4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Nick
“So, you met Marilyn’s granddaughter?” Mom looks at me with curiosity in her blue eyes as she leans on the counter.
“Yeah, I did,” I say carefully, already knowing where this conversation is going, and thinking back to the way my breath got caught in my throat when I saw those freckles across the bridge of her nose.
It doesn’t mean anything.
Every time a new woman between the ages of twenty-five and about forty shows up in town, my mom is on the case, trying to determine if it might be a potential match…
It never is.
Granted, there’s something very charming about Eliza Willis.
Perhaps it’s the fact that she’s remarkably cute when she’s fallen through a decrepit ramp, or maybe it’s her bright green eyes and the way she blushed when I met her gaze … I don’t know. But either way, she’s something.
And I’ve never felt an instant spark toward someone like I did her…
I must be going crazy.
“What did you think of her?” Mom raises a dark brow, scooting a little closer to me. “Was she nice?”
“I think she was mostly just embarrassed.” I chuckle, reaching under the counter to grab the inventory chart. “We need to be focused on inventory though. You know, now that the weather’s cooled off, everyone wants to start on those fall projects.”
Mom lets out a defeated sigh and then pauses. “Maybe you should fix Ms. Willis’s ramp.”
“Yeah, I’d really like to. She’s just a very stubborn woman. I don’t want to push her.” I shrug as I open a drawer, digging for a pen. This is a hardware store, we always seem to have everything anyone could ever need…
Except for a pen.
I let out an “ah ha!” as soon as I find one.
“Maybe you and Daniel should just go fix it in the middle of the night. She’d never know.”
I burst into a fit of laughter. “Yeah, because the sound of power tools wouldn’t terrify the woman. That’s just asking for trouble. ”
Mom giggles, her slender face lighting up with amusement. “She’d beat you over the head with a broom.”
“Yeah … and talk about a terrible second impression that would make on Eliza,” I add, not realizing my mistake until my mom’s expression shifts.
“ Ooh .” Mom beams. “You like her!”
“I don’t even know her,” I correct her, reminding myself of the same thing.
It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone, and even then, my relationships never got too serious. Ever since I took over the hardware store after my dad passed away, I haven’t had much time for dating.
And I’m okay with that … mostly.
I mean, there are times I long for more, especially now that Daniel is married with kids.
“Well, you should get to know her.” Mom grabs the second inventory clipboard and pulls a pen out of the pocket of her faded jeans. “I think it’d be good for you to find someone. And it’s not just me—Mara wants that for you too, you know. She asks me all the time if you’re seeing someone.”
“Yeah, I know,” I mutter, thinking of my baby sister. She’s nearly four years younger than me, but she’s already got a family of her own. I love my niece and nephew, too, and they might be another reason that I’ve started considering the idea of my own personal future outside of work.
It would be nice to have a family of my own .
“I just think that you should stay open to it,” she says with a shrug, following me as I lift up the bar to the counter.
I head toward the automotive section of the meager hardware store and begin counting through the fuel filters. We have a little bit of everything at Walters Hardware—something my dad always took great pride in.
“Are you gonna try to see her again?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be on the other side of the store?” I tease my mom, giving her a look. “As much as I’d love to keep chatting about the new girl in town, we need to get this done. I have a shift at the fire station tomorrow, and I promised Daniel I’d help with the 4-H float for the Pumpkin Festival this year.”
She smiles sheepishly, holding up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay, okay. I’ll let it go. I’ll get to work. You’re a good kid, Nick.”
“I’m thirty-two, Mom, but thanks,” I joke, getting back to marking off the inventory as she walks away. I focus on work for the next fifteen minutes, though my head keeps coming back to Eliza. I don’t know what it is about her that’s so … appealing.
Maybe I should get to know her.
I nearly chuckle at the thought. At this rate, I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t avoid me like the plague considering she was beyond embarrassed when I had to pull her out of that hole. I hope she knows that falling through rotted wood is nothing to be embarrassed about.
As I make my way to the end of the aisle, the doorbell chimes and I turn my attention to the customer who just walked in .
Marilyn Willis.
Surely, she’s not going to try and fix the ramp herself.
“Afternoon, Marilyn,” Mom greets her, a bright grin on her face. “Nick told me about what happened with your granddaughter. Is her leg okay?”
Marilyn nods. “Oh yes, she’s a tough little thing. I do think it’s a bit sore—though not nearly as sore as her ego,” she adds with a laugh. “We’re just thankful that Nick was able to pull her out so easily! You should’ve seen those muscles at work. Impressive, I’d say.”
