by Susan Shay
Warm relief poured through her, causing her shoulders to sag and knees to weaken. Maybe that was one less thing she’d have to deal with—today anyway. She’d leave it to the future. Arriving at Miriam’s door, she gave the wood panel a light tap. Barely a moment passed when Keegan opened it with an unhappy scowl.
Concerned, she reached for him and hoped that this time, she could read his emotion.
But before her fingers reached his skin, the frown disappeared and he stepped away from the door. “Damn. I hoped you were Miriam.”
“She’s not here?”
Shaking his head, he turned out the lights, then glanced around the room as if hoping she was there and he’d somehow missed her. “From what I can tell, she hasn’t been here all night. I don’t know where she’s been, what she’s doing, or who she’s with.”
Cassie could hear the weariness in his voice. He couldn’t have slept well in her chair, and after worrying about Miriam as he had for the last month, he had to be exhausted. “Why don’t you take today off? Maybe you could get some rest.”
“Are you kidding? If I’m not at the store today, I’m going to be out looking for Miriam. And I have no idea where to start.” The thready tone in his voice made her heart ache for him. “Besides, you can’t run that place alone. No matter how good you are, today you need me.”
Not trusting her voice to keep her sorrow for him secret, she nodded, then stepped into the hall as he locked up.
“Well, what’ll it be? My car or yours?” he asked as they walked toward the parking lot.
“Let’s take mine. I try to drive it every day to keep the battery charged.” Glad for something besides Keegan to occupy her mind, she dug in her purse for the keys.
“You need one of those clapper things for locating lost keys,” he suggested with a wry smile.
Forcing the sadness away, she mirrored his grin. “But then I’d miss all the excitement of my daily search.”
“Oh, yeah,” he countered. “I can see how you’d miss that.”
After finding her keys, they drove the Volkswagen to the store while they watched for Miriam’s car. But when they pulled in, there had been no sightings. And she wasn’t, as Cassie had hoped, already at the store.
Entering the heavy front door, she turned on the lights while Keegan charged ahead to check the office. But she already knew the answer. Miriam wasn’t there. Hadn’t been there in some time, in fact.
Trying to hide her worry, Cassie went to the coffee shop to start the first pot of the day, then headed for the office. There, she found Keegan on the phone. “Pick up. Pick up,” he muttered through clenched teeth.
She put her purse away. “Trying to reach Miriam?”
Muscles in his jaw clenched, he nodded, then caught a breath and shouted into the phone, “Miriam, this is your brother. For the love of God, call me!”
Her heart went out to him. His feelings of responsibility for Miriam ran deep in his soul—as if he were more her father than her brother. He couldn’t help worrying about her. Feeling liable for her. And there was nothing Cassie could do to alleviate that anxiety.
But she could be there for them—both of them. No matter what it took, she’d help where she could.
Opening the safe, she pulled out the register drawers, stacked one on the other. “I’m going to set up the registers now. It’s almost time to open.”
He glanced at her, blinked as if he’d just awakened, then started out of the chair. “I should start the cof—”
“I started the coffee when we got here, which should be about ready by now. And if we’re lucky, the bakery will send something good for breakfast, not just meringue Christmas trees.”
“Meringue Christmas trees? Made completely out of meringue?” His brow wrinkled at her nod, while his mouth dipped. “Yuck.”
“Yup. Egg whites and sugar, air brushed with green food coloring and sprinkled with more sugar. Taste like sweetened air.” She chuckled as the face he made intensified. “Not great to eat, but they make pretty decorations.”
“Decorating with food? Right.” He shook his head, clearly disgusted by the idea.
“Check out aisle seven. There’s a whole section about all kinds of disgusting things you can do with food.” When the front door chimed open, she forced herself to turn away. “Not that I’d recommend it.”
