5
TWO DAYS LATER, Sadie stood behind the counter at Get and Gather. After her lunch with Charlie on Sunday, she’d spent the afternoon quilting with JoJo. The back of their farmhouse held a small space that was once a screened in porch, but years ago JoJo had closed it in and made it into a sewing room. JoJo was able to finish the quilt for her friend and Sadie made a dent in the Christmas quilt she’d been working on and was able to call and get caught up with Miss Agnes.
Some of Sadie’s favorite memories growing up were of that room. Even the sounds reminded her of days she would be curled up reading in the living room, the whir of the sewing machine mixed with the hum of the small television JoJo watched while she sewed serving as Sadie’s background noise. And then weekend afternoons, much like the one they’d just shared, where JoJo would teach Sadie how to follow a quilt pattern, the squares or rectangles or triangles always coming together to make a beautiful design.
Although she didn’t get to quilt as often as she would like to, Sadie appreciated what it taught her. No quilt was perfect. Made by human hands, there were stitches here and there that weren’t straight or sometimes a square got sewn in upside down. No matter what, each one became a thing of beauty—the end result exactly as it was meant to be, imperfections and all.
Handmade quilts were some of Sadie’s favorite items that were brought into the shop. Whenever she received one, she loved looking it over carefully, in awe of the time, energy, and love that went into making each one. She imagined who may have curled up under it on a cold night, or what baby may have been swaddled in it to stay cozy.
The store had two large racks where the quilts hung, staggered so people could see them easily for purchase. One rack held quilts made by JoJo and the women in town, the other rack with ones that came in with estate sales and other boxed items. Sadie couldn’t imagine things so precious being tossed into a box to give away, but after working in the store most of her life, she also knew that it wasn’t always easy for people to keep every family heirloom. Sometimes, things just had to be let go.
She loved picturing herself as the middleman. The person who would help a special item get from one family to the next. There was no guarantee that a new family would cherish something as much as the last, but she always hoped. Or maybe it was something that meant little to the person who brought it to her and would mean everything to the one who took it home.
The sound of someone humming took her from her thoughts. She looked toward the back door at Gary Wall who was installing a new window. The door was open so he could move back and forth, working on both sides. Inspecting one side of the frame, he ran his fingers gently down the wood, now singing softly about no sunshine when she’s gone. A tune Sadie had always liked, one that captured the fine balance between melancholy and acceptance.
“I give your aunt grief every day for not snagging that man.” Moira came up beside Sadie and whispered in her ear. She shook her head. “I’ll never understand.” Taking a stack of invoices near Sadie, Moira turned and went back into the office.
Sadie smiled. She had to agree with Moira. Only a few years older than JoJo, Gary didn’t look a day over fifty. The years had been good to him. Maybe it was time for Sadie to ask JoJo point blank why she’d never let herself fall for him.
“Excuse me, ma’am.”
Lost in thought about her aunt, Sadie hadn’t heard anyone come through the front, the bell above the door not even drawing her from her thoughts.
She turned to see a man standing on the other side of the counter from her, a young boy about the age of eight in front of him, the man’s hands on the boys’ shoulders.
“Hello, there.” Sadie smiled. “I’m so sorry I didn’t hear you come in. How may I help you?”
“My name is Albert and my son here has something he’d like to tell you,” The man said.
Sadie looked at the boy who stared at the floor as if he wanted it to swallow him whole.
“Okay.”
“I’m so sorry, ma’am. I broke your window.” His voice was barely audible, his eyes still on the floor.
His dad squeezed his shoulders a bit.
The boy looked up at her, his eyes filled with fear as he fought back tears. “I’m so very sorry. I broke your window. My friends and I were playing baseball in the alley and we…” He looked down again.
“I see,” Sadie said as she nodded. A few days ago, she’d been irritated that no one had stepped up and admitted to breaking her window, but looking into this boy’s eyes made her heart melt in her chest. He was close to the age she was when her mother left and she’d lost her grandparents. The world could be a scary place for kid that young.
