Chapter Two
With David safely at her mother’s, probably eating too many cookies and drinking too much chocolate milk, Sandra was free to shop. Parking in front of Sisters, she wasn’t at all surprised it was still there. The two sisters, one tall, one short, one blonde, one a redhead—at least they were when she’d left town—Sissy and Sister were such a part of the town landscape, things simply wouldn’t be the same without them.
A bell above the door jingled when Sandra pushed it open. The scent of the place brought back memories of shopping with her mom for school clothes, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and pretty much everything under the sun short of what they’d buy at the hardware store. So little had changed, those were probably the same clothing racks from her childhood.
“Welcome to Sisters. I’m Sissy. What can I get you?”
Sissy hadn’t changed. She was still tall and slender, and a redhead.
“You look familiar.” Sissy cocked her head. “I don’t forget a face.”
Could she really remember Sandra? Or was this a sales ploy? Of course the woman should remember her, a few years and a few pounds hadn’t changed her that much. When had she become so jaded? Oh, right. She’d run away to marry Prince Charming and wound up with Mr. Hyde. She’s divorced and jaded. “I grew up in Tuckers Bluff. Left when I got married.”
“Sandra Lynn, is that you?” Sister, her blonde beehive hairdo as big as ever, came out from behind the dressing room curtains. “I’d know that face anywhere.”
Sissy’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. Your mother was in earlier this week. So excited to have you and her grandson under her roof again she was bubbling like an overflowing glass of champagne.”
“What can I get for you today?” the other sibling asked with a broad smile.
Oh, how she’d missed all the smiling faces. In big cities, people stomped past, slammed doors in your face, and looked at you crazy if you smiled. It took Sandra a long time to remember not to smile at strangers. With the mention of each item on her list, the two sisters bustled around gathering what she wanted, occasionally raising a couple of items out for her to choose. There wasn’t any better customer service than in this place.
Wrapping up her purchases, Sissy glanced up. “You thinking of staying a while?”
“For the foreseeable future.” When she’d escaped the confines of this small town, she’d thought she’d never look back. Now, she couldn’t wait to settle in and make a life for herself and her son. A good life. A small part of her still hoped for the fairy tale.
“How lovely.” Sister’s smile widened. “I know your mama missed you.”
Sandra already knew that. Her mother had been coaxing her to come home ever since David had been born, and twice as hard since her dad died. Once she’d finally found the nerve to walk away from a bad marriage getting worse, there was no reason to say no. “I’m here now.”
“She is going to have so much fun spoiling that grandchild.”
Sandra bit back a grimace. “Yes, I know.”
“You have a great day.” Sissy handed her the bag with all of her purchases. “And tell your mama how happy we are to have you and that boy of yours back home where you belong.”
Where she belonged. Once upon a time she couldn’t wait to get away from the confines of a small town and see the world. She sure hoped coming home wasn’t a bigger mistake than leaving, but as hard as it was to admit, she didn’t have a choice. “Thank you.” Sandra tucked the bag into the back seat of her car and climbed into the driver’s seat. She took a moment to soak in the warmth of her interaction with the sisters. Yes, everyone knew your business, but she needed to remind herself that it was only because they all cared. She shuddered at the challenges of the busy place where she’d raised her son. Coming home might be difficult, but staying would have been worse. Here her son could breathe and enjoy his childhood. And living with her mom would give her the time she needed to get on her feet and save some money. In her mom’s big backyard, maybe they could build the tree house David always talked about. Not that she knew how to build one, but that’s what YouTube videos were for.
Enough lollygagging, she put the key in the ignition, but instead of the loud hum she’d expected, there was not a sound. “No. No.” She turned the key again. “You can’t die here.”
The last thing she could afford at this stage of the game was car repairs. She tried again, as if the first two tries didn’t count. Her heart pounding, she rested her head on the steering wheel. “Really, car? You only needed to go a few more miles.”
A deep voice carried into her car through the open window. “Is there a problem, miss?”
Miss. Sandra looked up into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. No, she’d seen those eyes before. A very, very long time ago. Back when she believed in dreams and princes and happily ever afters.
Paxton knew a damsel in distress when he saw one. He also couldn’t resist helping one. That’s how he was now looking under the hood of a car that should have died miles ago. Low on water, oil, and who knew what else, the car had to be running on love because it sure wasn’t running on anything else. “New in town?” Paxton made idle chit-chat as he poked at a few wires.
“Sort of. We’ve been driving for days. You’d think it could have lasted a few more. Do you know what’s wrong with it?”
Paxton knew his way around an engine as well as any guy, but he didn’t see an easy fix. “Might be the starter. You’ll have to call Ned. If anyone can get this old girl running again, it’s him. I can give him a call if you’d like. Unless you have someone else you can call to help?”
