it down. “Were your parents abusive?”

  She glanced away. Shook her head. “I pretty much raised Jenna. We were too busy getting by to go to church regularly.”

  “I’m sorry.” This time he really meant the words. He hated to think of her and Jenna suffering. “I hope, now that you’re adults, you’ll give worship a try. We have small group meetings, Bible studies and—”

  A forced laugh burst out of her, as if she was trying to blow off the painful glimpse of her childhood. “Now I feel like one of your projects.”

  The ease with which she dismissed his concern spoke volumes. She was an expert at covering the hurt.

  This wasn’t the time to talk business or marketing. “Just know the invitation stands. We’d love to have you anytime. We meet at ten o’clock Sunday mornings at Frank’s Pizza Place, downtown Corinthia.”

  “At a restaurant?”

  “Yeah. Frank’s a member of the congregation and offered the space. But it’s a tight fit. That, and the noise in the kitchen while they prep for lunch can be distracting.”

  A tentative smile revealed a little dimple forming at the left corner of her mouth. She pulled her lips back over her teeth, almost self-consciously. “I imagine growling stomachs distract, as well.”

  “Especially mine.”

  When she laughed, his heart squeezed in his chest. He suddenly wished...what? That he could keep making her laugh?

  She grabbed a cloth at the end of the counter and swiped it over the wooden surface, her dimple still in place. “I can’t keep up with the dust.”

  He had no business wanting to make her laugh. He should pray for her, for God to heal her painful past. “I appreciate you showing me around. Hope to see you on Sunday.”

  The moment of friendliness ended as she reestablished the barrier, eyes cooling, smile tempering. “Thank you for the information on the church services.”

  Her insinuation? Thanks, but no thanks. He suspected she blamed God for her rough childhood. If so, would she ever agree to rent the space to a church?

  * * *

  Lilly had played phone tag for days before finally getting an appointment to meet with her great-aunt’s accountant, Mr. W. R. Andrews. Afterward, as she escaped his office, she wished she hadn’t bothered.

  Jenna, manning the shop but leery of handling customers with a baby to watch, had asked Lilly to take Will with her to the appointment. Which hadn’t made the news easier to swallow.

  Working around Will’s warm jacket, she strapped him in his car seat, kissed his cheek then closed herself in the front seat of the car. She shoved her hands into her hair, grabbed hold at the roots and tugged as she voiced the growling sound she’d wanted to make for the past half hour.

  Will giggled as if she’d given the funniest performance ever.

  Outside the confines of her vehicle, the peaceful little town of Corinthia mocked the turmoil inside her. A grand courthouse sat in the middle of the quaint downtown square, surrounded by little shops, a white-steepled church and a library. But nothing about the picturesque scene could calm her after the meeting she’d just had with Talitha’s tax guy.

  She turned to Will. “You’re probably hungry, aren’t you, sweetie? Let’s go eat lunch.”

  “Mama.”

  “Mommy is working right now.” And would hopefully get in the swing of retail sales with a child around. “You get to eat lunch with me today,” she said with a smile, pitching her voice to reassure a tired, hungry boy who wanted his mommy. And who’d patiently sat through the appointment.

  Apparently, Aunt Talitha’s record keeping left a lot to be desired. Nothing had been computerized. She’d thrown receipts in large manila envelopes and just filed them away at the end of each month. Mr. Andrews, a kind, elderly man who had patted Lilly’s hand and tried his best to reassure her, said that Talitha had piled everything in a box and brought it to him to deal with quarterly.

  He’d then calmly informed her that he’d had to file for a tax extension while her great aunt had been sick, and that if Lilly would pile everything in a box and bring it to him, he would take care of it.

  Her heart raced from thinking about it again. Lilly couldn’t afford to pay him for the hours it would take to wade through hoards of receipts. She needed to get a handle on the finances herself. Pull together the sales numbers and receipts into a file and then take it to Mr. Andrews to prepare the tax forms.

  She took a deep, slow breath and tried to push away the worry.

  One step at a time. Her job for the afternoon was to dig through all the records and come up with a new bookkeeping system. But only after feeding Will and—

  A knock on the car window made her jump.

  Daniel. Smiling at her.

  His perfectly even, white teeth and movie-star-blue eyes set her on edge. Made her want to temper her own smile to hide the fact she’d never had braces to fix the slight overlap of her two front teeth.

