Harlequin Love Inspired March 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Marta Perry

  Tucking the phone into the back pocket of her jeans, Christa studied the array of paint chips, unable to forget the look on Sadie’s face when she had so candidly said that her parents had died. The matter-of-fact revelation was one Christa understood all too well.

  When her mother passed away, Christa only had a general idea of what that meant. That her mom wasn’t coming home. What her little five-year-old mind couldn’t comprehend was that she’d never see her again. She hadn’t been prepared for how fiercely she’d miss her mother. What first seemed like an adventure she and her dad had embarked upon soon turned into a heart-wrenching quest to find a new norm. She’d never cried so many tears. Her poor father had done his best to console her, usually to no avail, all the while struggling to come to terms with his own grief.

  Locating the right shade for Sadie’s room, she grabbed the card, knowing there was no way she could let Mick and Sadie go through this transition without some support. Her support. She had no idea what that might look like, but for now, she would focus on Sadie’s room.

  The little girl had seemed excited when she showed Christa the corner room last night. It had two windows that would offer lots of natural light, which was good since the space wasn’t that big. This light periwinkle would be perfect for the walls. In her online research last night, she’d come across a comforter set that had shades of aqua, fuchsia and yellow that would pop nicely against the walls, without overpowering the room. Then they could add some cute toy bins, hang some pictures…and there had to be a photo of Sadie’s parents, perhaps in a pretty frame, someplace where Sadie could easily access it. Christa used to worry she’d forget what her mother looked like. She didn’t want Sadie to have those same fears.

  Fueled with excitement, she retrieved her phone and typed a text to Mick.

  I’ve got Sadie’s room all planned.

  And she could hardly wait to get started. Of course, she’d have to show him her ideas first.

  She hit Send and started toward the front of the store. The late-morning lull was nearing its end. Things were always busy at lunchtime, with people dropping by to pick up one thing or another while they were on break.

  She was about to tuck the phone in her pocket when she felt it vibrate. She looked at the screen to see Mick’s response.

  Great. Will stop by this afternoon.

  Emerging from the narrow paint supply aisle, she pocketed her phone and paused to rearrange the basket of hand pruners and work gloves on the getting-ready-for-spring display as one of her employees hollered.

  “It’s snowing!”

  Christa strolled toward the large windows behind the counter with the cash registers to join her employees in observing the wintry scene. Snow was a rare treat on the coastal plains of Texas and would probably be over in no time.

  “You don’t s’pose we’ll need to close up early, do ya?” Patsy Rodriguez, Christa’s assistant manager, came alongside her.

  She cast an incredulous look at the sturdy, fifty-year-old redhead. “On account of snow? When was the last time that happened?”

  “Back when I was in high school.” Patsy nodded. “’Course, right about the time things started looking real pretty and white, it turned over to ice.”

  “I remember that,” said Zach Munger, who usually worked out in the store’s lumberyard. “I was only in the fourth grade but, as I recall, the whole town pretty much shut down for the better part of a week.”

  “A week?” Christa couldn’t hide her surprise. “That must have been a mighty cold winter.”

  “Worst I can remember.” Patsy shook her head.

  “Me, too.” Audrey Monroe’s long silver hair shimmered under the fluorescent lights as she stared out the window. “Temps dipped way down into the teens and pipes were bursting all over town.”

  Definitely not the norm for this part of Texas. Still… “I highly doubt there will be a need to close early today. But if there is, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

  The steady flow of customers between noon and one o’clock was no surprise, though the items they were purchasing were definitely out of the norm. They were snatching up batteries, firewood, flashlights and those foam faucet covers faster than they could restock them, making her wonder if they knew something she didn’t.

  The white flakes were still coming down when Wes Bishop, a local contractor who was married to Christa’s friend Laurel, blew into the store at one thirty.

  “Have you got any firewood left?” Wes dusted snow from his dark hair.

  “I believe we do.” She motioned for him to follow as she made her way toward the back of the store. “Don’t tell me you’re getting all riled up about this snow, Wes.”

  “I wasn’t. But now they’ve issued an ice storm warning.”

  Stopping abruptly, she turned to face him. “When did they do that?” And why wasn’t she aware?

  “I got the notification on my phone just a little while ago.”

  She yanked her phone from her pocket and looked at the screen. Sure enough. In effect until noon tomorrow with up to half an inch accumulation of ice. “I had no idea.” She turned the ringer on before pocketing the phone.

  “According to the radio,” Wes continued, “things are going to deteriorate quickly.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Wish I was. I don’t have much firewood at the house. And if the electricity goes out, Laurel, Sarah-Jane and I will be huddled in front of the fireplace.”

  “Won’t we all.” Except Christa didn’t have a fireplace. Not a working one, anyway.

  She continued toward the back of the store and opened the door to discover only half a dozen bundles of wood remained. And while they were decent size bundles… “Looks like this is all I’ve got, Wes.”

  “That’s okay. It’s more than I have right now, so I’ll take it all.”

  On their way to the cash register, her phone beeped. She pulled it out to see a text from Mick.

  Change in plans. School canceled. Gotta pick up Sadie.

