by Cindy Kirk
“What do you think?” Charlotte found herself holding her breath. “Be honest.”
When he smiled, everything in her relaxed.
“I like it.” His gaze met hers and held. “Thanks, Charlotte. You’re really talented.”
It wasn’t anything she hadn’t been told a million times, but in this moment tears stung the backs of her eyes.
Get a grip, she told herself.
When Adam pulled out his wallet to pay, she tried to dissuade him from adding a hefty tip, but he insisted. Then he was gone.
It was good, she told herself, that he didn’t stay to talk, even though she had the time. As she stood by the window and watched his long strides carry him down the sidewalk and away from the salon, she found herself wondering where he was going in such a hurry and who he was meeting.
Chapter Four
Adam’s haircut generated lots of positive comments over the next two weeks. Charlotte had an influx of calls from men wanting appointments. Business was booming.
She’d had an opportunity to thank Adam when she’d run into him outside Muddy Boots last Saturday night. He’d been in a hurry, and so had she. Still, something in the way he’d looked at her had made her wish, well, wish things could be different.
Talk in town this week had been about the upcoming ice cream social Sunday afternoon at First Christian. Piper had asked her to go with her, but Charlotte had demurred at first.
An ice cream social at a church wasn’t really her thing. But she was bored with her own company. When she found herself changing into a dress that matched the bright summer sky to buoy her spirits, Charlotte decided an ice cream social might be exactly what she needed to pull herself out of her funk.
It would also afford an excellent opportunity to network. Marigold always said, and Charlotte firmly believed, that building connections was essential in a small town.
Once she felt certain she looked her best, Charlotte messaged Piper.
Still interested in the ice cream social?
The reply came quickly.
I’m already here. Look for me.
Charlotte responded with a heart emoji and grabbed her bag. The church was close, and the heeled sandals she wore were comfortable, so she walked the four short blocks to the church.
Music wafted on the breeze. As she drew close, laughter and the buzz of conversation rippled on the air. When the church and surrounding yard came into view, Charlotte paused for a second to admire the church with its pointy spire and white siding that glistened in the sun.
She let her gaze linger on grass so green and lush it looked fake. Then a rectangle table holding three huge tubs of ice cream caught her eye.
Off to her right, a refreshment stand offered iced tea and lemonade. The scene would have been festive even without the brightly colored tablecloths and streamers. Balloons tied to chairs at scattered tables bobbed in the light breeze.
Charlotte marveled at the sheer energy in the air. She spotted Piper, but noticed her friend was engaged in conversation with several women Charlotte didn’t know. Not wanting to intrude, she turned to check out the ice cream and ran straight into a broad chest.
Two hands briefly gripped her arms to steady her. “Whoa, there, missy.”
“I’m so sorry.” She stopped the apology when she saw it was Adam.
“You stepped in front of me on purpose.” Her words held no bite. How could they when she was too busy smiling?
Even dressed simply in a red polo and cargo shorts, Adam was the most handsome man there. His dark hair glistened in the sunlight. Charlotte resisted the urge to reach up and run her fingers through the wavy strands on top.
She’d missed him. He was one of her few friends in town. Though their night together had been incredible, right now she wished it hadn’t happened. Then, maybe, they could be hanging out at this church social as friends without things being weird.
“You have to decide.”
She blinked and brought her wandering thoughts under control. “Decide?”
He thrust out both hands. “Which one?”
Each hand held a sugar cone crowned with ice cream.
“You got two?”
“One for you. One for me.” At her surprised look, he grinned. “I saw you coming. Pick. This one is starting to dribble.”
Charlotte inclined her head. “That’s clearly strawberry. What’s the other one?”
“Peanut butter and strawberry jam.” He pulled the hand holding that one back. “Really more of a kid’s flavor. Though I hear it’s a popular item among adults at the Good Hope Market.”
“You’ve convinced me.” She lifted it from his fingers. “Thanks.”
