by J. L. Berg
“It’s good news,” he amended after seeing my face blanch. “I’m sure you’ve noticed, but the place next door has been vacant for a while. My father’s been looking for the right kind of tenant, someone who will serve the downtown area well. And, after meeting with him last night, I think we came to a conclusion.”
Addy’s eyes met mine before we both turned to Sam.
“You finally have your storefront, Addy,” he said happily.
“What?” she said, her voice filled with sudden shock.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” he said. “You’ve earned it after all.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Are you sure?”
He nodded as she took a few steps forward, embracing him like a son.
“Yes, I’m sure. He’s sending the paperwork today.”
“Thank you, Samuel. Thank you.”
He didn’t say anything, but I could see the contentment radiating from his face as she held him. His eyes briefly met mine.
I found myself mouthing the same words as my aunt, Thank you.
He gave a small nod before offering to give us a tour of the space.
As she grabbed his hand, utterly thrilled and filled with joy, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly I was missing. If I knew anything, it was that Mr. Shepherd didn’t give up anything without a price.
WE LEFT ADDY in her new storefront, happy and content with her tape measure, as she plotted out her plan for the next month. Ever since Sam had announced the place was hers, she hadn’t stopped talking. From design to business plans and how to balance it all… she was already in deep.
And it had only been an hour.
“She’s going to be fun to live with.” Sam smiled as we made the short trip back to the store.
I waited as he unlocked the door and then took down the temporary sign that advised customers we’d return in a few minutes.
“Yeah, thanks for that,” I replied.
“Glad to help.”
As I pulled my coat off, setting it on the counter, I watched him do the same. He pushed back his hair, the dark tendrils falling back in place, as if they had a mind of their own.
“What do you have to give him?” I finally asked, knowing he wouldn’t give up the information willingly.
“What?” He turned to me, a look of surprise blanketing his features.
“I know I haven’t met your father, but from what you’ve told me, he doesn’t seem like the type to freely hand over that store, especially to my aunt, given their history,” I added.
He sighed. “It’s true. He blames Addy for my mother leaving.”
“Is it true?” I asked. “She once told me she was the reason your mother left. Is your father right to blame her?”
“No, and yes,” he answered. “It’s complicated. Do you know how my mother and father met?”
I shook my head, watching him grab several books from the floor. He started to stack them on the display shelf, and I followed his lead, beginning to do the same.
“My mom was working at a diner,” he began.
“The same one as Addy, right?”
“Yep. My mom was working in between her classes at the local community college. I think she wanted to be a nurse or something. But then my dad came in, flirting with her every chance he had, and swept her off her feet — or so she used to say. The rest was history.”
“That sounds romantic,” I remarked.
He nodded. “Sophie thought so, too. Growing up, we thought we were lucky. Seeing so many of our friends’ parents get divorced, yet ours were still so much in love. But the older we got, the less in love they became. Or maybe they hadn’t really ever been in love in the first place,” he said.
“My mom had done the right thing, you know? Found a good guy, got married, had kids — all the things you’re supposed to do in life. But she was young. Really young. I think she reached a point when she just kind of snapped.”
“Snapped?”
“I would hear her yelling about all the things she regretted, and then she’d list everything she wished she’d done… before us.”
“So, she left?” I asked, gripping the loose fabric of my sweater between my fingers as I leaned against the counter.
He nodded. “My dad got wind that it was Addy’s suggestion, and he went nuts. Addy never meant to hurt us,” he said. “She was just as heartbroken by all of this as we were.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I didn’t either for a long time,” he said. “For months, I would cry myself to sleep, feeling betrayed by the two women in my life who mattered most. One day, I finally had enough and decided I needed answers. Rather than hoping on the bus after school, I ran all the way to Addy’s house, demanding an explanation.”
“What did she say?” I asked, unsure of if I wanted to know.
“That she was sorry… that she never meant for any of this to happen. She’d hoped that, by suggesting my mother leave town for a while, it would help her remember everything she had waiting for her at home. But she never came back. The woman we both loved was long gone. Or maybe she was never there to begin with.”
“Have you ever heard from her since?”
He nodded. “She sent a card not too long ago. It said she was well and living in California somewhere. My dad drank himself into a stupor that night, and I panicked the next morning when he wouldn’t wake up. Sophie had spent the night somewhere, and I was all alone, yelling at him to wake up.”
“What did you do?” I asked.
“I called Allison. Made us both late for school, but we managed to wake him. She might be tiny, but that girl can be scary when she wants to be. She had my dad up and hydrated in record time.”
“And then you charmed your way out of being late?” I said, remembering that day well.
He smiled faintly. “I had a note.”
“What did you give him, Sam? In exchange for Addy’s storefront?” I asked again, thinking of my aunt next door.
“Time,” he confessed.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s moved our timeline up. If the bookstore isn’t showing growth or promise of growth in a month, he’ll close it.”