  She looked at Wes. “Apparently they’ve called off school.”

  “Good move. Buses and icy roads don’t mix.”

  “Is it icing already?” She moved behind the counter.

  “No, but when you’re talking about the safety of kids, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Wes paid for his wood. “I’ll drive around back and load up.”

  “Sounds good. Stay safe and tell Laurel I said hi.”

  As Wes left, Christa’s phone signaled another text. Mick again.

  Better get on home early. Do you need firewood?

  Firewood? Not when she didn’t have a functional fireplace. When she’d had the chimney cleaned and inspected two years ago, they’d said it had a crack that would need to be repaired before it could be used, so she’d opted to paint the firebox and use it for decorative purposes only. She never imagined she might actually need it for heat.

  Her thumbs hovered over the screen a moment before she typed, I don’t have a working fireplace. She hit Send before she could think better of it.

  Seconds later he responded.

  You didn’t fix that crack? What if power goes out?

  As if that was something she’d even considered a possibility. However, if any of those limbs from the big oak trees she loved so much fell and took down a power line, she and Dixie would be in the dark. Or, more to the point, the cold. And if the roads were icy, the power company might not be able to get to them for days.

  Maybe she should go get Dixie and they could stay here at the store. Things probably wouldn’t be as bad in town. Except there was no kitchen, only a small microwave. And she’d have to sleep on the floor. Her gaze fell to the old linoleum. Even with the rug in her office, that wouldn’t be very comfortable.

  Her thumbs moved over the screen.

  I’ll just have to h
ope it doesn’t.

  Hitting Send, she tucked her phone away and headed for her office, determined to ignore any more texts. She was an intelligent woman; surely she could figure something out.

  Perhaps she could stay with one of her friends. Maybe Rae or Paisley. They both lived in town. Rae was just around the corn—no, Rae was in Costa Rica on a mission trip. Still, Paisley had a big Victorian house she’d recently started offering as a bed-and-breakfast.

  She retrieved her phone again and called Paisley.

  “Hi, Christa.”

  “Hey, Paise. I’m thinking about staying in town tonight. Have you got a room Dixie and I could rent?” Paisley rarely had a full house, and if she did it was only on the weekends or holidays.

  “Darlin’, you know you wouldn’t have to pay for a room here.” Yes, she knew, but she wasn’t one to take things for granted. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a bed to spare.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “I wish I were. That Schmidt boy is getting married this weekend, and the bride’s entire family has taken over my house.”

  “Oh, you poor thing.”

  “They’re not bad. And at least it keeps me busy in the kitchen where it’s nice and warm. But if you’re in a pinch, you’re welcome to bunk with me.”

  “That’s all right. You’ve got your hands full.”

  “If you change your mind, just let me know.”

  “Will do.” She ended the call, her gaze traversing the empty store. No point in delaying the inevitable.

  Returning to the checkout counter where her employees continued to gape out the window, she said, “Y’all may as well go on home.” She hated the resignation in her voice. And that Patsy was right.

  Dwayne Gentry, her right-hand man when it came to knowledge of all things hardware, eased off one of the padded stools behind the counter. “You sure you don’t want one of us to stay in case someone needs lumber or something heavy?” Bless the sixtysomething man’s heart. He was ever chivalrous.

  Patsy shot him a look. “You really think somebody’s gonna want lumber in this weather?”

  Hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans, the lanky fellow shrugged. “You never know.”

  “Thank you, Dwayne, but I’ll be fine. I’ll probably close soon anyway.” They’d run out of most of the stuff people wanted.

  Once her employees were gone, Christa did a once-over of the store, then parked herself behind the counter, eyeing the darkening sky.

  Wait!

  She jumped to her feet, remembering the portable propane heaters she carried here at the store. She could use those at home.

  Making her way to aisle five, her heart sank as she perused the empty shelves where the heaters had once been. If only she’d thought about them sooner.

  The bell rang at the door and she hurried up front as Mick and Sadie blew in, along with a bone-chilling wind that had her pulling her cardigan close.

  She couldn’t help smiling at the little girl bundled in her fur-hooded coat. “What are you doing here?”

  Mick’s gaze drove into Christa. “We’re here to take you home.”

  * * *

  Mick could tell by the fire in Christa’s eyes that he’d said that all wrong. “Er, what I meant to say is that we’re here to escort you home. Things are turning slick fast out there, ’specially on the river bridge.” Despite the cold, he found himself sweating. “Since we were already in town…” He lifted a shoulder, knowing he wasn’t being totally forthcoming with his neighbor.

  She crossed her arms. “So you don’t think I’m capable of getting myself home?”

  “It’s not that. I just figured it wouldn’t hurt to have someone watching out for you, that’s all.”

  Christa studied him a moment before turning her attention to his niece. “Sadie, there’s a small silver bucket on the table behind the desk in my office—” she pointed toward the room with the door standing open at the far end of the main aisle “—that has candy in it. You’re welcome to go grab yourself a couple of pieces if you’d like.”

  “Yeah!” Sadie looked up at Mick. “Want me to get one for you, too?”

  “Sure thing, princess.” He winked.