Stepping up to the register, she put the money into the jutting drawer and nodded at the boy who waited with the bakery box. “Take it on to the coffee shop, if you don’t mind.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, his voice breaking on the last syllable. “Mom said tell you we didn’t have any meringue Christmas trees. We’re out.”
“Not a problem.” Closing the register, she picked up the second drawer and followed him to the back.
When she got there, the young man was patiently waiting for her. “Is Miriam here this morning?”
“No, she’s not in yet. Is there anything I can do for you?”
He shook his head. “Naw. I just wondered if I saw her driving past our house yesterday.”
Anticipation sizzled in her belly. Maybe they could find out where Miriam had been going, even if they didn’t know who she was with. “Where do you live,” she searched her brain to find the boy’s name, “Trey?”
“Just outside of town at the old Meade place. My dad thought he wanted to play horse rancher when we moved here, but now he lives in this great high rise in Austin, and we’re stuck with a stupid farm and not a horse on the place. Just weeds.” The bitterness of his words echoed on his face, making her wonder, not for the first time, if parents ever considered the children before they changed their lives.
“So you live...” She held her breath, hoping he’d tell her something.
“On the east side. We’re on the last road just before the turn to Meander Road.” Sticking the receipt in her hand, he backed up a step. “Well, tell her I s-said merry Christmas. Okay?”
She couldn’t help but smile at the openness of the boy who hadn’t learned yet to hide his feelings, except possibly from his parents. And even that was doubtful.
Was it possible Miriam was seeing someone who lived on the east side of Stone Hill? As if that was a small area. East of something in Texas included a lot of property. More than most countries entailed. Wishing Trey could have told her more about what he’d seen, she picked up the phone and rang the office.
“Keegan, the coffee’s ready and the rolls are hot.”
“I’ll be right there,” he answered.
Keegan strode to the back, ready for a strong cup of coffee to brace him. Of course, some of his hurry might be to see Cassie, but that would pass as soon as he had Miriam settled, one way or another, and he could move on to his next job.
The thought left him empty. Next job? He swallowed hard at the thought. He’d have to find a real job before long. The savings he’d been living on wouldn’t last forever. And while the bookstore did well, it couldn’t be the full support for all of them.
He poured himself a cup of coffee and grabbed a roll out of the box. As he took his first bite of cinnamon roll, the front door opened. “Damn,” he said around the roll.
“I’ll go.” Cassie headed for the front, just to turn and come back to the coffee shop. “It’s the guys.”
“It’s us, all right. What’s for breakfast?” Mack asked.
“Not those awful Christmas tree fluffs like last year, I hope,” Vern grouched.
While Cassie got coffee for the pair, Keegan opened the box for them. After they’d taken what they wanted, he moved to the case and went to work putting the pastries on display.
“Where’s Miriam this morning?” Mack asked between bites.
Moving back to the table, Keegan dropped into a chair. “It’s hard to say. By the time I got home this morning—” He paused to send a smile and a silent apology to Cassie. “She was already gone.”
“Probably didn’t come in at all last night. I sure haven’t seen much of her lately,”
Vern grumbled before slurping his coffee.
Keegan bristled. Who was this old man to watch his sister’s comings and goings? Maybe she was staying out nights. Maybe she had practically stopped coming to work. But it wasn’t Vern’s business. It wasn’t even Keegan’s business. After all, Miriam was a grown woman—as she’d reminded him more than once. She could do anything she damn well pleased.
As he opened his mouth to tell Vern, Cassie set another roll in front of him. “You’ll need this before the day is over.” Her smile was sweet, but there was a glint in her eyes that stifled his words.
Through the stronghold he had on his mouth, the thanks he muttered was more a cough than a word, but at least he didn’t blast the old man. And he was glad she’d stopped him. Miriam would have pinched his head off if he hurt Vern’s feelings.
While he finished the roll and second cup of coffee, Cassie moved quietly around the coffee shop, getting things ready for the day. Then the front door bell rang and the store started filling with customers. At least it didn’t seem that Miriam’s business had suffered from her frequent absences. “I’ll take care of the front if you’ll keep an eye out back here,” Cassie said as she hurried away.