“Thank you for coming here to tell me,” Sadie said. “That was a brave thing to do.”
The boy looked up at her again and she made sure to smile at him. It wasn’t hard to see he hadn’t expected a friendly face on the receiving end of his apology.
“We talked in Sunday School about being honest,” he said then looked down.
“And he is more than willing to pay for the damages.” Albert looked over at Gary working on the window then back to Sadie. “However, I would like for Kenny to pay for it himself and that’s going to take a while as he saves up his allowance.”
Sadie saw Kenny swallow hard at his dad’s words. His allowance couldn’t be much at that age, and he probably envisioned being broke until he was eighteen. She pursed her lips together to hold back a chuckle. This poor kid.
“I tell you what. How about we make a deal?”
The furrowed brow of both the boy and his father did make Sadie chuckle.
“How about you work off the debt?”
“I don’t understand,” the boy said.
“This is a big shop and there is always something to dust or clean around here. If it’s okay with your dad, how about you come by after school, say, two days a week for a month and help me here in the store for an hour or two and that will make us even.”
Sadie could see Gary’s grin out the corner of her eye.
“Are you sure about that, ma’am?” Albert asked.
“I’m absolutely sure.” Sadie said with a nod.
The boy looked around the store, his eyes wide as he took it all in. “You’d trust me to do that?” he asked.
“I would.”
“Even after I broke your window?” His eyes cast down once again.
“Well, the way I see it, Kenny. Kenny, right?” Sadie asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” the boy nodded and looked at her.
“The way I see it is, we all make mistakes. And you owned up to yours and you were honest with me. It’s always good for us to face the consequences of our actions and one way you can do that is to help me.”
Kenny looked up at his dad. “Can I dad?”
“Yes, you may. I think Miss…” he looked at Sadie for help.
“Sadie. Sadie Woods.” She stuck out her hand for them both to shake, which they did.
“I think Miss Sadie is very kind and has a great idea for you to work off your debt.”
The front door opened, the bell sound tinkling through the air. Sadie looked over to see James come through the door, a teenaged girl right in front of him. With shoulder length hair the same shade as his and big blue eyes, it had to be his daughter, Maddie.
Not in his uniform, James had on worn jeans, a blue Henley shirt, and work boots. With a shadow of a beard and dark brown jacket, he had an outdoorsy vibe that every fiber in Sadie’s being responded to, including her cheeks flushing.
Whether he noticed her blushing or not, the man across from her smiled and thanked her again. “We’ll be going now, but Kenny will be here tomorrow after school if that works for you.”
“It’s perfect.” She turned her attention to the boy. “And thank you again, Kenny, for coming to tell me you broke my window. That took a lot of guts.”
“Excuse me.” James had made his way over to them as Maddie wandered toward the area of the store that held old books. “I couldn’t help but overhearing.” He pulled a baseball from his jacket pocket. “I think this might belong to you.” He held the ball out for the boy to see.
“It is! Thank you, mister!” Kenny said as he took the ball and looked at it as if he’d been handed a pot of gold he’d lost.
“James, this is Kenny and his dad, Albert.” Albert and Kenny, this is James Larsen. He’s our Deputy Sheriff and found the ball the other day.”
Kenny shrunk back a little at this news, clutching the ball a bit closer to his chest.
“Kenny came to apologize, and we just agreed on a plan for him to work off his debt.” Sadie smiled as she looked at Kenny and then James.
James reached out and shook Albert’s hand and then did the same with Kenny. “It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. Good for you, coming to Miss Sadie to tell her what happened. She’s a nice lady. I’m sure you’ll enjoy working for her.” James turned his attention to Sadie and winked.
Before her brain could process the effect his attention had on her, Albert said, “Well, we better be going. Thank you again, Miss Sadie, for your grace and understanding.”