“It’s all the woodworking,” Mom chirps, being the chatty Cathy that she is. She’s always been one to chit-chat with the customers, while I prefer to just get to the point and help out if needed.
Marilyn turns her head in my direction, her eyes lighting up. “And there you are, in the flesh.” There’s something about the look on her face that reminds me of the way my mother was just talking to me.
“Here I am,” I answer, giving her a polite smile.
“And you’re actually just the man I’m looking for,” she says, her bright glittery red blouse nearly blinding me. “I was hoping that you might be able to fix my ramp.”
I nod, seeing the gleam of satisfaction in my mom’s eyes. “Yeah, I’d be more than happy to repair it for you. It’s pretty rough—”
“Yeah, and I don’t want Eliza falling through it again,” Ms. Marilyn interjects, her emphasis on her pretty granddaughter making my mind wander .
“I can come over this evening and take care of it for you. I’m not sure what all I’ll need until I take a closer look, but I can at least get it patched up for temporary use.”
“What time are you thinking?” Marilyn chimes. “I usually make dinner around five-thirty, if you’d like to join us.”
“I really appreciate the offer, but I’ve gotta help some of the kids with their float for the parade. I’ll probably be over to your house a little too late for dinner.”
To be honest, I’m a little disappointed about missing a chance to have dinner with Eliza … but I made a promise.
“Well, I’ll be sure to at least save some dessert for ya,” Ms. Marilyn says, giving me a bright smile. “I’m sure thankful for your son, Martha,” she says to my mom. “I don’t know how this town would make it without him always being around to help out us old folks.”
“He’s a good guy.” Mom shoots me a look before returning her attention to Marilyn. “What about your granddaughter? Where’s she from?”
“Oh, she’s from Chicago.” Ms. Marilyn beams, leaning against one of the shelves. “She was working in marketing for some big ole tech company, but it didn’t work out. Her sexist boss laid her off and then her boyfriend had the nerve to break up with her the same day—leaving her unemployed and alone. Needless to say, she just needed a fresh start. Well, that and you know how my son Rob can be. He always thinks I’m old and decrepit, so he suggested she should come live with me.”
For some reason, out of everything Ms. Marilyn just said, I mostly zero in on one thing: Eliza is single.
And I feel like a pig for it.
I need to keep my wits about me before I embarrass myself.
“Oh, your son just cares about you,” Mom comments lightly. “But it sounds like Eliza has had a rough go. Hopefully this reset will do her some good. Is she here to stay? Because this town sure could use some more young people.”
Ms. Marilyn shrugs. “I don’t know, but it sure would be nice if she decided to. It’s been a long time since I’ve had family close, since my husband passed nearly ten years ago.”
I roll my shoulders as the grief threatens to slip in. I lost my father fifteen years ago, and even still, anytime someone brings up death, it feels a bit like poking an open wound. I always catch myself wondering what life would be like now had it not happened.
“I’ll make sure to be over to your place as soon as I finish up with the float. It might be close to six-thirty or seven, if that’s okay with you, Ms. Marilyn?”
“Of course,” she says with a nod. “We stay up pretty late at my house, you know. Last night we made it till eleven o’clock. Can you imagine that? I felt like a teenager again.”
I laugh along with my mom, seeing the joy on the elderly woman’s face. Regardless of Eliza’s reasons, it’s clear that Ms. Marilyn is more than happy to have her there.
“Well, I suppose I’ve taken up enough of your time already,” Ms. Marilyn says with a sigh. “I ought to let you get back to it. I’ll see you this evening, Nick, and I’m sure I’ll see you at church on Sunday, Martha.”
“Of course,” Mom says with a smile. “Have a nice day and enjoy your time with your granddaughter.”
“Oh, I will!” she calls over her shoulder as she disappears out the door.
“Well, well, well…” Mom turns to me with an eyebrow raised. “I think fixing Marilyn’s ramp is fate.”
“Oh jeez,” I groan, shaking my head at her. “You act like I’m not the only handyman in town. You know as well as I do that it’s not uncommon for me to fix access ramps.”
“No, but it’s not every day that you get to work on the ramp where there’s a lovely young lady present.”
“Who was just broken up with,” I point out; a fact suddenly sinking in for the first time. “She probably doesn’t have any interest in dating right now, and I wouldn’t ask her on a date this soon, anyway.”
Mom’s shoulders slump. “People ask each other out when they first meet them all the time. You’ve got to learn to take a risk sometimes, son.”
I shake my head. “I’m not one of those people, and you know that.”
But suddenly, I’m kind of wishing that I was.