She was conscious of his gaze fixed on her mouth as she took a bite.
Her lips tingled under his watchful eyes, and when she licked the last bit of ice cream from her mouth, she swore she heard him groan.
He cleared his throat. “How is it?”
“Really yummy.” She held out her cone to him. “Want a taste?”
“You don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t be offering if I did.”
Charlotte expected him to take the cone from her. Instead, he leaned close and took a big chomping bite out of it.
“Hey, I said a taste. You ate half of it.”
He held out the strawberry, which was dripping down the sides of the cone. “You can have some of mine.”
“I believe I will.” She took his cone and swirled her tongue around the outside to catch the drips.
When she looked up, their eyes met and locked.
“My Henry and I used to share our ice cream cones.”
Charlotte jerked her head in the direction of the wistful tone.
“Seeing the two of you together brings back such wonderful memories.” Gladys sighed, then waved a bejeweled hand. “Carry on.”
Gladys turned to stride in the direction of Albert August, a fellow resident of the Good Hope Living Center. The dapper older gentleman stood conversing with several of Gladys’s friends.
“She seems to be under the mistaken impression we’re dating.”
Taking back the strawberry cone Charlotte had thrust at him, Adam shrugged. “Gladys likes to matchmake. Her romantic nature often causes her to see more than is there.”
Charlotte put aside any concerns and glanced around. “Looks like a good turnout.”
“Any event with ice cream brings people out.” Adam spotted his father and waved before turning back to Charlotte. He squeezed her arm. “It was good seeing you. Enjoy the cone.”
“Do you have to—?” The question didn’t have a chance to fully form before he was weaving his way to his dad.
“Charlotte.” Piper stepped to her, a double-dip chocolate cone in hand. “I’m glad you decided to come.”
Charlotte forced her gaze away from Adam’s sexy backside, licked her cone and resisted the urge to sigh. “Me, too.”
Saturday night and nowhere to go.
Except, Charlotte thought with a wry smile, to the grocery store. The Good Hope Market closed at ten in the summer, which gave her an hour to shop. As she strode through the nearly empty parking lot toward the entrance, she mulled over an earlier decision.
Maybe she’d been too hasty in declining Piper’s invitation to join her and a few friends for drinks at the Ding-A-Ling.
The thing was, the day had been brutal. Her first appointment at the salon had been at eight and the last one at six. She’d grabbed a protein bar for lunch and sat for five, but otherwise had been on her feet all day.
When Piper texted, the mere thought of going with a bunch of women, two of whom she didn’t know, to a loud bar held little appeal. Was she getting old? There had been a time not long ago when she’d have jumped at the chance to socialize, grueling day or not.
Now, all she wanted to do was pull on her jammies, pour a glass of wine and work on bolstering her social media presence. How lame was that?
For a second, Charlotte considered messagi
ng Piper she’d changed her mind. But she was already in the market, shopping cart in hand. Besides, she’d set several appointments for tomorrow. Grocery shopping had to be done.
She smiled, thinking of the ice cream she planned to pick up. Peanut butter and strawberry jam. Charlotte hoped Adam hadn’t been kidding about the market carrying the flavor. If he was, she would…
Charlotte chuckled. It wasn’t like she would call him up or text him or anything like that. Though, really, there was no reason they couldn’t be friends.
No reason except the way he made her feel. The longing that rose whenever he was near puzzled her and sent big red flags popping up. For whatever reason, something about the organic farmer spoke to her on a visceral level. Which meant she’d be smart to keep her distance.
The last thing she wanted was another misunderstanding.
The ice cream was in her cart, as well as an assortment of staples, when she stopped to inspect a display of cherries.
“If I knew you needed cherries, I’d have dropped some off.”
The deep voice had her heart skipping a beat as she turned. Instead of pushing a cart, Adam had a recyclable bag slung over one shoulder.
