The Turnaround Treasure Shop

by Jennie Jones

  ‘Lily,’ she said, ‘you are the best person in the whole world. You damned well deserve this and everything else that comes your way — and don’t you forget it.’

  Forget it? How was that possible? She’d been handed her dream. There was no ‘everything else’ she wanted.

  ***

  Lily had been standing in her empty impossible dream for a full 10 minutes, just staring at the walls, the shop counter, the door where she was going to hang a little brass bell and the two shaded windows.

  The wondrous trembling that had come over her on her way from Kookaburra’s to her Turnaround Treasure Shop hadn’t diminished a jot.

  Turnaround Treasures — Second-Chance Love. Still caring, still adoring.

  A dog barking outside, then the tinny beep of a horn she recognised, sent her to the window. She nudged the closed blind aside and smiled broadly.

  Nick Barton, ex-Navy guy and amazing kisser and holder of women got out of her Orange Bullet — and was immediately attacked by Charlotte and Dan’s dog. Lucy, an Australian Shepherd Charlotte has rescued when she’d first arrived in town, jumped at Nick, doing her best to lick his hand off. Nick scruffed the back of Lucy’s neck and the dog twisted and turned, prancing and flirting with him.

  Lily didn’t blame her. She opened the door for him as Lucy charged off in another direction, looking for the next unsuspecting male to lick to death.

  ‘Close call,’ Nick said, stepping inside and dangling her car keys in front of her.

  Lily laughed and closed the door. With the blinds drawn, she happily went into his arms, ignoring the keys.

  ‘Well, this is pleasant. Two females in one day. What have I done to deserve it?’ he asked, looking down at her. He pulled her further into his embrace. ‘I like holding you.’

  ‘Nick,’ Lily said, desperate to tell him her news. ‘You’ll never guess what.’

  ‘You want me to kiss you again.’

  ‘Stop teasing. This is important.’

  ‘And kissing me isn’t?’

  ‘Nick!’ She pulled from his embrace and took hold of his upper arms. Boy, his biceps were hard. ‘I got the shop.’

  He paused, his grin fading to a smile. ‘Did you?’

  ‘It’ll be part of the Support program. The program can help with the lease.’

  ‘That’s great, Lily. You deserve it.’

  ‘That’s what Charlotte said, and really — I don’t know why I didn’t ask about the program before. They might have been able to assist months ago because I’m practically ready, financially.’

  ‘I couldn’t be more pleased for you.’

  ‘They’re going to pay three-quarters of the lease for me, for the first six months.’

  ‘Six months?’ He frowned. ‘Not the whole year?’

  ‘Do you see a problem?’

  ‘No — I just presumed a 12-month deal would be more beneficial to you than six.’

  ‘Actually they offered twelve months’ assistance but I refused.’

  ‘Why would you do that?’

  ‘I hope to make enough over winter — now that I’ve got help with the payments — and that will tide me over. I should be able to pay the entire lease myself after the first six months.’ She raised her hands, fingers crossed. ‘I hope.’

  He laughed, and took her in his arms again. ‘Should have guessed.’

  ‘Guessed what?’

  ‘That you wouldn’t take everything on offer.’

  ‘I won’t take anything over what I feel I need or deserve, and I’ve told Dan and Charlotte that the program can expect the investment back. I’ll repay it, Nick. I will.’

  He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘Not good at receiving, are you?’

  ‘I wasn’t until now.’ She laughed and caught his hand, holding it by her cheek for a moment. ‘I’ve changed. I feel more…open to receive. This is a gift of luck and I’m not turning it down.’

  ‘How about celebrating with me?’

  ‘I need a sign. A big, wonderful shop sign to hang outside.’

  ‘And I need a kiss.’

  ‘You know the type? An old-fashioned metal sign, stamped with the name of my business.’ Lily clapped her hands. ‘My business!’ At last. Everything came to she who worked bloody hard while waiting.

  ‘Hey.’ Nick nudged her with his elbow.

  ‘Sorry.’ She laughed. ‘What were you saying?’

  ‘I was asking you on a date.’

  ‘Another road trip?’ He’d give her a lift home, she knew it, and she didn’t feel perturbed by it. The new Lily. Branching out to accept things. ‘Oh!’ What was she thinking? ‘You fixed my car.’

  ‘All yours. Next job is the gearbox — that’s real dodgy, Lily. Will you let me fix it?’

  ‘Yes.’ Boy, this new Lily sure knew how to cooperate. ‘But I’ll be paying.’

  ‘Whichever way. Just let me fix it.’

  ‘It’ll last for a week?’ She’d need the car to cart all the goods from home to the shop.

  ‘It’ll be fine for a month. Not as if you’re going to take it to Queensland. Now about that celebration.’

  ‘The road trip? Shall we go in my car? I’ll chauffeur you about.’

  ‘I was thinking something more — personal.’

  ‘A date,’ she repeated as she came back to real-time sense.

  ‘You think the townspeople don’t see how much we like each other?’ he asked, already a thought ahead of her.

  ‘They’ve pushed us together.’ She glanced up. ‘You know that, don’t you?’