“A month?” I gasped. “How is that even possible? Why would you do that?” Words flew out of my mouth faster than I could process them.
“We’ll be fine,” he assured me, taking a step in my direction.
“But why, Sam? Why risk it?”
“Because no one deserves to succeed more than Addy,” he explained. “She tried to be there for me over the years, but I couldn’t let it go. I wasn’t mad at her. I was mad at myself.
Confusion spread across my features. “Why?”
“Because I’d spent so many years trying to forget, but really, I was still back there. Still stuck in that never-ending loop, watching my mother leave and wondering what I’d done to deserve it. This is my chance to make it all right.”
I reached forward, not taking a single moment to second-guess my decision, and grabbed his hands. The slight gasp that fell from his lips told me he was just as surprised as I was. His fingers wove through mine, and I could feel the heat from his hands radiating through the thick knit of my gloves.
Both of us just stood there, staring at our joined hands, unable to speak for a long time.
“Are you sure you’re sixteen, Sam Shepherd?” I found myself finally saying after his words kept bouncing around in my head.
His eyes met mine, and a small smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. “I could put that sign back on the door, and we could spend a few minutes finding out in the back?”
Instant butterflies attacked my belly as my face went flush.
“Definitely sixteen.” I laughed, still happily holding his hands.
I never wanted to let go.
PAGE TURNERS WAS a flurry of activity over the next couple of days as New Year’s quickly approached. The old saying, It takes a village, was put to the test as tons of volunteers came in to hel
p us. Even Allison made herself available, putting her social networking skills to the test.
“What are you doing?” I asked, leaning against the counter, as I watched her type furiously, her eyes nearly burning a hole into the screen.
“Setting up a Facebook page, Instagram account — stuff like that. I can’t believe Sam never thought of this. No wonder no one knows this place exists. And the website? Don’t even get me started.”
“You seem to know a lot about this,” I said, watching her upload pictures she’d obviously taken while I wasn’t paying attention.
Thankfully, the shop had been cleaned up, books had been stacked neatly, and signs had been made for the upcoming sale. The photos represented days of hard work, and I was proud to know I was part of that.
“Anyone over the age of five could do this,” she replied before amending, “well, except for you.”
My refusal to leap into the social media cesspool my friends all swam in regularly was a constant conversation topic. They just didn’t get it. But then again, they’d been raised on this stuff, given phones and laptops at a time when I was watching reruns on a TV that barely worked.
I just didn’t see the need for it.
I mean, I’d survived this long, right?
But I did have to admit… getting those late-night text messages from Sam? That was more than okay with me. I’d keep my phone around indefinitely just to read those.
“Okay, so I’ve set up the Facebook page and messaged some of the other local businesses and the official town page to see if they wouldn’t mind sharing it to try and up our following. Also, I texted a bunch of people from school with our Instagram info, so we should see a bump there soon. Now, we just need to start promoting.”
“Wow, I’m impressed.”
She smiled brightly. “Glad I could help. I’m going to stick around a bit longer and see if I can get some cute photos to post. Instagram is all about staged photos, so maybe I’ll take a few of the sale books by the window or the store sign? I don’t know. I’ll figure something out.”
I left her with her tasks and went to find Sam. He was in the small corner in the front that we’d nicknamed the nook because of its now cozy atmosphere.
With a little help from Addy, we’d managed to find two secondhand love seats for next to nothing. With the stockpile of fabric she’d had at the house and a few hours of labor, we’d recovered them, creating a new seating area for our customers without breaking the bank. A few lamps and a coffee table later, and I could already picture afternoon conversations, book clubs, and friends gathering after school.
“I think this might actually work,” Sam announced as I took a seat on the sofa.
“I hope you’re right. Otherwise…”
“Hey,” he said, setting himself down next to me. He left a space between us but wasted no time in taking my hand in his. A smile swept across his face the moment he realized I hadn’t flinched or pulled back. “Do you see how many people came to help us today? More people have been in here today than I’ve seen in months. If we can stir this much support just in preparations, I know we can make it through the next month and prove to my father that this place is worth keeping.”
“Why do you want to keep it so badly?” I asked, watching the way his finger brushed mine in a slow, steady pace. “I mean, I know you’ve read half of these books in here… and you mentioned that this used to be your mom’s favorite place, but with everything you’ve told me about her, I would think you’d want to get rid of it. Doesn’t it hurt? The memories of her?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But when she was here… when she was my mom, she was a good mom. Or at least that’s what the kid in me wants to believe. And, yeah, there are days when I walk in here, remembering the way she’d greet customers, happy and content, and I just want to burn it to the ground. But it’s mine, you know? It’s mine now, and I want to make it better. Not because of her or the family legacy or whatever, but because I think it deserves more.”
A devilish grin appeared at the corner of his mouth. “And, of course, there’s the motivating factor of royally pissing off my dad when he can’t shut this place down.”
