Chapter 8
J oseph looked around the tiny home factory. With another two houses ready to be delivered, they were three weeks ahead of schedule—and he couldn't have been happier.
“I like the new exterior color scheme,” Pastor John said from the doorway of Joseph's office.
“Thanks. We thought we'd try something different for the Billings’ order.” He opened a folder and handed it to John. “They wanted a design that didn't stand out against the trees surrounding the site. We only have another four to build to complete the order.”
John studied the site plan and the photos Joseph had taken. “I'm impressed. You could easily overlook them If you didn't know they were there.”
“That was the idea. What brings you out to the old steamboat museum?”
“It’s easier to talk to you in person instead of over the phone. I spoke to a woman living on a large property near here. She wants to buy four tiny homes for her extended family.”
“Did you tell her we have a nine-month wait time?”
John nodded. “She doesn’t mind. I’ll send her your contact details so you can talk to her about what she wants. The other reason I'm here is because of Shona.”
“Is she okay?”
“She's happier than she’s been in weeks. We've just signed the contract for the loan for her quilt store.” He handed Joseph a folder. “She has no idea you’re the person providing the money.”
“I appreciate whatever you had to do to make that happen.”
“I hope you do. I had to lie to a friend, and that doesn't sit easily on my shoulders. One day, you'll have to tell her where the money came from.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair. Hopefully, that day doesn't come anytime soon. “Once it’s paid off, it won’t matter.”
“Don’t be so sure. I know you’re worried about people knowing how wealthy you are but, sometimes, you have to put aside whatever happened in the past and trust people. Not everyone’s like your ex-wife.”
John didn’t realize how bad it had been. Hillary had only stayed married to him because of how much he earned. In her mind, Adele was an accident, a terrible twist of fate that kept her tied to him for more years than she’d wanted. He was just grateful their marriage had ended when it did.
“I appreciate your concern, but it’s better this way.”
“If you say so.”
Someone knocked on Joseph’s office door. “Hi, Harry. How can I help?”
“The order of drywall has arrived. Do you want one of the pallets left beside the tiny homes we started yesterday?”
“That would be great.”
“Okay.” Harry smiled at John. “Hi, Pastor John. Are you going to basketball practice tonight?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“I’ll be there, too. I’d better return to the factory before Patrick comes looking for me. See you later.”
“Bye.” John watched Harry leave. “If you need an example of someone who’s overcome almost impossible odds, you only need to look at Harry. If he can learn to trust people, so can you.”
Picking up a clipboard, Joseph followed John out of the office. It was easy for his friend to talk about trust. He had a great marriage and a family he could count on. After what had happened with his ex-wife, he was terrified of trusting anyone again.
“My life is less complicated than it’s ever been. I’m happy, and so is Adele.”
“There might be another reason you’re so happy, and it has nothing to do with money.”
Joseph frowned. An image of Shona talking to Adele filled his mind. Quickly, he pushed it to one side. He’d already been through one failed relationship, and he didn’t need another.
Shona slid eight pre-cut shelves out of a box, then picked up the bag of screws that accompanied them. Andrea and Paris had arrived a few minutes ago to help build the first set of shelves for her quilting store. “Mabel can buy more of these shelving units if I need them. I thought making one set before I order any more would be a good idea.”
Paris picked up the instructions. “I should have done the same thing before I opened The Flower Cottage. Andrea and I spent ages trying to put the furniture together. Not having the right tools didn’t help, either.”
“If it weren’t for Richard, I don’t think you would’ve been able to open the store and provide the flowers for the wedding you’d booked,” Andrea said as she unpacked her tool belt. “Your fiancé was a huge help.”
“So was yours,” Paris said with a smile. “The Starlight Café was so busy on opening day that David spent as much time serving the customers as he did preparing the meals. For someone who hasn’t worked in a café, he was amazing.”
A dreamy expression settled on Andrea’s face. “He was, wasn’t he?”
Shona cleared her throat. She tried not to compare her life to her friends’. But it was hard watching them fall in love when the chance of that happening to her was practically zero. “I've been practicing my drilling technique,” she told them with a whirr of the drill. “Nate gave me good instructions.”
“Is he enjoying being back in college?” Paris asked.
“He loves it. After we’ve looked at the wedding dresses in Bozeman, would you mind if I visited him? Depending on the day, he could meet us in town.”
“That’s a great idea. Tess said she could open The Bridesmaids’ Club for us next Sunday. Does that suit everyone?”
That suited Shona. Nate didn’t have classes during the weekend, so it was perfect. “It’s fine for me.”
“And me,” Andrea added. “I’ll ask my part-time staff if they can work instead of me.”
“Next Sunday it is!” Paris picked up two off-cuts of wood and handed them to Shona. “On that positive note, screw these pieces of wood together at right angles. If you need a hand, let me know.”
With a confidence she hadn’t had a week ago, Shona attached a screw to the end of the electric drill. Within seconds, the piece of wood was sitting at a perfect right angle to the other.
Andrea clapped. “Yeah, you! That’s impressive.”
Paris grinned at Shona. “Not bad for a woman who doesn’t know how to use a drill.”
