Chapter Twelve
HOLLY GLANCED AT THE FARMHOUSE CLOCK HANGING IN THE store, then at the stack of invoices for deliveries that had to be made that day, including a condolence bouquet for a viewing scheduled later that night.
How was she going to juggle everything?
She really hated to close the shop in the middle of a busy shopping day, especially since the foot traffic in town had increased exponentially since the town’s annual Christmas market had opened the weekend before.
The Shelter Springs holiday market had become a tradition for people in the entire region, which was a boon to all the local small businesses. Shoppers didn’t only restrict their spending to those retailers with booths at the market.
Run by her dear friend Amanda, the market featured music, food and shopping. She loved that a portion of all sales went for a charitable cause each year. This year the market was raising funds to add on to the town library and expand the children’s area, a cause close to her heart.
Among the many things she had to juggle this season, Holly knew she definitely had to add a visit to the market. Lydia loved it and the market was always a great place to pick up last-minute gifts. Besides that, she loved supporting other small businesses.
As much as she wished she could spend the day wandering up and down the stalls, it wouldn’t happen today.
She looked at the clock again. If she closed the shop for an hour, she could possibly finish the deliveries and take one more thing off her plate. Hopefully she wouldn’t miss that many walk-in sales.
It wasn’t the best solution but she didn’t know what else to do.
She grabbed her Back in One Hour sign out of a drawer and headed for the front door. Before she could reach it to hang the sign, the door opened and she was astonished to see Ryan enter the store.
Her heartbeat kicked up as memories flooded her mind of his mouth on hers days earlier.
That kiss hadn’t been far from her mind since it happened. She hadn’t seen him since leaving the park. At times she wondered if she had imagined the whole encounter, but the memory was entirely too vivid for her to have made it up.
At stray moments, she would find herself reliving it and would have to give herself a stern lecture and jerk her mind back to the present.
It was only a kiss. Not some kind of cataclysm. Except somehow it felt earth shaking, as if her carefully constructed world had shifted half a step to the left. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite manage to nudge it back into place.
“Oh. Ryan. Hello.”
He gave her a brief smile and she had to wonder if he was also remembering that charged instant between them.
“Hi. You look like you’re headed somewhere,” he said, looking at the sign in her hand. “Are you off for lunch?”
“I wish.”
If she wanted lunch, she would have to grab a protein shake out of the fridge in the break room and drink that on her way to make the deliveries. Again.
“Busy day?”
“You could say that. I’m on my own today, since both of my two current employees are out with the flu.”
“Oh no. That can’t be good.”
“Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of illness going around. I guess it’s that time of year. I’ve got five deliveries and four of them are get-well bouquets.”
“What’s the other one?”
“Condolences, unfortunately. A ninety-year-old man who goes to church with us passed away last week. The funeral home would like all of their condolence flowers this afternoon prior to the viewing if possible. I’m closing the store for an hour so I can deliver them all.”
He looked out the window at the busy downtown area.
“Is that wise? Don’t you worry about losing business if you close now?”
“Sure I do. That’s always a worry but even more of a concern this time of year, when we see a large percentage of our walk-in sales.”
“It seems more busy than usual out there,” Ryan said, gesturing out the front window. “Is something going on in town?”
“It’s our annual Christmas market. It’s become a huge deal in town, bringing visitors from across the area. Lucky for us downtown merchants, they don’t limit their shopping to the market.”
“That’s right. Audrey was telling me about the market the other day. She said it’s a big deal, with a fundraising component as well.”
“That’s right. Each year the market committee chooses a different organization to help.
This year it’s the library. In years past, we’ve helped Meals on Wheels, the local food bank and the women’s shelter, to name a few recipients.
Because the regular Shelter Springs businesses also benefit from the increase in traffic, those of us in the downtown Chamber of Commerce also donate a portion of our sales. ”
“Seems like a nice thing to do.”
Why was he here at her store in the middle of the day? For the life of her, she couldn’t think of a reason for his presence and he didn’t seem in any hurry to tell her.