He nodded, then picked up his things and an empty plate with a napkin lying in it from in front of Mack and took them to the kitchen. When he came back, he picked up the pot and filled their cups. “Anything else?”
“Just keep the coffee coming, boy,” Vern answered.
As more customers wandered into the shop, Keegan became too busy waiting on people to take care of refills. Once he noticed Mack pouring himself a cup, and later he saw both old men leave with a wave through the crowd.
“Merry Christmas,” came from everyone’s mouth. Even the woman asking for directions to the books on arts of the ages started her question with the sentiment. He could tell this was going to get old before the holiday was over.
And then the intercom buzzed. He picked up the phone. “Yes?”
“Hey, Bubba.” Miriam’s voice bubbled cheerfully through the line. “Cassie said you were worried, so I wanted to let you know I’m here. All safe and sound.”
Relief, mixed with anger, gave him a weird-assed feeling in his gut. “Where have you been?” he demanded before he could remember his earlier decision and stem the words.
But Miriam’s answer didn’t help much. “In heaven, Bubba. In heaven.”
Wishing he could abandon the coffee shop and take his sister aside for a brotherly talk, he hung up the phone and turned to the next customer. There was always a next customer.
It was several long hours before either of the women came to give him a much needed break, and then it was Cassie who popped in. “It doesn’t look as if anyone is going to get a lunch break. Miriam is going to order in sandwiches.”
“That’ll do for me.” Although he needed a pit stop, he didn’t want to move away from Cassie. As the realization filtered through his mind, another thought shook him. If her nearness made it hard for him to leave the coffee shop, how would he ever leave Stone Hill when it was time to move on?
Using what willpower he had, he forced himself to walk to the front of the store to the bathroom. He couldn’t stay in town forever. There was nothing there for him. No job. No home. No place of belonging. But then, what else was new? When had he ever belonged anywhere?
Except when he was with Cassie?
The notion struck like a blow to the belly, knocking the wind from him. Damn, he was going to have to get out of there ASAP or he was toast. Burnt, crumbly, three-day-old toast.
After a stop in the bathroom, he found his sister busy ringing up purchases for a line of customers. He kept his voice low. “Are you all right?”
Her smile, already bright, turned dazzling. “God, Bubba. Don’t I look all right?” She counted back the customer’s change, then turned to face him. “I’m more than just all right. I’m perfect.”
Her grin grew so wide, he was afraid her face would split as she caught him in a hug. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life,” she whispered.
Sudden tears burned his eyes, and he held her for an extra moment. Let it be the real thing this time. Please, let her find happiness. His cheeks warmed as he thought of how they must look to the customers waiting with books in their hands, but he couldn’t help it. He’d been so worried about her.
“And I have to tell you someth—”
“Miss?” a customer said, plunking her books on the counter. “I hate to interrupt, but could you ring me up, please? I’m late for work.”
“Sure thing.” Miriam flashed him another beaming glance. “I’ll finish telling you later.”
He nodded, then started to the back again. On the way he was stopped three times for help finding books. It’s not as if the sections aren’t plainly marked, he wanted to point out, but remembering his salesmanship, wisely didn’t. In fact, he sold a man who was looking for a book on gardening an additional book on landscaping. Proud of his accomplishment, he finally made it to the coffee shop.
Cassie poured water into the large coffee maker. “If you can take over here, I’ll go for lunch.”
He opened his mouth to tell her to make his sandwich turkey when she rushed away. Christmas might mean togetherness for some people, but it was just the opposite for retailers, he was beginning to learn.
As he ran out of fresh pastries, the orders changed to cookies—mostly Christmas tree cookies. Cassie brought his lunch while he was making a pot of Holiday Nights, a flavored coffee that smelled strongly of cinnamon, and he ate the turkey sandwich a bite at a time between customers.
