Chapter 12
LACEY
“I can’t believe all the stuff they left behind.
” I opened up another cardboard box. I’d conned Zina into helping me sort through some of the stuff left in the warehouse.
Shelves filled with boxes lined the walls.
Valentine’s decorations mixed in with birthday party paper supplies.
We’d even come across an entire pallet full of garden gnomes.
“They had a very eclectic assortment.” Zina held up a figurine. “Why in the world would they carry something like this? I don’t even know what it is.”
I paused sorting through a carton of novelty pencil toppers. “Maybe they had an order to supply the high school mascot. Or one of their retailers could be big into beavers.”
Zina snorted. “Big into beavers or into big beavers?”
The beaver’s tail seemed disproportionately large based on the smaller size of its body. “Either way, they sure have a lot of beavers.”
“Who’s got a lot of beavers?” Bodie rounded a tall shelving unit.
My face heated. “What are you doing here?”
“Saw your truck parked out front and wanted to make sure everything was okay.” He had on a pair of jeans and a button-down flannel plaid shirt.
It was nice to see him outside of his usual deputy uniform.
Reminded me of when we used to just be friends, not grown-ups trying to navigate a new professional relationship.
“I meant to lock the door. Zina and I are just taking a look at the inventory. Your family sure has some interesting tastes.” I took the ceramic beaver from Zina’s hands. “Any idea why they’d have hundreds of breakable beavers?”
Now Bodie’s cheeks tinged pink. “No idea. They’re the high school’s mascot, right? Maybe they ordered them or they’re for a festival or something.”
“The breakable beaver festival?” Zina asked.
I stifled a laugh. Bodie reached for the ceramic figurine. “Who knows? If there was a market for it, I’m sure my dad had a good reason.”
“How’s Shotgun doing?” Zina asked.
Bodie’s eyes lit up as he set the beaver down on the shelf. “She’s doing great. I’ve actually got her out in the truck if you want to say hi.”
“I’d love that. Y’all carry on, I’m going to go give her a treat.”
I loved the fact that my friend didn’t go anywhere without a pocketful of dog treats. Zina made her way down the long aisle of shelves and disappeared into the front office.
“So how’s it going? Find anything interesting?” Bodie asked.
“Not really. Tons of Valentine’s decor and a bunch of weird stuff.”
“Like cases of beavers?” His lips split into a teasing grin.
“Yes, exactly like that,” I agreed. “Are your dad and pops still trying to get all of this precious stuff back? There’s a lot of it but I can’t imagine it’s worth much.”
“What are you planning on doing with it?”
“Well, some of it we can probably use.” I fingered a bolt of white tulle netting. “I’m thinking of liquidating the rest so we can finance the project. If your family wants it back bad enough, I suppose they can buy it from us.”
Bodie’s long fingers traced the rim of his hat. “Sounds fair enough. How quick are you looking to move on it?”
“Quick. Adeline heard what we’re doing and wants to be our first client so she moved her wedding from September to May.” I closed the box I’d been checking. “That’s good timing anyway since most weddings take place from June to October.”
“You sure are becoming quite the expert on the subject.” Surprisingly, his tone held no judgment.
“It’s kind of fun. A nice break from slinging burgers.”
“I bet.” He glanced toward his boots and shuffled his feet around. “Hey, as long as we have a second . . .”
I looked up. Those gorgeous gray eyes focused in on me, making it impossible to look away.
He bit his lip. If I didn’t know him any better, I might think he was nervous.
But Bodie Phillips didn’t get nervous. He didn’t get flustered, either—at least not unless he found himself holding a breakable beaver.
“What’s up?”
He shifted his weight, finally releasing me from that penetrating gaze. “I wanted to apologize for yesterday. The way my dad and pops acted over at your place. It was—”
“It was fine.” I took a step toward him. “Obviously they’re upset. I would be, too, if I dropped the ball and cost myself a mint.”
“The stuff they said though. I just want you to know that I don’t feel the same way they do.”
I gulped in a breath. It wasn’t like Bodie to talk about feelings. He kept things lighthearted. Even when my mom passed, Bodie was the one who made me laugh again, who reminded me how to have fun. “How exactly do you feel?”
I’d reached him by then and stood next to where he leaned against a shelf full of cherub-shaped tumblers. “That’s just it. I don’t know. My gut tells me something’s going down with the family business. Dad’s been talking to Buck Little a lot.”
“Yeah, he said he’s moving his operation to Swynton for some big tax cut.” I scoffed. “My dad said they had that conversation many times over the years.”
“Be careful.”
I eyed him through narrowed lids. “Careful of what?”
“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. Something’s off.”
“You aren’t responsible for the actions of your dad and your pops, you know.” My breath caught in my chest as he lifted his gaze to meet mine.
Our fingers brushed. “I know. There’s still no excuse for it though, and I don’t want you to get mixed up in it.”
“What do you want, Bodie?” Silence pressed down around us. My heartbeat thundered in my ears as his gaze flickered to my mouth.
He took a step even closer, invading my personal bubble of space. “I want . . .”
I wet my lips with my tongue, uncomfortably aware of the ball of warmth gathering in my core. “Yes?”
He leaned down, his gaze searching mine.
My heart dipped, flipped, and tripped around in my chest. Just like the time I tried to boogie-board down in Galveston and got swept up in a wave then tossed and tumbled to shore, not knowing which way was up.
He lowered his head, his mouth moving closer to mine. The realization that he was about to kiss me engulfed me, flooding all other thoughts out of my head.
I fisted one hand in the front of his shirt and held on to his shoulder with the other.
As my knees gave out, he gathered me against him, his strong arms pulling me tight to his chest. My breath caught in my throat as I focused on the midpoint of his bottom lip, so eager to feel his mouth on mine.