“All it takes is a little practice and a son who doesn’t mind teaching me over the Internet,” she said proudly. “How do we make the shelving unit?”
Paris looked at the instruction sheet and picked up another two pieces of wood. “You have to screw these together to make the frame. Just do what you did to the off-cuts, and you’ll be fine.”
Shona double-checked the final position of the wood. When she was happy, she sunk two screws into the frame. “That's one side done. What's next?”
Paris handed her another piece of wood. “Same thing again.”
By the time she was finished, even Shona was impressed with the shelving unit. Including the top, there were four shelves she could use to display her merchandise. She gave it a wiggle to make sure it wouldn't collapse.
Andrea tilted her head to the side. “It looks great. I can imagine it full of quilts and other handmade gifts.”
“And it's sturdy,” Shona added. “I'll work out how many I want and place an order tomorrow.” She looked around the empty cottage and sighed. “There's so much to do.”
“When do you want to open the quilt shop?” Andrea asked.
“I'd love to open it in two weeks. That gives me enough time to let my existing customers know I've moved and to advertize the store to people who haven't seen my quilts.”
“Tell us what furniture you haven't been able to find. I’ll search the Internet and see what I can find.”
“Thanks.”
Paris nudged her arm. “Don't look so worried. With the three of us working together, everything will be perfect.”
Shona forced a smile and remembered the words she used to tell Nate. You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
If it worked for Winnie the Pooh, it could work for her, too.
After taking Adele out for pizza, Joseph was walking back to his truck when he saw some light spilling onto the sidewalk in Anchor Lane. It was too late for The Flower Cottage or The Starlight Café to be open, so he assumed Shona must be in her cottage.
When she’d told him about the money she'd received from a charitable trust, it was hard to pretend he knew nothing about it. She was excited about opening her quilting store and very thankful for the trust’s faith in her.
Hopefully, she would never discover who was behind the loan. “Do you want to visit Shona?” he asked Adele. “It looks as though she's in her store.”
“Yes, please. Is she opening her quilting store soon?”
“I'm not sure when it opens, but it can’t be far away.”
“I wonder if she’s brought her quilts into town. There were lots of them at her house.”
“There were.” Joseph had offered to help set up the cottage, but her friends were already building most of the furniture.
Surprisingly, she was on her own in the cottage. He tapped on the door. “Would you like some visitors?”
Shona turned and smiled. “Of course, I would. Welcome to the almost finished Cozy Quilt Shop.”
“I like the name of your store,” Adele said as she ran her hand along the mahogany table in front of them. “Where are the quilts?”
“They’re sitting in boxes in the kitchen,” Shona replied. “I’ll put them on the shelves tomorrow night.”
Joseph looked around the cottage. It already looked like a store worthy of any boutique business he’d seen. Along one wall, a series of wooden shelves were waiting for the items that would fill them. There was even an old desk that had been converted into a sales counter. Beside the fireplace, a sofa and two colorful chairs provided a space to rest and relax. But it was the display table in front of them that caught his eye. Made from solid wood, it was a work of art.
Shona must have seen him admiring it. “I thought you might like the table. It belongs to Penny and her sisters. They placed it in storage when they remodeled The Lakeside Inn. I couldn't believe it when she offered to lend it to me for the store.”
“It's the type of furniture that needs to be used.” He ran his hand along the tabletop, feeling the silky smoothness of timber worn from many hands doing the same thing.
“Could you make a table like this one?” Adele asked.
“I could, but it would take a long time.”
Shona picked up an empty box. “It belonged to Penny’s grandparents. She thinks it’s more than one hundred years old.”
Adele’s eyes widened. “That’s older than Granddad.”
Shona smiled. “It’s older than most of the people living in Sapphire Bay. What have you been doing tonight?”
“We had pizza for dinner, and then Dad took me for a walk around the lake. Do you want to have ice cream with us?”
“Is that okay?” Shona asked him.
“We’d enjoy your company.”
“In that case, I’d love to join you. All I have to do is quickly sweep the floor and then I’m finished.”
Joseph looked around the store. “Do you have another broom? I could help.”
“That would be great. I’ll be back in a minute.”
While Shona was in the kitchen, Adele looked up at the ceiling. “Look up, Dad. Isn’t that the most amazing ceiling you’ve ever seen?”
He lifted his gaze to the pressed tin ceiling. With the lights turned on, it looked even more impressive than during the day. “It is. When Granddad was a boy, his parents had the same type of ceiling in their house.”
“Why don’t we have one in ours?”
“I don’t think the house is old enough.”
“I’d have one like this.”
Shona joined them and handed Joseph a broom. “I’ve swept most of the floor. We only need to do the front half of this room.”
With a lot of laughter, they swept the floor while Adele practiced singing Christmas carols. Joseph questioned his reluctance to tell Shona the truth, especially with the overwhelming sense of rightness, the ease they all felt around each other.
But then he remembered his ex-wife’s demands, the reason she’d stayed married to him for so long. If anyone wanted to be a special part of his life, it had to be because they liked him—not his bank account. And, no matter how genuine Shona seemed, he couldn’t risk sharing his life with someone like Hillary.