“I’m glad to have met you both and I will see you tomorrow.” She pointed a finger at Kenny and smiled.
“Yes, ma’am.” Kenny nodded as his dad led them out the front door.
Sadie and James watched them both go. Once the front door was closed, James turned to Sadie. “That was a nice surprise. He seems like a good kid.”
“He does,” Sadie agreed. “It took guts for him to come and apologize.
“Agreed. It was good timing for you to come in while they were here and give him his baseball back.” Sadie wondered if there were any other reasons James stopped by, but she shooed those away from her thoughts.
“It was. I was actually coming to give it to you in case anyone showed up.” James looked over his shoulder at Maddie who now had her head buried in a book she’d found on the shelf.
“It’s also my day off and I picked up Maddie from school and wanted to spend some time with her.”
Sadie smiled. “That’s nice.”
James put his hands in his pockets, his eyes cast down. “I don’t get nearly as much time with her as I would like.” He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand then put it back in his pocket. “But I do what I can.”
It wasn’t hard to see how much James loved his daughter. Sadie couldn’t help but wonder if he carried more guilt than necessary though when it came to parenting.
“I don’t have children of my own, but what I know from friends who do is that parenting is hard. One of the hardest things in life.”
James looked at her. “That is the absolute truth.”
Neither of them said it out loud but Sadie sensed they were both thinking the same thing, which was James had to do it alone. It had been shocking news for the community when his wife had died, the local papers covering the story with vigor. James was a local hero to many, the Golden Boy who became an NFL star and now protected their town. However, other than knowing she’d driven her car into a tree, Sadie didn’t pay attention to any other details of his wife’s death. It wasn’t as if she and Tiffany had been friends and besides that, it wasn’t her business. And based on the weight Sadie could see James carrying over being a single dad, she couldn’t imagine the heaviness of grief he also carried over losing his wife.
Sadie turned her attention to Maddie. “Looks like she’s quite a reader.”
James looked at Maddie then back to Sadie, a smile on his face now. It was easy to see that the subject of her daughter lit him up from the inside out. “Reminds me of you when we were teenagers.”
Sadie blinked then stared at him. Like her when they were teenagers? He didn’t even know who she was when they were young. How did he…?
James chuckled. “I remember seeing you curled up in a chair in the library reading. It was intimidating how smart you were. How smart you still are.”
Sadie swallowed hard, her brain trying to catch up with all that he was saying. Not only did he know who she was, he had noticed her then. Noticed her enough to recall all these years later her favorite chair in the library, her place of refuge when the hallways full of high school drama became too much.
Aware that her face was now flushed with heat, her cheeks probably red beacons giving away how topsy-turvy her insides were, she looked down, shuffled some papers around on the counter.
All these years she’d thought he didn’t even know her name.
James’ smile wavered a bit. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
Sadie shook her head and blinked her mind back to working order. “No, no,” she waved her hands for a moment before folding them on the counter – the blessed counter that stood between them, holding her up. “I’m sorry. I just…I hadn’t thought about the library or that chair for quite a while.”
It felt like a decent save, but based on James’ grin he was aware there was more to her blushing than the thought of a chair. She needed to change the subject and do so immediately.
“It’s wonderful that Maddie loves to read.”
“It is.” James agreed. “I don’t have to battle her over being on her phone like some other parents of fifteen-year-olds I know, and for that, I’m grateful.”
Sadie moved from around the counter. “I’d be happy to show her some of my favorites.”
“That would be great. She will love that.” James looked around. “I’ll go say hello to Gary while you two talk books.”
“Sounds good.” Sadie made her way over to Maddie, if anything grateful for a moment out of James’ vicinity to catch her breath. Between the scent of his cologne, his blue eyes a swirl of emotions one moment and then teasing her the next, her heart rate was up and her mind still trying to wrap around James Larsen paying any attention to her whatsoever – as a teen or now as a grown woman.
She shook her head and approached his daughter. “Hello, there.”
