Singled Out

Chapter 21

Serving eggs and burgers on almost no sleep wasn’t my favorite thing to do. Today I’d made it through my eight-hour shift thanks to the power of endorphins and erotic memories of my night with Max.

He was incredible, and I was in lust. The man was the best lover I’d ever had, with that fit, athletic body, impressive stamina, and an insistence on pleasing his partner early and often. I’d lost track of the number of orgasms he’d given me. Literally lost track. I’d had two- and three-O nights before, but last night’s count would require two hands.

I was a little in awe that I could still walk.

I grinned as I drove from Naomi’s house, through town, and headed out the other side of Dragonfly Lake toward Cambria’s place in the country.

I’d wondered how Max was faring throughout the day. We probably hadn’t slept for more than an hour when I’d walked back to get my car just before five, before anyone was out and about. He’d hated that he couldn’t drive me, but Danny was sound asleep, and I’d reminded him this was a small town with zero serial killers.

As far as we know, he’d said seriously. The concern in his eyes had warmed me to my toes all over again. Then I’d brushed it off, distracted him with a slow, deep kiss, and waved goodbye as I left. He’d let me borrow a T-shirt to put over my swimsuit so I’d be a little less conspicuous if anyone saw me. It was huge on me, so I’d tied it at the waist and rolled up the sleeves for my walk of shame.

It was one thing to refill coffee mugs and write down orders on no sleep, but quite another to teach teenagers algebraic equations. I wanted to check in with him later this evening, after football practice, but I’d be smart to rein myself in and wait a few days before contacting him. This wasn’t supposed to be an every-night kind of fling. Which I was starting to think might be an absolute shame.

As I drove along the road out of town, following the directions from my phone, I turned my thoughts to my meeting with Cambria. Dakota would join us as soon as she got off work. I’d brought a bottle of wine to soothe my nerves as much as anything.

Business meeting? Me?

The situation seemed kind of crazy, but the more I imagined working with these two women to build something unique and hopefully lucrative, the more I warmed up to the idea.

My map app directed me to a gravel driveway surrounded by tall trees. I drove past the remains of a building that looked to have burned down long ago and pulled up to an adorable cabin that appeared either newish or extensively refurbished. There was an old barn a few hundred feet away that looked like one strong wind would destroy it. That must be where Cambria made her candles; there was no way she could find space for that in her tiny home.

I got out and headed to the front door. There were two steps up to a cute porch with a high-top table and four chairs on one side and two rocking chairs on the other. Before I could knock, the door opened, and Cambria came out with a welcoming smile, a brown-and-black dog darting out ahead of her and a smaller white-and-brown one sauntering after.

“Hey, Harper. It’s good to see you.”

We hugged. “Thanks for having me, Cambria. Who are these guys?”

“That’s Roscoe,” she said, pointing at the bigger one. “Slowpoke here is Jethro.”

I let Jethro sniff my hand, then scratched his ears. “Such a handsome boy.” I stood up. “Your house looks incredible.”

Her smile told me she loved it. “It was a long road to get it looking like this. Do you want a tour? It’s only six hundred square feet, so it’s more like a minitour.”

“I’d love to see it.”

As she showed off her place, she told me how it’d come to be hers. “This land was part of a farm years ago, but most of it was sold off, and the farmer died, leaving it abandoned. There used to be an old farmhouse, but it burned to the ground after a lightning strike.”

“I saw the remains of it,” I said.

“It happened years ago. The grandson of the farmer inherited the property and finally decided to unload it as is, with the building remains, the ancient barn, and this, which, at the time, was a hundred-year-old, no-frills but solid bunkhouse. I’d been saving for a house, but I didn’t want to be right in town, and I wanted something, well, kind of funky.”

“This is funky in a very good way.”

The main floor consisted of a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen with an island and two stools, a small bedroom she used as her office, a bathroom, and a laundry closet. A wooden ladder went up to the loft, which was a gorgeous bedroom with large windows, rustic ceiling beams, and a sitting area opposite her bed.

“I got the property dirt cheap, so I was able to use my savings toward a complete refurbishment. They gutted it and started from scratch. I’ll be paying it off for a while.”