The door opened before she could ask. Two older women Holly didn’t know wandered in, talking and laughing together. They greeted her cordially and she didn’t miss the brief looks of appreciation they gave Ryan before they started looking at her display of flower-centered crafts.
Apparently she wouldn’t be closing for a while, at least not until the women finished shopping.
Ryan must have seen some of her frustration in her gaze. “How can you close down in the middle of the day?”
“I would prefer to stay open, but in this case it’s unavoidable.
I have to deliver the condolence bouquet before the viewing.
And since I’m already out, I should probably take care of the other deliveries.
The prospect of new sales from foot traffic is always enticing, but not at the expense of people who have already paid for flowers and expect them to be delivered in a timely manner. ”
Ryan glanced at the women who were filling shopping baskets with some of the dried flower sachets Holly created during the summer.
A look of indecision crossed his features before he turned back to her. “Why don’t I make your deliveries for you? That way, you can stay here and hold down the fort and won’t miss any sales.”
She stared, wholly taken off guard by his suggestion. “You?”
He shrugged. “Why not? To be honest, I’m sort of at loose ends while Audrey is in school.”
“Is that why you’re here? Because you were bored?”
“In a way, I guess. I was in the neighborhood, actually, shopping at the bookstore down the street. I grabbed a couple of gifts for Audrey and a new mystery by an author I enjoy. Since I was close by, I thought I would see if I could pick you up a sandwich or something for lunch.”
His unexpected thoughtfulness sent warmth seeping through her. How lovely to have someone spontaneously think of doing something nice for her.
“That is very kind of you.”
He shrugged again. “It was only an idea. I’m not used to having so much free time, if you want the truth. I’ve already repaired everything I can find that needed it at Kim’s place and have even tried out a few new recipes, with mixed success.”
Oh, he was a hard man to resist.
“Even with the hour I spend every day on the treadmill trying to rehab my knee,” he went on, “that still leaves me with five or six hours to fill, especially since Audrey comes here after school to help you with Lydia.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. She loves hanging out with Lydia and is thrilled at how much you’re paying her. But the bottom line is that she’s pretty self-sufficient, which leaves me with huge chunks of time to fill. I can’t read my book all day so why don’t I make your deliveries for you?”
She couldn’t deny his offer was tempting. It would be lovely to tick one more thing off her list with his help.
“You don’t know your way around town, though.”
“I have several navigation apps on my phone that can help. I find I’m pretty good at finding my way, which comes in quite handy when you’re trying to locate your landing spot on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean.”
She blinked, disconcerted to imagine the risky situations he had probably navigated during his time in the military. Ryan was a hard, dangerous man, something difficult to remember when he could be so sweet with her daughter and was thoughtful enough to consider grabbing her lunch.
The front door opened before she could answer and her friend Natalie walked through, her arms loaded with packages.
“Hey, Holly!”
“Natalie. Hi.”
“Are you slammed?” Nat asked. “I was hoping to order a hostess gift for a party Griffin and I are going to Friday but I can come back.”
Holly looked down at the closed sign she had been about to hang on the door and then at Ryan.
She would never find it easy to accept help, but as she was shorthanded and couldn’t take care of everything alone, she really would be grateful to have him handle the deliveries.
“I always have time for you, my dear. Have you met Ryan Caldwell? This is Kim’s brother. Ryan, this is my dear friend Natalie Shepherd. Sorry, Natalie Taylor. She got married this summer to the brother of one of our other dear friends.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said.
Natalie’s eyes lit up. “You’re Ryan? Hannah was telling me all about you. I understand you’re Holly’s plus-one for Kristine Moore’s wedding.”
“Yes,” he said after a moment. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
He gave her a heated look she could only describe as smitten, obviously conjured on the spot for the benefit of curious onlookers. Holly had a sudden wild wish that he would look at her like that for real, instead of as part of an unnecessary performance.
She made a face. “No need for the besotted act,” she told him. “Natalie is one of our dearest friends. I’m sure Hannah probably told her the truth, that you’re only taking me as a favor. And because she asked you on my behalf.”