Zach looked at her and his mouth twisted as he bit his lip. “My father.”
Chapter Nine
“He thinks the man I seen at the funeral was his father,” Amelia explained to Bailey.
Bailey set her glass on the coffee table and leaned back in the chair. “I don’t see why his father would show up and not say anything.”
Amelia shrugged her shoulders. “Probably doesn’t know how to approach Zach. The man hasn’t been involved in his life for a while.”
“That’s true. I guess time will tell. I wonder if he’ll make amends with Zach now that there’s an inheritance involved,” Bailey said as she crossed her leg over the other.
“Good question. I hope Zach doesn’t fall for his father’s antics,” Amelia said as she thought about Zach’s father. “I don’t see why he cares now.”
“People change, Amelia. He might be a better person now than he used to be.”
Amelia nodded. She thought of their trip to Bailey’s mother’s house. Her mother had left Bailey and her sister, Kim, when their father died. She had become an alcoholic and had nothing to do with the girls for six years. The visit had been overwhelming, but it had proved people do change. “You’re right, people do change. I hope Zach doesn’t get hurt.”
“I’m sure Zach will be prepared for his father’s visit,” Bailey assured Amelia. “Maybe his father isn’t in Fairshore anymore. Maybe he left town already.”
“One can only hope,” Amelia said without feeling guilty for saying it. She wanted the best for Zach. Having his father around might make things worse for him. She was worried the stress from everything would crush Zach.
“You should give Zach more credit. He’s stronger than you think he is,” Bailey firmly stated in a defensive tone.
Amelia sat back against the couch. “I give him plenty of credit. I never said he wasn’t strong.”
Bailey grabbed her glass and walked to her kitchen. “So have you decided what you two will be doing with the business and her house? Or is it still too soon to decide?” she hollered from the kitchen.
“He told me he needs more time. I’m letting him decide. I know we’re planning on taking over Anna’s Deli,” Amelia said as she walked to the kitchen. She filled her glass with water and looked at Bailey. Bailey listened intently. “Actually, we haven’t talked much about it.”
Bailey smiled. “The thought of you and Zach owning Anna’s Deli is…” She shook her head and smiled wide. “It’s amazing.”
Amelia smiled. “I’d do anything Zach wants at this point. He’s been through so much,” Amelia said. “I just want him to be happy.”
“You two are going places, Amelia,” Bailey said as she patted Amelia on her shoulder.
Amelia smiled. “I sure hope so.” She walked to the couch and sat down. “Speaking of places, how’s your mom doing?”
Bailey blushed. A faint smile creased her lips.
Amelia pointed a finger at her. “You haven’t been visiting your mom!”
Bailey threw her head back and let out a deep laugh.
“You’ve been going to Bexley to see Benny, haven’t you?” Amelia questioned as she laughed.
“Maybe,” Bailey stated as she held back a laugh. Amelia could see the shitty grin on Bailey’s face from a mile away.
“You’re so full of it! I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me all this time!” Amelia exclaimed and burst into laughter.
“I can’t believe it has taken you this long to figure it out,” Bailey admitted.
“I wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for mine and Zach’s talk last night.”
Bailey’s eyes grew wide. “You talked to Zach about it?”
Amelia nodded. “Of course! And that’s when I put the pieces together!”
Bailey covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no, now everyone will think I’m a floozy.”
The sound of laughter echoed throughout the house. Amelia laughed so hard, she was curled into a ball on the couch. “A floozy?!” Tears streamed from her eyes. “What kind of word is that?”
Bailey chuckled. “It means a woman who is promiscuous,” Bailey clearly defined the word.
Amelia sat up and wiped her eyes. She looked at Bailey. She had a straight face. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have laughed. You’re being serious.”
Bailey lightly chuckled. “Being a floozy isn’t the best thing to be called.”
“I’m sure there isn’t one person who will call you that,” Amelia assured her.
Bailey rolled her eyes and said, “Never know.”
“Anyways, what’s the story between you and Benny?” Amelia asked as she rubbed her hands together.
Bailey shook her head and waved a hand at Amelia. “Get out of here,” she said as she laughed.
Amelia crossed her arms in front of her. “No, I want to know.”
Bailey inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. “Okay, well, shortly after me and you got home from our trip, he called me!”
Amelia sat quietly as she listened. She watched excitement spring from Bailey’s face. She thought back to the day they had met Benny. They had arrived in Bexley and needed to stop at the gas station. Benny was the clerk at the gas station. Benny and Bailey had kicked off on a deep conversation. Amelia had known Bailey was interested in him from that moment on. What she hadn’t known was her best friend would fall head over heels for this guy.
“My mom said he had asked her for my phone number,” Bailey continued on. “So when he called me and asked me to come visit, I said I would.”
Amelia’s gut twisted at the thought of how carefree her friend was. “You went without anyone with you?”
Bailey raised an eyebrow. “Was I supposed to take someone with me?”
Amelia stood up and placed a hand on her hip. “He could’ve killed you!”
Bailey shook her head as she chuckled. “You’re so dramatic, Amelia. What has gotten into you?”