“Worth it. But I can’t imagine going through that process,” I said.

She’d obviously taken a big risk, and it appeared to have paid off.

“It was stressful to have construction going on for so long,” Cambria admitted. “We came up against so many challenges due to it being a rustic, century-old building.”

“You can’t tell it now. This is amazing.” I laughed. “To think I was nervous to sign a one-year lease on Mrs. Karasinski’s apartment a few days ago…”

“Talk about location though. Do they have her belongings out yet?”

“This weekend.” I remembered the bottle of wine and held it up. “Do you like moscato?”

“I do. Let me get glasses. We can take them to the barn, and I’ll show you where I work. You’ll see why I need a better space.”

With our glasses full, Cambria and I walked to the barn, the dogs accompanying us.

“When my house was finished three years ago, this place was in a little better shape. It’s taken a beating from the weather and needs a new roof. It’s the one thing I miscalculated in moving here.”

She showed me her supplies, all in waterproof containers because the roof leaked.

“What are you working on?” I asked. A few dozen identical cylinders I suspected were silicone molds sat on the worktable.

Cambria stepped up to the table. “I got a huge order last week at a craft fair. They’ve been setting overnight, and I need to take them out, do a quality check, wrap each one in cellophane, and get them ready to ship. I promised they’d go out by tomorrow.”

“That’s a tall order. Need some help? If you show me what to do, we can work on them while we wait for Dakota.”

“It’s okay. I can do it later tonight.”

“Unless we pour too much wine down your throat. Then you won’t want to do it later. I don’t mind helping.”

“Seriously?”

“Show me these candles, please.” I took a sip of my wine and set the glass on a shelf so I wouldn’t spill on her work. The smaller dog was curled up in a doggy bed in the corner. Roscoe sat on semi-alert outside the open door.

Cambria picked up one of the molds and popped out a dark green pine-tree-shaped candle with a wick sticking out the top. She trimmed the wick and showed me what she looked for as far as flaws. This one passed the quality check, so she added a sticker to the bottom and demonstrated how to wrap it and tie a ribbon and tag around the cellophane. Next, she unveiled a squirrel-shaped candle and repeated the process.

We had twenty candles done, nearly half the order, when Roscoe barked as Dakota drove by. I texted her to come to the barn.

“Hey, girlfriends,” Dakota said a couple of minutes later when she appeared in the open doorway, Roscoe at her side, apparently having decided she was friend instead of foe.

“Hey, you,” I said. “You’re early.”

“Seth let me go because we were slow this afternoon. Tourist season is winding down.”

“Harper brought wine,” Cambria said. “We were prepping an order I need to ship out, but we can stop and get down to business.”

“Ooh, these trees are super cute,” Dakota said. “What are we doing? I can help.”

“Thirty to go,” I told her. I was starting to get the hang of tying the ribbon just right.

Cambria poured wine for Dakota, and I explained the steps I’d learned earlier. We worked for another hour or so, chatting as we did.

“Guess who sat at the bar during my shift today,” Dakota said as she unveiled another tree.

“The pope?” I said, focused on getting the ribbon just right.

“Naomi’s brother.”

“Ian?” My roommate had been in and out, but we hadn’t talked much. He kept to himself and spent a lot of time outside, taking inventory of the property, I guessed.

“The one and only,” Dakota replied. “You made him sound like an ogre that first night he showed up. You failed to mention he looked like that.”

“He seemed like an ogre when he was drunk,” I said. “So you talked to him?”

“I did. I tried to convince him not to sell.”

I’d told everyone who’d shown up at the studio Tuesday about Ian and his plans. Though not a surprise, the news didn’t go over well.

“A lot of people depend on the studio,” I explained to Cambria. “Dakota more than most.”

“Naomi’s kilns are good ones. I can’t exactly put one in an apartment,” Dakota said, “even if I could afford one.”

“You know, you could probably make your candles there too,” I said. “Have you been there before?”

Cambria shook her head. “I’ve always meant to check it out, but I never needed it until now. I’ve been spoiled having a workspace in my backyard.”