As busy as he was, the day flew. When evening grew close, Miriam raced into the coffee shop, her purse on her shoulder. “I have to run, Bubba. There’s so much I need to catch up, and then I... Oh, I’ll see you at home later.” With a flap of her hand, she glanced on the growing line, turned on her heel and left.
“Miriam, wait—” Starting after her, he stopped short when a thin woman with frazzled hair, tired eyes, and a stern mouth held her cup to his chest. “May I have a refill before you leave, please?”
“I’m not leaving, I just want to catch my—” But the woman wasn’t wavering. She obviously thought she needed the coffee. Shaking his head, he took her cup and filled it. “Can I get you anything else?”
“I’ll take another chocolate chip cookie, if you don’t mind.”
After serving her cookie and taking her money, he picked up the phone and rang on the intercom. Cassie answered on the third ring.
“Has Miriam left the store?” Please be here. Please be here.
Cassie’s voice was warmed honey. “Yes, about three minutes ago.”
“Damn.” His worry for his sister faded as Cassie captivated him. The way she melted in his arms, as if she wanted to become part of him. As if, for the rest of their lives, there was no place else she’d rather be. He shook himself, trying to once more find reality. Wishful thinking, Bubba.
The rest of the day passed quickly, and was more exhausting than any work he’d attempted in his life. At least when working for newspapers, he spent most of his time sitting and thinking, with his fingers doing the work. At the bookstore, he was constantly running, talking, thinking, lifting, carrying, and running some more. It was way more than he wanted to do for the rest of his life. And it gave him new respect for Miriam and Cassie. How did they do the work and still smile at the end of the day?
After staying open an extra hour, the length of time it took to get all the customers out after they locked the doors, he was more than ready to finally go home. As he got into Cassie’s car, he wondered if he would have the strength to shift gears for the drive.
“Want me to drive?” she asked with a sympathetic smile.
Surprised that she knew, he frowned. “Is it that obvious that I’m pooped? Or did you read me just now.”
Her smile deepened. “Anyone could have read you from a mile away. Your tail is definitely dragging.”
&nb
sp; “Why isn’t yours?” He started the car and pulled into the street. “You didn’t get to take anymore breaks than I did.”
“Because I’ve been doing this work for several months now.” She glanced at the street and teased, “At least keep it between the streetlights. I hear it’s bad luck to knock Christmas decorations off the poles.”
As he drove, he wondered if they should stop to eat. But Miriam had been at home for a few hours now. Surely she would have something prepared for them, wouldn’t she?
As they arrived, an old car with a bent left front fender and a Mama’s Homemade Pizza sign attached to the roof, pulled in behind them.
A boy, carrying a zippered bag, got out of the car and followed them into the building, right up to Miriam’s door. “Is this your apartment?”
Warily, Keegan nodded. What was this?
With a bored air, the kid unzipped the bag and handed them two large pizza boxes, then looked at the paper in his hand. “This is marked paid. Goodnight.”
Keegan accepted the boxes. As the boy turned to leave the building, Keegan called after him, “Wait. Who ordered this?”
Reaching into his pocket, the kid pulled out the wadded paper. “It doesn’t say, but the tip’s been taken care of.” With a wave, the boy walked out the door.
“Miriam must not have gotten as much done as she hoped, or else we don’t have anything in the house to cook.” Keegan tried the door, then handed Cassie the boxes so he could unlock it. When he pushed the door open, he found the house dark.
Cassie looked around with a worried frown. “I wonder where Miriam is? She said she was coming home to take care of some things she’d left undone. I thought she’d be here.”
What had happened to his sister lately? Never home, rarely at work, hardly saying a word to him when she happened to be around. She certainly wasn’t the same girl he’d practically raised. Not for the first time, he wished he could get inside her mind to see what was going on. Grimly, he looked at Cassie. “She told me the same thing.”