Amelia sat back down and looked at Bailey. Maybe she was being over dramatic, but her best friend could have been hurt. The world was full of crazy people who were willing and able to hurt others. “Sorry for worrying about you.”
Bailey stood up and sat down next to Amelia. “You’re my best friend. It’s okay for you worry about me.” She placed a hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “But you know I’m able to take care of myself.”
Amelia smiled. “So what’s going on then? Are you in a relationship or just friends or what?”
She couldn’t believe she wasn’t told about this. She had told Bailey everything about her and Zach’s relationship. She wondered why Bailey hadn’t told her about her and Benny.
“Well, he asked me to move to Bexley!” Bailey exclaimed.
Amelia was shocked. “What?!”
“Yes! He asked me a couple days ago!” Bailey exclaimed.
“Um, that’s great, Bai…” Amelia struggled to say the words. It wasn’t great. She hated the thought of her best friend leaving town.
“You don’t think it’s a good idea, do you?” Bailey asked.
“It’s not that at all. It’s just…” Amelia struggled to find the words to describe how she felt.
“It’s just you think you’re losing me,” Bailey finished her sentence for her.
“Well, yeah, kind of.” Amelia admitted. “I know it sounds hideous or childish.”
Bailey shook her head. “No, I understand.”
Amelia shrugged a shoulder. “It’s just you’re my best friend, and aside from Zach, you’re all I have here.”
“Amelia, I’m not sure what I’m going to do,” Bailey stated.
For some reason, Amelia found a little relief. It felt like a temporary reassurance she wouldn’t lose her friend. “Can’t he move here? Your house is big enough.”
Bailey shook her head. “I don’t think he’d move here.”
Amelia’s eyebrows furrowed. “Well, why not? Is he too good to live here?”
Bailey chuckled as she watched Amelia get riled up. �
�No, it’s not that. I’m sure he’d love to live here, but there are no job opportunities here.”
Amelia thought about what Bailey’s mother had told them. Benny was a jack-of-all-trades. “I’m sure he could find something here.”
Bailey frowned. “It’s not just him, Amelia. It’s me. I’d love to move there and live close to my mom.”
Amelia’s heart sank. Those were the words she dreaded to hear. She knew it was inevitable her friend would leave. She just didn’t know when. “You two kind of rushed things, don’t you think?”
Bailey pointed a finger into her chest and said, “Me? Let’s talk about you and Zach.”
She had a point. Amelia knew she and Zach had rushed into a relationship, but it had felt right. Amelia nodded. “Okay, you got me there. But still, do you know everything about him?”
“Did you know everything about Zach?”
Amelia thought about her question. She hadn’t known anything about Zach when they had their first date. That’s what dates are for, aren’t they? Amelia laughed. “No, I didn’t. That’s what the dates were for.”
“Exactly. Even after those, you still didn’t know everything.”
“Yes, I know. But I do now,” Amelia confirmed.
“My point has been proven,” Bailey stated confidently.
Amelia shook her head and laughed. “So, when are you going to move?”
“That’s still being decided,” Bailey said with a grin.
Amelia shrugged and said, “That’s fine. I’m moving with you.”
Chapter Ten
“I’m thinking we should go to the store and stock the shelves,” Zach suggested.
He stood in the doorway to their bedroom. He watched her as she dried her hair with a towel. “How was the shower?”
“It was nice,” she answered. “What time are you thinking about going?”
“Here after ‘while. I want to get there before eleven,” Zach told her.
She looked at the clock on the nightstand – 9:56. “Okay, let me finish my hair and we can go.”
Zach nodded his head and left the room. She slid her legs into her jeans and buttoned them. She walked to her closet and picked out a shirt to wear. She chose the shirt her mother had given her for Christmas. She walked into the bathroom and blow-dried her hair. She neatly put her hair into a messy bun. After she put a thin layer of makeup on her face, she walked downstairs.
Zach waited by the front door. She rounded the corner in the hallway and walked toward him. He let out a low whistle, which caused her to blush. “Look at you,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes and waved a hand at him. “Whatever,” she said. “Let’s go.”
He reached around her and grabbed the keys off the stand by the door. He held the door open as she walked through it. “After you.”
She was impressed by his manners. Men who held doors and guided their women by the arm were hard to find nowadays. “Thank you,” she said to him as she passed through the doorway.
Zach drove her car to Anna’s Deli. When they arrived in the parking lot, Amelia studied the building. A lot had changed in the course of six months. The building showed wear from the weather they’d had. Amelia wondered how many rough winters the old building had survived. She wondered what the inside looked like. She prayed there wasn’t any damage inside. In the winter, frozen pipes which burst were common. She looked at Zach who had a firm grip on the steering wheel. His knuckles were white. She reached over and touched his arm. He startled and turned his head to face her. She asked him, “Are you alright?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“If you can’t…”
He interrupted her, “I can. It’s just depressing. I thought for sure my grandma would be able to reopen her store. I didn’t think it’d be us who were left to do the honors.”