I laughed, feeling my head fall naturally to his shoulder. His breath caught as I waited for my heart to stop working.
But it just kept on beating like normal.
Because it recognized him now. It trusted him.
And so did I.
“I THINK I’M going to puke,” I said, checking the clock on the wall for the hundredth time.
It was five minutes to nine on New Year’s Eve. Our big blowout sale started today.
“Don’t you dare. I mopped the floors last night,” Sam joked.
We’d both come in to assist Diana, who normally took care of the morning shift, because we honestly had no idea what to expect. Of course, when I hadn’t seen hundreds of people standing outside, waiting to get in, this morning, I’d already doomed us a failure.
“We’ve marketed mostly to teenagers and stay-at-home moms,” Sam said, trying to calm me down. “Now, I don’t know much about moms, but I do know a thing or two about teenagers, and one of those facts happens to be that we are not fans of the morning hours. Well, present company excluded.”
I gave him a hard stare. “I still hate mornings. I’m just here to make sure you don’t screw this up.”
He laughed. “Well, thank God for that.”
Walking toward the front door, dressed up for a change in his usual dark denim but sporting a new green henley he must have just picked up, I watched him flip the sign over the minute the clock hit nine.
“Open for business. Now, we just wait,” he said.
I could hear the obvious nervousness in his voice. He was trying to play the cool and confident guy today, but I knew better.
A lot was riding on this sale.
Thirty minutes later, not a single person had entered the store, and I could feel our spirits beginning to fall.
“It’s still early,” Sam mumbled to himself.
And he was right, but after another hour and no customers, I was feeling panicked.
So, I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled out my phone and feverishly began sending out SOS texts to everyone I could think of.
I would not let this store fall apart.
Within a half hour, my cry for help was answered. Big time.
Allison arrived, armed with friends, ready to help. They got to work on contacting as many students as possible. If there was a place to be today, we wanted it to be here. Then, Addy arrived after rearranging her schedule for the day. Under her arms, she carried several grocery bags and a large box.
“What did you bring?” I asked.
“Food, some art supplies, and” — she paused for effect as she rearranged everything in her hands, pulling a box forward — “a coffee machine!”
Sam and I both gasped.
“It’s not a big one,” she explained. “Most people have one of these in their house now, and you’ll have to keep up on the pods or whatever they’re called. But, if there is one thing that brings people in on a cold day, it’s the promise of free coffee and food. So, here, go set everything up.”
“Thank you,” I said, still stunned by her generosity.
She’d canceled on clients to help us and worked into the night for us, and now, she was saving us with coffee and pastries. It was too much.
“That’s what awesome aunts do.” She shrugged as I took the coffeemaker from her hands.
It was sleek and shiny, perfectly matching with the decor we’d put together. I decided it would work best today on the counter along with the huge helping of pastries. Later, I might move it to the nook, depending on how things went, but having this beauty up front and center today was key.
I wasn’t sure what the extra art supplies were for, seeing as we’d already littered the town with flyers and made huge signs for the windows, but the minute Addy was free of her bags, she got to work.
&n
bsp; “Who wants to stand outside in the freezing cold?” she hollered.
No one answered.
Not a single person.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. Who wants to volunteer to be our first greeter of the day?”
“Like Walmart?” I asked, trying to understand what she was up to.
“Kind of,” she replied. “I want someone — a nice someone,” she clarified, “to stand outside and greet people as they walk by, telling them about the sale. This is a small town, and we love to chat. Strike up a conversation, and maybe offer them a cup of coffee or a pastry. Then, hopefully, we’ll find ourselves with some sales!”
“That’s pretty smart,” I replied. “Please don’t make me do it.”
Sam laughed. “I’ll do it. Let me grab my coat.”
One hour later, we were in business. Sam had proven to be up for the task, nearly freezing to death outside with nothing more than a thin jacket and his beanie, but he had been tireless in his efforts. He’d managed to get nearly every single person passing by to stop in. Most he knew, some he didn’t, but all were charmed by his honest spirit and drive. By noon, we had more sales than the previous week combined.
I felt like I was flying.
Addy worked hard on new flyers. Some she hung on our own windows while others she moved to her unfinished salon. I wasn’t sure it made a difference, but I thought she enjoyed putting her crafting skills to work.
“Willow,” Allison called out from the back where she’d sequestered herself. She’d put herself in charge of Internet traffic, and she was taking her job very seriously, sitting on the floor, glued to her phone. “The bulk of the cheerleading team is coming this afternoon, and I think I have a go from almost everyone in my History class.”
“Why History?” I asked, watching her send another text.
She shrugged. “I had their numbers. I figured it was worth a try. People don’t have much to do until it gets dark on New Year’s Eve, so I took the chance that everyone was bored… and I was right.”
“You’re a genius.”
“No, I just know how people think. Well, mostly,” she muttered.