His hair was still a little damp, as if he’d taken a quick shower before heading to the market. Which was likely what had happened, considering he and Stan were probably knee-deep in the cherry harvest.
She offered him a warm smile and inhaled deeply. He smelled so good. The enticing scent of shampoo, soap and shaving cream had her stepping closer.
“I didn’t realize how much I liked them until I moved here.” She reached to grab a paper basket filled with the red fruit.
He placed a staying hand on hers. “We have plenty of cherries. I’ll drop some off at the salon. Just tell me what day works.”
“Any day works, but I don’t want you to go to the trouble.” Her gaze never left his face. The touch of his hand on hers seemed to have short-circuited her ability to say more. Or to move her hand.
His gaze dropped to her lips. “No trouble at all.”
Her heart fluttered. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m positive.”
“Well, isn’t this lovely?”
Charlotte closed her eyes for only a second before turning to face Gladys.
“Gladys.” When Adam turned toward the woman, he lifted his hand in a casual gesture. “Looks like everyone is out shopping tonight.”
“From the first time I saw you two together, I knew.”
“Knew what?” Charlotte kept her tone even.
“That you’d make a fabulous couple.”
“Charlotte and I are friends,” Adam corrected in that easy way of his.
“I ran into Adam while looking at the cherries.” Charlotte gestured with her head toward the man at her side, who appeared more amused than anything else.
“I’d say you were looking more at each other than those cherries.” Gladys cackled. “Can’t say I blame you. If I had such a handsome man with his hands on me, I’d have more on my mind than cherries, too.”
Don’t make a big deal of this, Charlotte told herself, stifling her irritation over the interruption. The older woman had made a simple mistake. But getting into each other’s business and making assumptions was the thing about small towns she didn’t love.
Charlotte forced a chuckle and reminded herself Gladys saw what she wanted to see—a Good Hope girl and guy flirting and falling in love over a basket of cherries.
What the older woman didn’t realize was, that while Adam was a Good Hope guy to the core, Charlotte could never be a Good Hope girl.
Adam dropped off the cherries Monday morning. Charlotte was busy with a customer and could only wave a thanks. That was two long weeks ago.
It was odd, Charlotte thought, how she could go from seeing Adam around every corner to not seeing him at all. Oh, over the past two weeks, she’d seen him at a distance. They’d exchanged a smile, but that was all.
Though she reminded herself keeping her distance was for the best, the encounters with him left her unsettled. Thankfully, the salon and her social media efforts kept her too busy to dwell.
Last Friday, they’d closed down Marigold’s in preparation for the grand opening of the new salon. It seemed impossible that the first week of September was only two weeks away.
Charlotte had spent this Monday morning learning the ins and outs of the new computer scheduling system.
She glanced up as Marigold burst through the entrance to Golden Door, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”
“I know how doctor’s visits can be,” Charlotte told Marigold as the blonde dropped down in another desk chair behind the counter. “Didn’t you say you were doing the ultrasound at this one?”
“It was, and we did.”
Charlotte gave Marigold another once-over. Though Marigold wasn’t due until early February, her previously flat belly now resembled a small basketball. Maybe it was because the youngest Bloom sister was also the smallest. Petite would be the word. Like a wood sprite or a cute little fairy.
There was really nowhere for a baby growing inside such a small space to go but out.
“How did it go?” This wasn’t just idle chatter, but genuine interest. Someday, when she got pregnant, Charlotte would be having these experiences and wanted to know what to expect.
Marigold’s entire body hummed with excitement. The blonde glanced around as if making sure none of the workmen there to complete the finishing touches were nearby.
“The ultrasound was awesome. Dr. Swanson, she’s my OB, met with Cade and I first and explained it all to us.”
“Like, what did she say?”
“Well, she told us, ah, she told us…” Marigold paused as if she’d lost her train of thought. She gave a little laugh. “Sorry. I’m so excited about, well, everything. What did you ask?”