Amelia watched as his facial expression turned somber. She had hope owning and running this store would help comfort him. She hoped it provided him with a feeling of satisfaction. She wanted something to help him through the death of his grandma. “I know she wouldn’t want anything else.”
She reached for his hand. He squeezed it. “What would I do without you?”
Amelia smiled and shook her head. “You’ll never find the answer to that question.”
He smiled. “Thank you for being here with me.”
“I can’t imagine where else I’d be,” Amelia reassured him. “Let’s go in and check it out, should we?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Zach placed his key into the lock. With a turn of the key, the door clicked and unlocked. He glanced at Amelia and smiled. “Here we go. Let’s hope everything is okay in here.”
Amelia nodded and wrapped her arm through his. They walked through the door together and ventured inside the store.
“Looks like it’s still in good shape,” Zach confirmed as they walked through the store. He checked the ceiling and lights. “No sign of water damage on the ceiling. I wasn’t sure if the roof would hold up during the winter.”
Amelia walked through the aisles with him. It amazed her the aisles and shelves were as empty as they were. It still shocked her to think about what the news of a big snowstorm could do to a small town store. It pained her to think about Anna not being able to reopen her store, but she knew Zach would make it happen. She had no doubt they could manage it.
“Pipes are still good,” he said as he turned the water on in the back room. The hopper sink filled with clear warm water. “This is a good sign.”
“Yes, it is. A very good sign,” Amelia agreed.
“The UPS guy said he would drop the supplies off in the back entryway. Let’s see if he has dropped them off yet,” Zach insisted as he walked to the door to the entryway.
Amelia followed him into the narrow hallway and into the entryway. Big brown boxes were piled five feet high along the walls. “Looks like they’re here.”
Zach took the top box and handed it to Amelia. “Should we unpack and restock?”
Amelia grabbed scissors in Anna’s office and sliced open the box. She repeated the process as she opened all of the boxes and helped Zach restock the shelves.
Twelve boxes later, the shelves didn’t look bare. They had the shelves stocked with the main necessities. Product lined the shelves in all seven of the aisles.
Amelia asked what time Zach had on his watch. He answered her with 1:27.
“Not bad timing, huh?” Amelia stated.
“You did a good job,” he confirmed. “Not bad for a first-time business owner.”
Amelia smiled. “You have to remember, I worked here for a few months.”
Zach reached for her and brought her close to his body. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his lips against hers. She felt a rush of emotion as he let her go. She glanced around the store and wiped tears from her eyes.
He placed a hand gently on her back and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Amelia shook her head as she fought back the emotion. She needed to be strong for him. There was no time for her to be weak and cry to him, especially since it was his grandma who had passed away. She looked away from him. He touched her chin and turned her head to face him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked again. His face was stricken with concern.
Amelia looked into his eyes. She couldn’t stand to be weak in his presence. “Nothing, I’m fine.”
He swiped a piece of her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. “You’re thinking about my grandma, aren’t you?”
Amelia felt weak. Tears poured from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. He tried to wipe them away, but failed when too many fell. “I liked her. She was a good person, Zach.”
Zach hugged her. He held her tight against his chest. “Yes, she was. She was a great person.”
“I don’t know if I can run the store without her here,” Amelia admitted. “I don’t think I can be here and not see her. It won’t be the same.”
Zac
h cradled her in his arms as he swayed back and forth. “We don’t have to think about it right now, okay? We’ll discuss everything later, okay?”
She felt weak when she needed to be strong. She knew she had been strong for too long. It was time for her to be weak, and for Zach to be strong.
Chapter Eleven
Amelia unlocked the grocery store door. She flipped the closed sign around. The store would open for the first time since it was closed in August. After she and Zach had restocked the shelves, they had discussed the fact she would be in charge of Anna’s Deli while he would continue to be in charge of Gallagher’s Furniture. They had agreed it would make sense for Amelia to take over Anna’s because she had worked at the store for a few months before it had closed.
Amelia walked to the front counter. She turned on the cash register and opened the drawer. She opened the pouch she had carried in and slid the money out. She stocked the register with bills and some change. She slammed the register shut and it chimed its familiar tone. Amelia smiled.
The bell above the door rang. Amelia turned around to look at who walked in. A woman with blonde hair stood in the doorway with a look of disgust on her face. Amelia’s stomach twisted when she realized who the woman was. She wished she wasn’t the only one in the store at the moment. She pretended she wasn’t. She was taught to never show fear.
“May I help you?” She asked in a polite tone. She needed to play it cool, no matter how difficult it would be.
The woman smirked. She walked closer to Amelia. Amelia tensed. “I came to tell you that you should let Zach be with me,” the woman sneered.
Amelia stood frozen in one spot. She could not believe Crazy Courtney would come into the store. She couldn’t believe this crazy woman would confront her. Amelia glanced at Crazy Courtney’s stomach. She was obviously pregnant. Amelia guessed her to be about eight months, give or take. Amelia shook her head. She told herself to show no fear. Courtney would leave soon.
“Don’t shake your head at me. You have no idea who I am,” Crazy Courtney clarified. “You only know what Zach has told you about me.”
Unexpected Chances (Fairshore Series Book 2) Page 4