“What did Ian say?” I asked Dakota. “Did you convince him?”

She shrugged with a little laugh. “I got him thinking about it.”

My brows shot up. “How’d you manage that? The one time I brought it up, he didn’t really listen, just insisted he wasn’t sticking around.”

“I’ve got some feminine wiles.” Dakota’s smile went smug, but she kept her eyes on her task.

“So you flirted, and grumpy Ian is moving to Dragonfly Lake now?” I teased.

“Ha. I suggested some possibilities. Businessy ones, like find a manager for the studio. Turn the farmhouse into a bed-and-breakfast. He actually seemed to listen.”

“Interesting,” I said slowly, eyeing my future roommate. “It’d make an awesome B and B.” Ian just didn’t seem like the type to run one. But really, I didn’t know him at all. “You should come over before I move out and work on him some more. It sounds like you have influence.”

Dakota laughed. “I don’t know about influence, but I can bother him some more.”

“Sounds like you better bring those feminine wiles,” Cambria said as she finished tying one more ribbon. “You guys are the best. It would’ve taken me till midnight by myself. Now all I have to do is box them up and put the mailing label on.”

“We make a good team,” Dakota said. “And speaking of, we should probably talk about this business thing.”

Cambria eyed the ceiling before leaving her work on the table for a few hours. “Why don’t we sit on the porch. I’ve got snacks we can munch on while we talk. And more wine if we need it.”

“More wine is always a good option,” I said. That bubbling feeling was back in my gut, the mix of excitement and nerves.

“Come on, Jethro,” she said to the snoozing dog.

The three of us walked to the house. Cambria insisted we sit at the high-top table and let her bring the food out, so Dakota and I did exactly that with both dogs settling nearby.

“How was the picnic last night?” Dakota asked me once we were alone.

I’d forgotten I even mentioned I was going since it’d been last-minute.

“Typical teacher get-together,” I said nonchalantly. “Food from Henry’s, BYOB, a cutthroat volleyball game. No one got stupid drunk. No one did anything scandalous. It was over by eight.”

“Did you see Max?”

“Yep.” I took a drink of wine. I hated keeping a secret from her, but Max was her brother. She might’ve been the one who dared me to bid on him, but I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about us sleeping together—more than once. I wasn’t going to find out either, because Max and I agreed to tell no one.

Which was killing me more than a little.

“That’s all?” she asked. “Just yep?”

“Yep,” I repeated. “He was there with Danny. He hung out with the math teachers.”

“What about you?”

“I sat with Dorie Ludwig and her mom.”

The door opened, and Cambria carried a tray out with a cheese ball and crackers, summer sausage, and chocolate-covered nuts. Plus a bottle of chardonnay.

“You’re my kind of human,” I said as she slid the tray to the center of the table.

Not only did she have excellent taste in snacks, but she’d saved me from more questions about Max.

We emptied the moscato into our glasses as we filled our plates with food.

“So,” Cambria said as she slid onto her chair. “My mind has been going nonstop since Sunday. I feel like it wasn’t a coincidence that you two came along when I was mulling over how to pivot.”

“Maybe it was fate.” Dakota popped a chocolate almond in her mouth.

“I almost didn’t even look at the shop when I saw the square footage,” Cambria continued, “but being on the square…”

“You can’t beat that location,” I said.

“Exactly. So my mind was spinning the minute I saw it, coming up with possibilities. Then you two mentioned your jewelry and your ceramics.”

“We’d just been talking about how some of us regulars at the studio have quite a stash of our work because we don’t have a good way to sell it,” Dakota said.

“Let me tell you some of my ideas and see what you think.” Cambria had opened the chardonnay inside and poured some in our now-empty glasses. “Sorry for not washing those out first. Party foul.”

“I’m not a purist,” I assured her.

“Same.” Dakota held her glass up. “To laid-back bitches.”

We clinked, laughing.

“Tell us what you’re cooking up,” I said after taking a sip.