“What did the doctor say about the procedure?”
“Oh, yeah.” Marigold flashed a brilliant smile. “She said sound waves travel better through liquid, so I had to drink a whole lot of water before we did the sonogram. Dr. Swanson told us she’d be evaluating our baby’s growth and development and make sure the dates were accurate.”
“Were the dates accurate?” Charlotte leaned forward, caught up in Marigold’s excitement. “Did you get to hear the heartbeat?”
“Not just one heartbeat.” Marigold grinned and held up two fingers.
Charlotte pulled her brows together. “It picks up both yours and the baby’s heartbeat?”
She didn’t remember any of her friends mentioning that fact. Then again, she hadn’t been paying that close of attention before.
“No.” Marigold reached out and gripped Charlotte’s hands. “We’re having twins. Dr. Swanson suspected because of my lab work and how big I am already. Oh, Charlotte, we saw them on the screen. We heard their heartbeats.”
Charlotte could only stare. After years of unsuccessful infertility procedures, Marigold and Cade had pursued adoption. Caleb had been the result. Right around that time, Marigold had discovered she was pregnant.
“You’re going to have a seven-month-old and twins.” Even as her mind spun, Charlotte kept her voice even and her tone matter-of-fact.
“I know.” Marigold’s voice trembled with excitement. “Cade and I want a big family. It’s a dream come true.”
“Three babies.” The thought boggled Charlotte’s mind.
“I admit I freaked for a few seconds. But Cade reminded me I’m not alone. We’re in this together. He’s my rock,” Marigold told her. “Caleb and the babies will have both of us. And I have loads of family, all of whom have tons of experience with babies.”
Charlotte didn’t see fear in Marigold’s shining eyes. Only joy. “I’m happy for you and Cade. Twins. Wow.”
“I can’t wait to tell my sisters.” Marigold glanced at the monitor. “It appears the new scheduling system is up and running. Is it difficult to master?”
&nb
sp; “It’s easy. I found the tutorial easy to follow and the system very intuitive. I have no doubt our new receptionist will be ready to begin scheduling appointments right after you walk her through it.”
“I forgot that Evelyn is coming in this afternoon.” Marigold expelled a breath. “You met with the contractors. I train Evelyn.”
“She called to confirm she’d be here.” Charlotte leaned back in the chair. “And she’s asked that we call her Evie.”
“Evie,” Marigold repeated. “Got it.”
Charlotte could definitely use a break. She’d fulfilled her part of the bargain. But she could see Marigold was itching to tell her sisters and to share her exciting news with the rest of her family.
“I’ve got nothing planned for this afternoon. How about I stay and go through the system with her?” Charlotte smiled. “You and Cade should celebrate. Tell your family and pick up your son. I’m sure he’s missed you.”
“This is the first time I’ve left him for this long.” Marigold studied Charlotte’s face. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I want to pull my weight.”
“I don’t mind. Not at all. Go.” Charlotte waved a hand. “You—”
Marigold flung her arms around Charlotte, surprising her. “You’re the best business partner ever. Thank you.”
Charlotte watched Marigold rush out the door, phone already in hand. She’d gotten to know Marigold better this past month and had no doubt that picking up her son from her sister’s home would be her first stop. Then the calls and visits would begin.
Who would she tell, Charlotte wondered, when it was her turn? Her parents had their own lives. Once they’d divorced and then remarried other people, she’d become an afterthought.
Piper maybe? Then Marigold.
Expelling a long breath, Charlotte rubbed the bridge of her nose. She hadn’t slept well last night. It didn’t help that the coffee she’d made this morning had tasted off, and simply looking at the eggs she’d scrambled had had her stomach roiling.
She recalled Marigold telling her that she’d stocked the break room with coffee yesterday. She’d eat a granola bar and try a different brand of coffee. With anticipation fueling her movements, Charlotte shoved to her feet and turned toward the break room.