Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The following morning, Amber was up by seven.
She tried to get ready as quietly as possible, not wanting to be rude and awaken her host, but evidently, he’d gotten up before her, because she smelled freshly brewed coffee coming from the kitchen.
She went in there to see he was wide awake, dressed, and seemingly ready for the day.
“You’re sure full of energy,” Sawyer said as he took a sip of his coffee. He backed up and leaned against the counter, and it wasn’t lost on Amber that his eyes were trained steadily on her in clear approval.
“I love mornings,” she told him. “Each day is a new chance and clean start, full of potential. The morning holds the opportunity for something great to happen!”
She’d recited that to herself a million times over the course of her life, it seemed. It had become her mantra.
Sawyer was still looking at her the same way, but his grin was even wider now.
Did he think she was cute? Sure looked that way.
He doesn’t want to be your Daddy. A guy like Sawyer is way too hot for you. Don’t forget, you’re the poor girl. A street urchin. He wants the hot girl. And you’re definitely not her!
She told herself to stop thinking negative thoughts. They didn’t accomplish anything except getting her down. Why linger there?
“I respect that.” He gave her a quick nod. “I don’t have much to eat in here. Why don’t we head to town and get a stack of pancakes at the diner? Figured you could talk to Marsha about that job some more, while we’re there. Then I’ll take you on down to Joe’s store. Get whatever you need for the cabin.” He drained his coffee, pushed off the counter, and said, “Speaking of, we might as well stop by there on our way so you can see what all you need before we hit up the store.”
“Thank you, Sir!” Amber said, giggling with excitement.
The day was indeed going to be wonderful. She just knew it!
An hour later, they’d eaten, with Amber having polished off a stack of pancakes, a side of bacon, a glass of milk and another one of orange juice.
“I made a pig of myself!” she said as they walked into the general store.
“Nope. You were just hungry. Probably knew you’d need fuel for all the hard work you’re going to do today,” Sawyer countered.
Amber knew the truth: breakfasts had been few and far between. Sometimes, food in general was. She had to load up when and where she could.
She’d tried to pay for her meal back at the diner, but Sawyer wouldn’t hear of it. That made her grateful, since she needed to buy some food in the store to get her through the next few days.
It was agreed that she’d start her job at the diner later that week, and Marsha had told her she’d take tips home every night.
Amber was thrilled. That money would come in handy! Suddenly, the sixty-three dollars she had didn’t seem so minuscule now that she knew she’d have income rolling in soon enough.
“Hey, Sawyer,” a man called out as they walked into the store. “And who do you have with you?”
“Hey, Joe. This is Amber. She’s new in town,” Sawyer said.
Amber looked behind the front counter to see a man that was strong, broad-shouldered, and handsome with blond hair and blue eyes.
“Hello, Amber,” he said.
“Hello, Sir. May I ask your last name?”
“Of course. It’s Graves.”
“Thank you, Sir. Now I know what to call you. Mr. Graves.”
Joe chuckled. “That’s sweet and very respectful. But you can just call me Joe. Or Uncle Joe, if you’d like. The other Littles do.”
She skipped happily to the counter. “How do you know I’m a Little, Sir?”
“Oh, that’s easy. I could tell that the moment you walked in.”
Amber giggled. It was sure nice being around others who understood!
“And my wife told me about you. She met you last night at the park.”
“Mindy, right?” Amber asked.
“That’s right. In fact, she’s right in there.” He jerked his head toward a door that was behind him on the wall. “Do you want to say hi?”
“Sure!” Amber said.
She walked around the counter and followed Joe through the door. What she saw in the backroom caused her jaw to drop in wonder.
“There’s so much… Little stuff!”
The main room of the store looked like any other general store in any small town across the United States. There was a hardware section, some food, and a few household goods. But the back room was a different story.
The racks in there held frilly dresses with plenty of ribbons and lace. There were rompers, onesies, and shortalls—all adult-sized, of course. There was also a variety of toys, stuffies, and a shelf of diapers and pull-ups.
It was a Little’s paradise.
“Amber!” Mindy said, dropping the stuffie she’d been putting on a shelf and running to her new friend.
The women hugged.
“Whatcha doing?” Amber asked.
“I help my Daddy here at the store. We got a new shipment of stuffies and I was just putting them away.”