  She fumbled for her keys so she could get power to roll down the window. She still couldn’t figure him out—his good humor, his laughter, even when she hadn’t exactly welcomed him.

  He’s offered to do the work I can’t ask Ned to do now that he’s left Jenna. She’d tried not to panic since Jenna had dropped the bomb about their separation. And now they had the additional worry over possibly having to pay an accountant for more hours than they’d anticipated.

  “Sorry I startled you again,” he said as the window slid slowly downward.

  “I didn’t see you standing there.”

  “Hey, buddy,” he said when he spotted Will. Then he leaned down to look at her. “So what’s got you tearing out your hair?”

  Oh, no. He’d seen her fit of frustration. How embarrassing. “A meeting with Aunt Talitha’s accountant. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Are you headed to the shop?”

  “I’m about to take my nephew to lunch. This is Will, Jenna’s

  baby.”

  Daniel stuck his head in the window to look across the headrest into the backseat. “Hey there, Will. I’m Daniel. How old are you?”

  Lilly drew away. The man was way too close. And smelled way too good, like shampoo and some expensive cologne. “He’s ten months, Daniel. Sorry, but he’s not going to hold a conversation with you.”

  Her comment drew a laugh...and attention from those baby blues. Too close. Entirely too close. And smiling like he cared. Right there in her face, so close he could shift by mere inches and touch his lips to hers and—

  She scooted toward the steering wheel, placing herself at an odd angle, but at least putting distance between them.

  Thankfully, he had the sense to know he had invaded her space and hauled himself back out of the window.

  She slumped into her seat and nearly gasped out loud as her lungs sucked in air once again. She’d never experienced anyone filling a space quite like Daniel Foreman. Had never had anyone affect her so. And yet, despite his charisma, his regard made her feel...significant. As if he wasn’t just trying to charm her, but truly cared.

  “Lilly, let me take you and Will to lunch. I’d like to discuss something with you.”

  Visions of baby food splattering on her face—or, worse, on his—sealed her decision. “Thanks, but no. We wouldn’t be good company. Landing food into his mouth can be a challenge.”

  His eyes sparkled and the faintest of lines crinkled at their edges. “Oh, but, Miss Barnes, I thrive on challenges.”

&n
bsp; A shiver slid through her—from the cold March air blowing inside, of course. Not the deep timbre of his voice or the fact he seemed to dare her to join him.

  She resisted the urge to roll up the window and escape. “I planned to make it quick. I have to get back to the shop to help Jenna.”

  “I can do quick. I promise not to take much of your time. I’ll even help with Will.”

  Spoken by a man who thought a ten-month-old could tell him his age.

  Should she do it?

  You’re a businesswoman, Lilly. No longer the shy schoolgirl who hid from handsome guys. “If you can promise me that we’ll be done in less than an hour, we’ll join you.”

  Victory flashed across his face. Or perhaps hope.

  “I promise.”

  “Climb in. I’ll drive.”

  “No need. We’re walking over to Frank’s. You like pizza?”

  He didn’t even give her time to answer before he opened Will’s door and reached in to get him. He struggled with the buckle a bit, obviously not an expert at child restraint systems. She was about to ask him to move out of the way when the clasp released. Instead of fussing, like she expected Will to do when a total stranger reached for him, he let out a giggle and gave Daniel a slobbery pat on the face.

  The little traitor.

  “He’s cute.” Daniel handed Will over and casually wiped his face on the shoulder of his expensive-looking, light tan microfiber jacket, leaving a wet ring. He grabbed the diaper bag. “Need this?”

  She took the bag from him and slipped the strap on her shoulder. “Sorry. He’s a drooler.”

  “No problem.” He led the way across the street past the courthouse. Frank’s red-and-white-striped awning and flashing neon open sign welcomed them.

  Once they were seated in a booth in the back corner and had placed Will in a high chair on the end, a man barreled toward them, arms spread wide in welcome. “Daniel, my boy! Who do we have here?”

  “Frank, I’d like you to meet Lilly Barnes. Lilly, this is Frank Dellano, the member of my church I told you about.”

  “Aah, Lilly, nice to meet you!” He warmly gripped both her hands in his and stared into her eyes, his own brown ones encircled by evidence of years of laughter and smiles. “Any friend of Daniel’s is a friend of mine. Enjoy your lunch.”