Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
It had been a day that wouldn’t stop.
At least that was how it felt to Colin. After the emergency appointment that morning, he’d barely made it home, when he got called back to the clinic. This time for an intestinal blockage.
Charlie Baker brought in his black lab, Smudge. This wasn’t the first time Smudge had eaten something he wasn’t supposed to. First, they’d tried some non-invasive procedures to retrieve the sock, but it was too far in his digestive track.
After it was determined there was only one way to retrieve the sock, Colin called in only necessary staff. They were used to it. In fact, he had two teams, so they alternated who was on call on the weekends. He made sure they were well-compensated for the intrusion on their time off.
The surgery went without any complications.
But he stuck around afterward to monitor Smudge.
He was concerned because it was a big surgery for the playful dog.
And even though he had told Charlie to go home and he would call him when the surgery was over, Charlie had remained in the waiting room.
They talked for a while, and then Charlie grudgingly went home alone.
Smudge would stay at the clinic and be monitored over the weekend.
It was late in the afternoon when Colin finally grabbed his phone from his desk and saw that there had been a missed call from Holly. She hadn’t left him a message, and that left him wondering what she had wanted.
When he checked the time she’d called, he noticed it was after lunch—after her meal with her parents. He wondered how it had gone. For Holly’s sake, he hoped everything went well. But he didn’t trust Roger and Billie Jean. They’d had Holly’s entire life to come back. Why now?
He went to dial Holly’s number but hesitated. He slipped the phone into his pocket. Perhaps he should do this in person. He checked the time. If he hurried, he should be able to catch her at the store just before she closed up.
When he arrived, there were at least a half dozen people in the shop, filling their shopping baskets. When Holly spotted him, she smiled and held up a finger for him to wait for her. He nodded.
While she attended to the customers, he made his way around the shop.
She had such a wide array of soaps. He liked that not only did she display their components but she also listed what the soaps were good for, such as dry skin or oily skin.
She’d even added some alternative uses for the soap, such as a way to deodorize drawers or to repel animals from chewing on furniture.
In the end, he picked out a basket and a few bars from wood sage to sandalwood. He wouldn’t mind giving them a try.
After the last customer checked out and headed for the door, he moved to the checkout counter. He placed the soaps on the counter before turning to add the now-empty basket to the stack of baskets at the end of the counter.
Holly’s eyes widened as she looked down at his purchases. “You don’t have to buy these.”
“Well, I’m not just going to steal them.”
She rolled her eyes. “What I mean is that you don’t have to feel obligated to buy anything.”
“I don’t. I looked around, and I saw a lot I’d like to try. I thought I’d start with these.”
Her questioning gaze met his. “You’re sure.”
He nodded. “I’ll be back to try some others. I like that you have those signs above each, explaining different uses for the soap. I never would have thought of any of them.”
She smiled as she rang up his purchases.
“Glad you found them helpful. They were actually my idea. Gran wasn’t so sure about it.
She thought it might confuse some people.
So, we didn’t do it. But now that the shop is mine, I’ve made a few changes here and there.
Gran always said when it was my place that I should go ahead and make it my own. ”
“I’m sure she would be proud of how you’ve changed things.”
“I have other ideas, like remodeling, but that will take money, and I don’t have it right now.”
He looked around the shop and then back at her. “Someday, you’ll have to tell me what you have in mind for the place.”
She shook her head. “You don’t want to hear about that. It’s boring.”
“Actually, I find remodeling fascinating. If I wasn’t a vet, I think I would have been a contractor.”
She arched a brow as she stared at him. “You know what? I can see that. You were always good with your hands. Okay. I have the sketches upstairs. Sometime I’ll show them to you.”
He nodded. “It’s a date.”
He didn’t mean an actual date, but once the words were out there, he didn’t want to take them back. He really didn’t. But he also knew Holly was going through a lot right now, and he didn’t want to make her life even more complicated.
She wrapped the soaps in tissue paper before placing them in a cute brown paper bag with the name: Kringle Soap Co. on the front. It had rope-style handles.
She held up the receipt. “Do you want the receipt? Or should I put it in the bag?”
“The bag is fine.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “How did lunch go with your parents?”
She smiled as she looked at him. “You know I saw you drive by at lunchtime.”
“You did, huh?” Heat crept up his neck. “I was, uh, on my way home.”
Her smile broadened. “I believe you live on the other side of town.”
She’d made a very good point. Now what was he supposed to say? Perhaps the truth. Yes, that was always the best route.
“I actually drove over to see you. But then when I saw you with your parents, I didn’t want to intrude.”
“That was sweet of you, but you wouldn’t have been intruding. In fact, I kind of wished that you would have been at lunch, but you would have been bored.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, they chose The Peppermint Courtyard. I’d never been there.
Gran never would have splurged on a meal.
She always said there was nothing there that she couldn’t cook at home.
” A smile flitted across her beautiful face as she thought of her grandmother.
“And once we were there, well, all they did was talk about themselves. A lot.”
“So, I guess I don’t need to ask how the lunch went.”
She shook her head. “I feel guilty because I think they were trying. It’s just that their lives and interests are so different from mine.”
“It’s okay. They live in a place far from Kringle Falls. Did you tell them some about your life?”
She once more shook her head. “They never asked, and I never got an opportunity.”
“And how did you leave things?”
Her mouth gaped as her eyes widened. “I just remembered that they left me with the check.”
He had to admit that he didn’t see that coming. “They made you pay for your lunch?”
“No. I mean, yes, but I had to pay for everyone’s lunch.”
A frown pulled at his lips. “That couldn’t have been cheap.”
“It wasn’t. I had to put it on the business credit card. My grandmother is rolling in her grave. She said that credit card was for business. Period. And she never would have approved of me paying for their lunch.”
“Oh, Holly, I’m sorry lunch didn’t go the way you’d hoped.”
“Thanks. But they’re trying. I guess that’s something.”
He nodded, but he didn’t say anything. Holly was trying so hard to see her parents as the loving kind from her dreams that she couldn’t see them as they truly were.
“Tonight’s the Kringles’ party,” she said, drawing him from his thoughts. “Are you going?”
“Actually, that’s why I came over earlier. I wanted to ask you if you’d go with me.”
“To the party?” When he nodded again, she said, “Well, uh, my parents want to go as my guests.”
“I see.” The thought gave him an uneasy feeling. Even though he wasn’t anxious to spend time with her parents, he felt that Holly just might need some backup that evening. “Then I guess we could go as a foursome. If you want…”
She was quiet for a moment, as though weighing her answer. Was she hesitating because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings when she turned him down? Or was she concerned that her parents might not like her bringing a date?
“I would like that.” She smiled. “Thank you. Can I just meet you there?”
“Absolutely.” He smiled back at her. “I’ll see you in a little bit.”
And then he headed for the door. His steps felt a bit lighter. Had he just asked her out on an official date? He supposed he had. Too bad it was going to be chaperoned by both sets of parents as well as half of the town.