“This place is amazing! I’ve always dreamed of something like this,” Amber said as she spun a slow circle, taking it all in.
“Do you want to pick out a toy? An outfit, too?” Joe asked.
“Oh. Uh… maybe soon,” Amber replied, not elaborating that she was light on funds.
“It’s our treat,” Joe said. “We like to give newcomers a warm welcome here in Big Cedar.”
Amber smiled, but then instantly felt guilty. She couldn’t accept something so generous. What if everyone around town thought she was just looking for handouts?
“Thank you for the kind offer, Sir,” she replied. “But I’m not even sure what I’d want. Maybe I can think about it and come back next week.”
Come back when I have some money, she thought. But she kept that part to herself.
“Of course,” Joe said. “You’re welcome here anytime and that offer stands.”
“Thank you!” she said.
Before leaving the room, her eyes lingered on the dress she loved. It was a ruffled pink one that had so many pretty bows! Whenever she was on her feet and had some money saved up, that would definitely be the one she bought!
As she turned around, she noticed Sawyer watching her closely, that look of affection in his eyes once again.
Okay, was something actually there? Surely he didn’t have his sights set on her!
She worked hard to suppress a grin. Just the mere thought made her giddy.
She went back into the main part of the store with Joe, Mindy, and Sawyer following her.
“Well, what brings you in, Little Amber?” Joe asked.
It was Sawyer who took the lead and answered. “She’s staying out at the old Collier place. We dropped by there and made a list of some things she needs to get started fixing it up.” He reached into his pocket and fished out the list they’d made, handing it over to Joe.
The shopkeeper looked over it, nodding as he read the items. “I have it all. And I remember the Colliers calling me about this. They left their credit card on file and told me to charge whatever she needs for the house. I’ll get going putting this order together.”
“Much obliged,” Sawyer said.
“Thank you, Sir,” Amber told Joe. “While you’re doing that, I’m going to pick out some groceries. May I pay for them separate, Sir?”
“Of course. You just get whatever you need, honey. There are baskets right over there.” Joe pointed to the stack near the door.
Amber grabbed one and started browsing the food selection while Mindy followed her.
“So,” Mindy said, “some of the other Littles and I are having a sleepover tomorrow night at my house. Do you want to come?”
“I’d love that!”
“Yay! We’re going to eat junk food, stay up late, and maybe even watch a scary movie if our Daddies let us.”
For a brief second, that familiar sadness of not having a Daddy hit Amber. She quickly brushed it aside, though, reminding herself that it was important not to camp out in negativity. Her experience in Big Cedar was shaping up to be absolutely amazing! She couldn’t complain.
But her mind did drift to wondering what it would be like to have a Daddy.
Not just any Daddy, either.
A Daddy like Sawyer.
Mmm.
She continued to chat with Mindy, enjoying the conversation as she put food in her cart. Ten minutes later, Joe and Sawyer had the home improvement order together and she had all her food ready.
“No charge for you on this stuff,” Joe said after ringing up the home improvement items, packing them up, and setting them aside. “Now let’s see what you got there, honey.”
She handed over the shopping basket of food and he rang it up.
“Looks like sixty-four dollars and twenty-two cents,” he pronounced.
Embarrassment socked Amber in the gut. She had been watching the prices carefully, mentally adding everything up as she went along. Clearly she’d miscalculated, though.
“Eh, you know what?” she said with a laugh. “I accidentally got four boxes of macaroni and cheese. I only want two! I’m silly sometimes. I’ll just put these back, Sir.”
She noticed the look that passed between Joe and Sawyer, and further embarrassment set in. Lying made her feel sick, too. She tried to always tell the truth, but she didn’t want them feeling sorry for her.
Based on that look, though, it was too late for that. They clearly saw right through her ruse.
She suspected they didn’t want to cause her any more humiliation, because Sawyer jumped in and said, “I’ll go stick ‘em back on the shelf.”
“The mac and cheese is here if you decide you want more,” Joe said in a friendly tone. “Okay, that brings the total down to sixty dollars and twelve cents.”
Now that, she could do! She happily fished her money out and handed it over.
Even without those two boxes of mac and cheese, she still had plenty to eat until she started at the diner. And with the home improvement stuff, she could stay busy by fixing up the cabin and working hard until it was time for the sleepover!
It was still going to be a good day.
And she couldn’t wait to see what it would bring.