Chapter 27
Shane marveled at the changes that had come to Magnolia Shore in the few months that he’d been here.
When he’d arrived, October had just started burnishing the trees in gold and orange.
There had been a faint chill in the air, one that was usually banished by the warmth of the afternoon sunlight before the day was done.
Now, with December right around the corner, the trees were all but bare, and the whistling wind was bitingly cold.
And poor Shane, who had spent the past two decades in California, was suffering.
Well, he was suffering due to the weather. Everything else was pretty gosh darn perfect.
But Eleanor nearly fell off her chair laughing every time she saw Shane bundle up like he was heading out for an Arctic expedition just so he could walk through the streets of town.
“You’re from the Midwest!” she chortled. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen a winter before. What are you going to do when it starts to snow?”
He made a snotty, little brother-ish face at her. “Don’t wish such harm on me, Ellie! You’re supposed to love me, not try to chase me back to California!”
Eleanor was unbothered by this threat. “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Unless they suddenly open a branch of the Magnolia Shore Historical Society in San Francisco, you’re here to stay.”
Shane didn’t bother bantering with her about that, since he was too busy grinning.
He was thrilled with how things had been going with Winnie these past few weeks, and it made him feel even better to have his sister’s support.
He hadn’t really doubted that Eleanor would be on his side, but he knew that it made a big difference to Winnie to know she was on good footing with her newfound friendships.
And he found that he cared a lot about Winnie being happy. About her feeling safe and secure.
And about spending as much time with her as he could. Which was why he was trudging along the street, feeling like his nose was about to freeze off his face, to meet her at Nautical Crafts.
Shane hunched deeper into the collar of his jacket, tugging his scarf up higher around his ears.
Across the street, he saw Garrett, who raised a hand in greeting.
He was wearing a denim jacket with the hood of a sweatshirt poking out of the collar.
He hadn’t even pulled up the hood. Shane felt like he and Garrett had to be traversing two different climates, never mind that there was only a few yards of pavement between them.
He'd be in better shape next winter, he promised himself. Then he grinned at the idea that he was already thinking about Magnolia Shore as a place to make his long-term home. His business was already attracting a few clients, and he found that the shine wasn’t going off his work the longer he did it.
He liked helping people, rather than faceless corporations or clients he would never meet.
He liked feeling like he was really helping out his community.
He had flat out refused to let Eleanor pay him, however, even after he’d worked out some of the kinks in her bookseller software. Flat out refused.
“If you try to pay me for tech assistance, then I’m going to pay you for room and board these past few weeks,” he threatened.
She’d looked extremely affronted.
“Don’t you dare! You’re my little brother.”
“My point exactly,” he had said smugly, which had put an end to the matter.
The other clients he’d attracted were paying clients, however, so he was feeling pretty optimistic about his chances of making this work… of making Magnolia Shore his permanent home.
He chuckled at himself. Who would have thought it? He had never seen himself as a small-town sort of person, but now that he was here, there wasn’t anywhere else he would rather be.
He arrived at the front door of Nautical Crafts.
He could already see Winnie inside, standing in a cluster with June, Cadence, and Diana.
She was explaining something passionately, her hands fluttering around and a broad grin on her face.
He paused for a moment just to watch her, letting pride settle over him like a warm blanket.
She’d come so far. He knew that putting herself out there still didn’t come easily.
Over the past few weeks, Winnie’s fears had reared up several times, although she was getting faster and faster at dispelling those moments of self-doubt.
He tried to always lend her the ear she needed, as he’d soon seen that was really all that was required in order for her to take enough space and time to gather her courage anew.
She was growing, and he could not be any more delighted.
Delighted… but also cold. Darn this autumn in New England business.
He went inside, and the bell above the shop door tinkled, causing all four women to turn in his direction. They all smiled, but Winnie’s smile was the brightest.
“Hi!” she said, coming over at once to press a kiss against his cheek. “Thanks for coming to meet me.”
“Of course,” he said, waving to the other three. “Did you guys find anything fun for Benjamin?”
This had been the purpose of their mission today: to find some crafts for Benjamin, who was still feeling a little bit down after his diabetes diagnosis.
Shane’s understanding was that this was both because he was still recovering from the news and because he needed to take some time to physically recover from the time that he had been untreated.
And though Shane obviously felt bad that the little boy was sick, it did feel…
important that he knew what was going on in this community.
It made him feel like he could contribute, like he could help other people.
He'd never really had that in San Francisco. He’d had his little circle of friends, yes, but he hadn’t really felt connected to the city as a whole.
He had needed to move to a small town to learn that lesson.
“They have a bunch of these ‘paint by sticker’ books that he loves,” June said happily, brandishing them in Shane’s direction. Diana took advantage of her distraction to snatch the books from June’s hand.
“Which are going to be a gift from his Auntie Diana,” she said cheerfully, using her greater height to stop June from snatching them back. Eventually, June gave up with a huff… but a huff that was undercut by a smile.
“Yeah, fine, fine, see me fight you about buying the stickers,” June said with an affectionate eye roll.
“Let’s take it to the streets, Caldwell,” Diana joked.
“Children, please. Don’t fight,” Cadence chimed in with a laugh.
“Well, not that this bickering isn’t delightful,” Winnie added, “but I’m going to head off with my guy here. No bloodshed, huh?”
“No promises,” June teased as all three women waved farewell to Winnie.
Together, she and Shane walked arm in arm back outside. He didn’t feel the cold with her at his side…
Okay, that was a lie. He was still very cold. But he didn’t mind it quite so much.
“My poor Californian,” Winnie teased when he shivered. “Should we get something to warm you up?”
“Yes, please,” he said, affecting a larger shiver just to make her laugh.
They veered toward the Juniper Café for a little pick-me-up. She told him about her day, which was mostly her still riding the high of her success at work, and he shared his successes.
“I got another client,” he said happily. “This is a small art supply chain. They have I think four stores in the area, and I’m going to be the go-to tech guy for all of them.”
“Yay!” Winnie said. “You’re crushing it. And I promise that I am happy about that both for you and because I am selfish and want you to stay here forever.”
“Wow, so selfish,” he teased. “It’s the worst flaw I can think of that you like me enough to want me to stay around.”
She sighed. “I know, it’s just a burden you’ll have to bear.”
“So tough,” he agreed, only holding the solemnity for another moment or so before they both dissolved into laughter.
Shane knew it was supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows at the beginning of a relationship, but surely not everyone was this happy? It seemed impossible. This had to be an extra special level of happiness.
“Are you ready for our double date this evening?” he asked. They were going out to dinner with Eleanor and Garrett after the bookstore closed for the day, and he knew that Winnie had been a little bit anxious about it.
She tucked her head into his shoulder, and it was one of the greatest feelings.
“You know what?” she said. “I actually am.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah.” She paused, tugging him to a halt with her, and then pulled him down for a quick kiss, right there in the middle of the street. “I feel like I can do anything, as long as you’re here with me.”
Thank you so much for reading!