Maddie looked up from the book in her hands. She tucked her hair behind her ear that had fallen forward while she was reading. “Hello.”
The girl’s twinkling blue eyes and the warmth of her smile made her the spitting image of her dad. Sadie looked over at James who was now deep in conversation with Gary about the window, then back to Maddie.
“I’m Sadie Woods. I own this shop. And you’re Maddie, yes?” Sadie stuck out her hand and the girl shook it.
“Really? That is so cool. And yes, I’m Maddie. When my dad said we needed to go by the antique shop today after school I thought that might be lame, but this place is amazing.”
Sadie smiled.
“Sorry. No offense. It’s not lame at all.”
“None taken. I get it. Antiques aren’t for everyone. For me, it’s the history of it all that I love.”
“I like history, too. Doesn’t make me the coolest kid at school, but whatever…”
Sadie searched Maddie’s face and her tone of voice for signs of sadness but found none. It was a statement of fact, not unlike how Sadie had felt in high school. She wasn’t a cool kid and quite frankly, was grateful. It always seemed so exhausting.
“What kinds of books do you like to read?”
“I like mysteries. And historical fiction.”
“Me, too!”
Sadie stepped past Maddie to reach for a book on the shelf just behind where Maddie stood. “This is one of my favorites. It has history, romance, and a bit of mystery all rolled into one.”
“That sounds awesome.” Maddie took it and turned it in her hand to read the back of the book.
“Take it. Read it and let me know what you think.”
“Really? I don’t mind paying for it. I have babysitting money I can use to buy it.”
Sadie put a hand on Maddie’s arm. “No need. It’s my gift to you, one history and mystery reading nut to another.”
Maddie laughed and hugged Sadie. “Thank you so much.”
Sadie’s heart melted as she watched the girl take the book and sit down on the floor to explore it more. One of Sadie’s favorite things was to sit on the ground, flipping through various books. She could do so for hours.
“What books are these?” Maddie asked, pointing at stacks on the floor near the shelves.
“Oh, well, those are ones I haven’t gone through yet. Quite a bit of stuff gets brought into the store and it takes time to go through it all. Of course, I know I take more time with books than anything else so those are a never-ending project.”
Maddie turned and moved to her knees so she could get a better look at the stacks. “These are so great. I would love to help you go through them.”
“Really?” Sadie tucked her hands into the back pocket of her jeans. “I’m afraid I can’t pay you though.”
“That’s okay. I have all half days of school next week leading up to Homecoming. It would give me something fun to do.”
Sadie smiled. “Sounds good, but only if it’s okay with your dad.”
“If what’s okay with her dad?” James asked. He’d come up behind Sadie, the timbre of his voice and warmth behind her sending a tingly wave through her system.
Maddie looked up as Sadie turned to him. “I want to help Miss Woods go through these books. Can I, Dad?”
James looked at his daughter then Sadie. “It’s fine by me. It would have to be after school, of course.”
Sadie looked up at James. He was close enough for her to wonder what it might be like for him to lean down and place a soft kiss on her lips.
“Sadie?”
She shook away the kissing fantasy and looked down at Maddie. “Of course. I would love the help.”
Get a handle on yourself, Woods.
Oblivious to her struggle James said, “That’s settled then. Come on, Mads. We need to go. We have a few more errands to run.”
“Yes, Dad.” Maddie stood, the book Sadie gave her tucked close to her chest.
“What’s that?” James asked.
“Miss Woods gave it to me.” Maddie held it close as if it were precious treasure.
“Sadie, please.”
Maddie nodded. “It was nice to meet you, Sadie. And thank you again for the book.”
Maddie stepped past them and headed toward the front door.
James pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “We need to go, but we’ll be seeing you soon, I guess. With Maddie helping you…”
“Yes. Sounds good. See you soon.”
James turned to leave but then stopped. With a turn of his head he said, “It was good to see you, Sadie.” And with another wink he was out the door and gone.