  As her boots clomped across the floor, Christa said, “Care to tell me what’s really going on?”

  He faced her again, knowing she wasn’t going to like the full truth any more than the partial truth he’d been trying to get by with. “With them closing the school, I wasn’t able to finish puttin’ out hay. Something the cows really need when it’s cold like this. The calves need it for warmth.”

  “How warm can it be when it’s covered in ice?”

  “You’d be surprised. At any rate, I’ve got one more load I need to haul up the road, but I don’t know what to do with Sadie. I mean, it’s a closed cab, heated and all, but I just don’t know how safe it’d be for her.”

  “You want me to babysit Sadie?”

  He lifted his hat and shoved a hand through his hair before replacing it. “I reckon I do. And I hate to ask. You probably think I’m taking advantage of you because you live so close and all, but I’m in a real pickle.”

  “Mick, didn’t your mama ever teach you that honesty is the best policy?”

  “Yes, ma’am. And I wasn’t lying. I just wasn’t giving you the whole truth.”

  “You expect me to believe that you would have stopped by here to escort me home even if you didn’t need someone to watch Sadie?”

  Put like that… “I don’t know. Would’ve depended if I was in town or not.”

  “Mmm-hmm.” She glanced toward her office as Sadie emerged. “I don’t mind watching her.” Turning, she eyed the window at the front of the store. “Looks like the snow has let up, though.”

  “No, it’s just switching over to ice.” He stepped toward the door and opened it to reveal the hissing sound of ice pellets. “Hear that?”

  “Yes. Now close the door.” Concern filled her hazel eyes and she snugged her sweater tighter. “I guess I should think about getting out of here.” She looked at Sadie. “How would you like to hang out with me and Dixie for a little while?”

  “I would love that.” She looked up at Mick then. “But what about Uncle Mickey?”

  “He has to feed the cows.”

  “Oh.” The worry on his niece’s precious face had him suddenly concerned. Maybe she didn’t want to stay with Christa after all.

  He dropped to one knee. “What’s wrong, princess? I thought you might want to play with Dixie.”

  “I do. But—” her eyes filled with tears “—what if you don’t come back?”

  Mick’s heart nearly split in two. He wrapped one arm around Sadie’s shoulders and pulled her close, blinking through the moisture that suddenly made it difficult to see. “I won’t be gone very long. Just up the road a little way. I’ve got some calves that need hay to keep them warm.” He peered up at Christa, hoping she might have some words of wisdom to offer.

  She knelt beside him, taking hold of Sadie’s hand. “You can go with your uncle, if you want to.”

  Those weren’t exactly the kind of words he was hoping for.

  “But Dixie is going to be sad. Just this morning she was telling me how much she enjoyed meeting you.”

  With a sniff, Sadie looked at Christa. “Does Dixie have a babysitter?”

  “No, she stays by herself when I’m here at work.”

  “Doesn’t she miss you?”

  “Yes, she does. When I get home, she runs all over the house like a crazy dog, barking her excitement. Then she drops at my feet and rolls onto her back, expecting me to give her a big ole belly rub.”

  Sadie giggled. “That’s funny.”

  “You could see for yourself, if you like.” Christa pushed to her feet. “You can ride with Uncle Mickey and follow me back to the ranch, the
n he could drop you off at my house while he goes to feed the cows.” She moved behind the counter, retrieved her scarf and slid it around her neck. “Perhaps you could help me figure out what to make for dinner, too.” Moving past them and toward her office, she continued. “I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking this is perfect soup weather.” After disappearing for a brief moment, she emerged, shoving her arms into her coat as she started back toward them. “Or you can go with your uncle to put out hay.” She zipped up her coat. “It’s up to you.”

  Whoa. She was good. Mick could only watch in amazement. Christa had laid out Sadie’s options, glorifying a few things along the way, trying to nudge her in the right direction, all the while allowing Sadie to choose what she wanted to do instead of telling her what she had to do.

  Question was, what would Sadie choose?

  After a moment, Sadie grinned. “I want to see Dixie.”

  Christa perched her hands on her hips. “That is going to make her so happy.” She looked from Sadie to Mick. “Why don’t the two of you wait in the truck while I lock up?”

  “Okay.” Sadie started for the door without any further discussion.

  “I owe you,” he whispered to Christa as he turned to follow his niece.

  “Oh, you have no idea, cowboy.”

  He wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that. But given the way she’d tempered what could have been an explosive situation, there was no way he could say no.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Christa couldn’t fault Mick for scrambling for a sitter. This storm took a lot of people by surprise, including her. Who knew they’d dismiss school? She was proud of him for dropping whatever it was he’d been doing in order to hurry to town. And taking Sadie on the tractor with him certainly wasn’t ideal, even in the best of weather.

  She gripped the steering wheel tighter and leaned forward in the driver’s seat, eyeing the wet pavement for any ice as the wipers worked in tandem with the defroster to keep her windshield clear. Though she’d never admit it to Mick, she was glad he’d encouraged her to leave when she did, regardless of his motivation. Otherwise, she probably would have hung around the store until five, and there was no telling how bad things would have been by then.