She shook her head.
“Give me a minute.”
“Is Ned very expensive?” Her expression told him this was not her first encounter with hard times.
How was he supposed to answer that one? “Depends. Starters could cost anywhere between five hundred and a thousand dollars.”
For a moment she looked about to cry. “I should sell it. I can walk anywhere in town for the most part.” Nodding at the car, she muttered, “Have to sell.”
“Of course, it could be something else.” Watching her struggle to maintain her composure unexpectedly twisted his gut and he found himself needing to somehow make things better for this stranger. “Maybe it will be a cheap fix.”
Again she bobbed her head, nibbling on her lower lip. The gesture seemed oddly familiar.
His call disconnected, and Ned from the garage on his way shortly, Paxton tipped his hat at her. “I’m Paxton, by the way. I’d be pleased to wait with you and take you home if you need a ride.”
“Hello. I’m Sandra.” An unexpected grin touched the corners of her mouth for a short moment. “And no offense, but I hope Ned can bring Betsy back to life with the turn of a screwdriver or maybe a kick of the tires.”
Skipping over the kick the tires comment, his mind stopped at Betsy. She named her car. How cute was that. Between the introduction and worrying about getting the car running, the woman flashed another brief smile. He couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about her, but if she was new in town then he couldn’t possibly have met her.
“I think this car has as many miles on it as it can, but Ned over at the garage can work miracles.”
Facing the car, she mumbled to herself, just loud enough for him to hear, “A miracle would be nice” then she pulled out her phone and frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s dead.”
Paxton removed his from his back pocket. “If you have someone to call, you can use mine.”
She shook her head. “That’s okay.”
As Ned promised, he pulled up with his tow truck—just in case. Five minutes later he was shaking his head and hooked up her car. Paxton couldn’t hear their conversation, but from the way she wrung her fingers together and nibbled on that lower lip, he knew whatever Ned had to say, she didn’t like it.
As Ned climbed into the tow truck, Sandra walked up to him. “If the offer of a ride is still open…”
“My pleasure.” He held the door while Sandra climbed into his truck. She gave him an address just at the end of town. When he pulled into the driveway, he scanned the old Victorian. “They don’t make houses like this anymore.”
“It’s my mother’s.”
A little boy came running down the front steps. “Mommy, Mommy, look what Grandma gave me!” Filled with glee, the little boy waved a paper airplane as though it were a private jet.
“How nice.” His mother leaned over to admire the small toy. “Go tell Grandma I’m here.”
Gathering her packages out of the back of his truck, Paxton felt an unexpected pang of disappointment. Where there was a son, there was a father, and that made this sweet enigma off limits.
“Sandra Lynn,” a voice called out from inside the house.
Sandra Lynn?His memory was firing on all pistons.
“There you are.” A woman whose face seemed almost as familiar as Sandra’s came hurrying out of the house. “Sandra Lynn, you do know how to make a mother worry.”
Holy, moly. No wonder the faces all seemed familiar. “Sandra Lynn Baker?” he muttered softly.
“Yes.” For the first time since he found her slumped over her steering wheel, a sincere smile bloomed. “I didn’t think you recognized me.”
“Sorry it took so long.”
“I’m the one who should apologize. I had you at a disadvantage. You still have the same face. I, on the other hand, look really different without long hair and braces.”
Yes, the braces were gone, her figure had obviously filled out, and her shoulder length hair that framed her face was at least a foot shorter than the single pony tail that had hung along her back, but those steel blue eyes, high cheek bones, and sweet smile was still the same.
She stuck out her hand. “Nice to see you again, and thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.”
“Which Farraday are you?” Smiling, the older woman squinted at him.
“Mom, this is Paxton. He brought me home. My car died in front of Sisters. He was nice enough to save me.”
Slapping her hands together, the woman’s grin widened. “Well, thank you, Paxton Farraday. I’ve got cookies just coming out of the oven. Won’t you come in?”
Paxton touched his hat. “Sorry, ma’am. I’ve got some business to take care of, but maybe a rain check?”
“Any time.”
“I’d better get inside too. See what David is up to.” Sandra stuck her hand out at him. “Thanks again.”
Bobbing his head at her, he wished he didn’t have to go find Owen. “My pleasure. If you need anything else, let me know.” Just because she was married didn’t mean he couldn’t help an old friend in need. He whipped out a business card and handed it to her.
Her gaze lingered on the card before sad eyes lifted to meet his. “Thank you.”
Turning away and hurrying back to his truck, he wondered what the story was with Sandra Lynn and those sad eyes. And why did he wish more than anything else right now that he could do something to put that smile back on her face.