“My candles; your jewelry, Harper; your ceramics, Dakota; and I know a girl who makes soaps, lotions, that kind of thing. I think she’d jump at the chance to sell through a retail store. I’ve researched some other product lines that would fit what I have in mind—candle holders, crystals, geodes, stickers, incense, some other decor, and gift items. Basically an eclectic mix of handmade merch and unique items we can order from smaller suppliers.”

“I love it,” Dakota said easily. She said it so fast that my head whipped in her direction. “What?” she asked me. “You don’t?”

“No, I do,” I said. “I’m intrigued. I can picture it. Sort of an earthy, artistic vibe?”

“Yes!” Cambria said. “I had an idea for a name.” She made a face as if hesitant to tell us. “What do you think of Earthly Charm?”

I let it roll through my head for a second. “I like it.”

“It’s perfect,” Dakota said. “You’re good at this.”

Cambria laughed. “Trust me when I say I’ve been obsessing.” Her eyes were wide with enthusiasm that was contagious. “So there’s a couple of different directions we could go.”

She paused to take a bite of sausage, and I didn’t miss her use of the word we.

I gulped some wine and waited.

“I’d love to have partners. You two if you’re interested. We could open this business together as co-owners, either apply for a small business loan or find investors, and develop it together, equal shares. Or if that’s more than you’re wanting to bite off, I can be the sole owner, and I’d love to have you as my first two employees.”

I blew out a breath with an overwhelmed wooo sound. “That’s…big. Both options are a huge deal.”

“Huge deal,” Dakota said. “Thank you for including me.”

“If you hate it, no hard feelings,” Cambria said in a rush.

“I don’t hate it,” I said. “I’m a little freaked out about the partnership. Are you sure about that?”

Cambria picked up an almond but didn’t put it in her mouth. “I’ll be honest. I’m freaked out too because it’s a big endeavor to open a store on the square. I was originally thinking a tiny storefront with a large enough back room to do my work in, but then this opportunity came out of nowhere. I’m a risk taker, so I want to do it either way, as long as I can get financing. But I’d love it more if you two were in it with me. If it was our business.”

“You know I’m a bartender, right?” Dakota said. “I can make a mean mimosa and a killer martini, and I can make change when I have to, but I’ve never owned a business.”

“If you’ve sold your mugs, you technically have,” I pointed out, surprising myself because, by those standards, I was in business too.

“This is such a bigger scale,” Dakota said. “How long do we have to think about it?”

“However long you need, as long as nobody else gets serious about that storefront. Darius said he’d give me first dibs.” Cambria looked to me. “What are you thinking, Harper?”

“I’m thinking I need more wine.”

We all laughed, and I held my glass up for her to refill.

I nodded. “I need to make enough money to pay the rent and live on.”

“I plan to include payroll in the financing,” Cambria said.

“This girl is smart,” Dakota said.

“We can totally do this,” Cambria said, her eyes lit with excitement and determination. “Going into business together would be an adventure.”

I laughed giddily and wondered if the wine was hitting me. Because I liked adventures and was really considering this. “I need to make sure you understand that, like Dakota, I’m great at customer service but inexperienced with business stuff.”

“You’re both creative and smart and have good taste,” Cambria said. “I like business. I’ve watched a ton of videos about it and learned a lot. That said, I’m green too. We’ll figure it out together.”

I met Dakota’s gaze and lifted my brows. “Thoughts?” I asked her.

With her grin widening, she shrugged. “Where’s the downside? I love the Henrys, but I could use a change. It’s outside my comfort zone, and they say that’s supposed to be a good thing.”

“Yeah.” I’d lived most of my life deeply ensconced in my comfort zone. If I wanted to be more like Naomi—and I did—I needed to seriously up my game.

“Worst-case scenario,” Dakota continued, “the store doesn’t make it, and we have to find new jobs.” She shrugged again. “But with the collective creativity and girl power at this table? I don’t see how Earthly Charm doesn’t rock this town.”

I swirled my wine in my glass, watching the pale-yellow liquid swish around, my heart hammering. I’d never been an over-thinker. I went by my gut. Right now my gut was screaming to take the chance.

“I think we should go for it,” I said. “I’m in.”