I let my eyes drift closed then waited, the anticipation almost too much to bear.
A loud crash came from the front-office area. Bodie pulled back, his eyes unfocused like he’d just been jerked out of a dream.
Shotgun bounded through the warehouse, headed straight for us. When she reached us, the dog jumped to her hind legs and bounced up and down, trying to lick Bodie’s face.
“I’m okay,” Zina yelled from the front room.
“What happened?” I shouted.
Zina joined us, holding a frayed piece of leash. “She looked so sad in the truck I wanted to bring her in. I didn’t realize she’d chewed halfway through her leash though.”
As the shock wore off, I stepped back, unsure about meeting Bodie’s gaze. “You’ve got your hands full.”
“She’s keeping me on my toes.” Bodie barely looked at me as he rubbed his hands over Shotgun’s head. “I’d better get home. You’ll let me know when you decide to hold the sale?”
“Absolutely.” I touched a finger to my lips.
Bodie picked up the ceramic beaver. “Yeah, there are some real finds here. Make sure you lock up if you’re here by yourself.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet? You looking out for her like that?” Zina landed a playful swat on Bodie’s arm. “Seems like old times.”
“Right.” But the look he gave me didn’t seem like old times at all. There was something new simmering in the depths of his eyes. I wasn’t sure what to call it, but it made me feel exposed. It made me feel vulnerable. It made me feel like tucking tail and running as far and as fast as I could.
“Well, that was fun,” Zina commented once Bodie left. “What do you think he really wanted?”
“What do you mean? He said he saw my truck and wanted to make sure all was okay.” I shrugged, not wanting to talk about the almost-kiss until I’d had a chance to mull it over on my own. “What’s so weird about that?”
Zina lifted a small box from a lower shelf and began to cut the tape holding it closed. “Personal safety checks from the deputy sheriff? Is that typical?”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t know why not. Based on the way the employees feel about the warehouse closing, I suppose someone could come by and start some trouble.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Zina turned to face me, a ring of fake flowers resting on top of her thick, black hair. “Am I ready for the Renaissance festival?”
Grateful for the change of subject, I grinned. “You know what would be fun?”
“What?” Zina picked up a lacy fan and fluttered it against her chest.
“What if we use some of this stuff for theme weddings?” I fingered the edge of Zina’s flowery headband. “So far we’ve got typical wedding decor, cherubs, Renaissance stuff . . . we could come up with some fun themed decor from stuff we already have right here.”
“You know what? I think you’re onto something.” Zina smiled.
“Really?”
“Sure. What bride wouldn’t want her guest tables decorated with unicorn poop?” She opened the top of the box in front of her and lifted a bundle of rainbow-colored streamers.
“I’m serious.” I swatted at the ribbons.
“Oh, I’ve no doubt you are.” Zina took off the flowery headband. “Just let me know how I can help.”
“Really?” I turned toward my friend.
“I know I’m going to get roped into this one way or another. I guess I’d rather go willingly.”
“That’s the spirit.” I glanced around at all the boxes we hadn’t checked yet. “I wonder what kind of wedding Adeline wants.”
“Knowing her, nothing but the best. Are you really going to let her be your first client?”
“Someone’s got to be first. May as well be her. You know she’ll get the word out.”
Zina shook her head. “She’s never had a problem with being the center of attention.”
“You know . . .” I tapped a finger to my lip. “You’re right about that.”
“Uh-oh. I know that look. What are you thinking?” Zina asked.
“What if we use Adeline’s wedding as a publicity move? I could see if I can get a magazine or newspaper or something interested in doing a piece about it.”
“That might actually work.”
“Really?” Zina usually shot down my ideas before they fully formed, so the fact she supported this one made it seem almost too good to be true.
“Sure, why not? Adeline would be thrilled, you’d get some free publicity,”—she shrugged her shoulders—“What have you got to lose?”
“All right. Let’s do it.” I nodded. “I’ll start looking into places to contact tomorrow.”
“Who’s going to coordinate with the bride-to-be?” Zina’s brow arched.
My stomach pitched at the thought of spending time with the woman who’d made my high school years such a living hell. “You said you’d help, right?”
“Oh hell to the no on that. I can’t stand to be within five miles of that woman.”
“Then I think it’s going to have to be me. Until we have a chance to get things set and have enough funds to hire someone to manage things, this will probably be a volunteer effort.”
“On top of working at the Burger Bonanza and being mayor?” Zina continued to stare at me, her brow lifted into a perfect arch.
“It’s not like I have much of a social life. It’ll be good to stay busy. Besides, the town needs this.”
“The town needs this, or you need this?” Zina’s gaze bored into mine. “I know you feel like you’ve got to polish off the Cherish name after your dad—”
“It’s not about that.” I nodded, trying to convince myself that Zina hadn’t hit the nail square on the head. “If I’m going to be mayor, I’ve got to look out for the whole town. That means the economy, the people—”
“And if you do enough good maybe people will forget about how your dad’s term ended?” Zina pressed.
I let out a gruff breath. “Fine. If that’s a side benefit, I’m not going to complain.”
“So when is this big sale happening?”
“How long do you think it’s going to take us to go through the rest of these boxes?”
Zina’s gaze drifted around the room. “You buying pizza tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Then let’s get a move on.”
I grinned. It was good to be back in a place where I had friends who would go the extra mile for me, where people had my back, where I felt like I might be able to make a difference. Even if it did mean fighting off the feelings for Bodie I’d hauled around with me for as long as I could remember.
He might believe in putting family first, but I believed in putting the town first. Forging attachments would only slow me down and hurt me in the long run.