  ‘I guessed. Any idea why, after so long?’

  Lily shrugged. ‘Haven’t got a clue. Perhaps it had something to do with the Ball next weekend. Perhaps they’re doing a spot of matchmaking.’ Her friends Charlotte and Sammy were certainly doing a spot of that.

  ‘Well, I’m glad they did. Now can I kiss you? And will you then come out with me on a proper date?’

  ‘I can’t date. I have kids.’

  He laughed, shaking his head with a sudden burst of exasperation. ‘It’s Friday evening. Your kids aren’t here. You’re a free woman. You can date.’

  Lily grinned. ‘I am, aren’t I? What do you mean by “proper” date? It would be our first date.’ Although it would likely be ‘proper’, wherever they went. Maybe he’d take her to Cooma, to a restaurant. They couldn’t suddenly rock up for dinner at Kookaburra’s. That would create too much gossip for Lily to cope with and Nick probably wouldn’t like it either. After all, their blossoming friendship and all the kissing they might not be able to stop themselves from doing would kind of come out of the blue to the townspeople. It had to Lily, and for the moment she needed to keep this secret to herself. Until she was sure it was really happening.

  ‘We’ve been dating for a year.’

  Lily raised her brow. ‘We have?’

  ‘There are 52 weekends in the year,’ Nick said, smiling down at her. ‘I’ve been meeting you for breakfast for over a hundred days. I like to think of that as dating you.’ He took hold of her hand and kissed her fingers. ‘I know how to flip an egg. I don’t need to buy my breakfast. I want to, because you serve it.’

  Charlotte’s words echoed in her mind. He comes in to see you, Lily.

  ‘If I thought I’d get away with having breakfast at Kookaburra’s seven days a week without asking for gossip, I’d do it.’

  ‘That would cost you a fortune.’

  ‘Would be worth every dollar, just to look at you.’ He dug into the pocket of his trousers. ‘Here.’ He pulled out a 10-dollar note and slapped it onto the counter. ‘I’m buying. Your first sale.’

  The joy in his tone made her smile. ‘For what?’

  ‘For looking at you.’

  Zing. Lily’s heartstrings snapped to his.

  ‘What did you have in mind for our date?’ she asked, shyness sweeping over her at the now sensual look in his eyes.

  ‘Well first, I can’t get home without a lift. Don’t fancy the walk. So y
ou drive me home and I’ll make you dinner.’ He hooked his arm around her and pulled her in to him, his gaze turning smouldering. ‘And just so you know. I’m hoping to persuade you to spend the night.’

  ***

  Getting out of town and the prospect of spending the evening with Nick — not that she’d made up her mind about staying the entire night, if that’s what he really hoped for — had almost turned Lily into a bundle of nerves but excitement ruled, and that’s the feeling she was running with. Main Street had been quiet when they left but Lily knew people would be at their shop windows, watching her leave with Nick. Noting that they headed out of town at the southern end. Together. She’d wondered how many would be waiting and watching for her return to town as she drove through it and out the northern end. To her house.

  Driving the Orange Bullet, with Nick in the passenger seat taking up almost all of the space with his height and breadth, and exuding sexiness simply sitting there — as he did standing, or lifting heavy boxes come to that — filled Lily with tingling anticipation of him holding her again.

  Just about anything he did made her feel like a star-struck teenager. She’d had to keep her focus on the road — and on managing the shonky gearbox — while he talked to her in his low-toned, easy manner, telling her about his house and how he’d only recently begun to make it into a home. Asking her to forgive him for the lack of homey furnishings and how he planned to change that. He’d talked about how he’d recently realised he needed to get involved with the town too. Because he was staying.

  Later, sitting on a leather sofa beside him, Lily looked down at their linked hands. His mood had been easy and fun as he cooked them steak while Lily tossed a salad and buttered fresh, crusty bread. They’d finished their meal in a blaze of friendship and he’d been holding her hand for nearly an hour. They’d been chatting about life, then he’d asked her if she would tell him about her ex-husband and she found herself talking — really talking. It was hardly a first-date type of conversation, but he’d relaxed her completely.

  Replete from more than a delicious meal, the evening air wafting in from open French doors, the buzz of insects and the glow of the moon had mellowed Lily entirely. ‘He only hit me once,’ she said, answering another of Nick’s questions. ‘I left immediately.’

  ‘Once is once too often.’

  ‘I know. I’m grateful I had the sense, eventually, to leave. Many don’t.’

  Nick brushed her hair from her brow. ‘Don’t ever think I don’t understand.’

  ‘How could you?’

  ‘I’ve seen abuse. In various forms. I don’t know what it takes for a man to hit a woman, or to hit anybody — unless you’re talking war. The victims are always weaker than the abuser. Not just physically, but emotionally. And they’re weaker simply because the abuser has made them so.’

  Lily nodded. ‘He abused me but not physically — apart from the black eye. His every word, every off-hand derogatory look told me I was a waste of space, but I had the children and I thought they needed a father.’

  ‘I know, darling.’

  Darling. Had he called his ex-wife darling? Lily somehow doubted it after what he’d told her. A wrong marriage, he’d said. A marriage he hadn’t wanted once he was in it, and hadn’t been able to fix.

  Lily pulled her hand from his and checked her watch. ‘I ought to be going.’

  ‘Why?’

  She couldn’t meet his eyes in case he reminded her that he was planning on asking her to stay the night. She frowned as she caught a glimpse of her hands, sitting on her plain black skirt.

  ‘What’s wrong?’

  Work-roughened knuckles and nails kept tidily trimmed but unmanicured, that’s what was wrong. She was wearing her waitress uniform. She hadn’t had time to change into her ordinary clothes after the breathtaking news she’d received at Kookaburra’s. She’d forgotten about the plain way she looked over the last couple of hours in Nick’s company but now, trying to make a decision on whether she should go or allow him to persuade her otherwise, a few niggling anxieties crawled back. ‘Nothing’s wrong, exactly. I just feel…’

  ‘Nervous about what’s going to happen next?’

  Going to happen? Yes. The tension in her shoulders settled and relaxed. She wanted to stay. Wanted to be with him. Wanted to accept any compliments he might give her — no — would give her. ‘You’re the most handsome man I’ve ever met, Nick.’

  He smiled instantly, but Lily carried on. ‘You were dealt all the right man genes.’

  ‘I’m covered in scars, Lily. You’re going to have to look at them. I’m more worried than you are.’

  ‘But you’re not worried, that’s the thing. I’ve got scars too, Nick. Life scars.’

  ‘I can’t wait to see them.’ He rose from the sofa and pulled her to stand, taking her into his arms. ‘Stay with me.’

  Lily rested her forehead on his chest and wound her arms around his iron-hard body.

  ‘Is that a yes?’

  Lily nodded.

  ‘Thank you.’ Still holding her, he pulled the pencil from her hair. ‘I’m nervous too,’ he said, running his fingers through her hair, from her scalp to the tips now swinging at her waist.

  ‘Impossible,’ Lily told him. ‘Your heart isn’t going boom boom like mine is.’

  He didn’t say anything, and electricity hummed between them. She looked up and smiled at him.

  ‘There.’ He cradled her face in his hands. ‘Now I’m not so nervous.’

  Any remaining nerves inside Lily seemed to dissipate as bursts of sensual fervour took over.

  ‘Much better,’ he said, lowering his mouth to hers.

  He kissed her for minutes, holding her, running his hand up her spine, cupping her head gently. ‘I want you, Lily,’ he murmured, his kisses now trailing across her cheek and up to the hairline above her ear. ‘I want to kiss you all over. Come with me.’

  Holding her hand firmly, he led her out of the dining room and into the hallway. Lily stayed at his side as they journeyed up the staircase. He squeezed her fingers as they entered his bedroom.

  The room was plainly furnished and decorated but a reassuring retreat too, with its dark blue walls, black oak furniture and simple white lamp and shade on a bedside table.

  ‘It’s lovely.’

  ‘It’s lovelier with you in it.’

  ‘That’s an amazing bed.’ A four-poster no less. Black oak columns standing guard at each corner and a canopy shading the pillow end of the frame.

  ‘It’ll be more amazing when you’re in it. With me.’

  Lily bit her lip, hesitated for only a second and stepped closer until she was pressed against his body. His arms came around her.

  ‘Would you mind if we switched the light off?’ she murmured.

  He didn’t hesitate. He reached behind him and the room plunged into darkness.

  ‘Thank you.’

  ‘That’s okay.’ He pulled her with him as he walked backwards. Keeping one arm around her, he yanked open the curtains, the wooden rungs clattering. ‘Don’t need electricity. I’ve got the moon.’

  Moonlight, softer than the lamplight, suffused the room, turning its austerity instantly into romance.

  ‘Didn’t think you’d get away with being naked in my bedroom and not letting me see, did you?’

  ‘You’re teasing me.’ And flirting. Could she get him to flirt more? Before they had sex, or made love, or whatever it would be. But flirting would only stall what she wanted. And if they did this right together tonight, there’d be flirting galore tomorrow. And the next day.

  A sigh she hadn’t known she was holding in escaped her.

  ‘The teasing’s going to stop. Right now.’ He let her go and peeled off his jumper, then his T-shirt. His skin appeared darker in the moonlight. ‘Take a look.’

  She ran her gaze over the width of his chest. Dark marks peppered his left shoulder, like shingle on a flat stretch of sand. But she couldn’t halt the intake of breath as her ey
es hit a long, darkened slash across his left pectoral muscle.

  ‘Not pretty, is it?’

  Lily lifted her face and met his gaze. ‘It’s handsome.’

  He laughed gently. ‘That’s the first time it’s been called that.’

  ‘It’s part of you. Part of who you are. I don’t mind it.’ She ran her fingertips over the grooves of the scar. ‘How did you get it?’

  ‘That’s a story for another time.’ He bent and undid the laces on his boots then toed them off. He undid the button and the fly on his trousers and took them off, throwing them casually over a wooden chair before turning to stand before her.

  Lily couldn’t call him handsome a second time but the only other description that came to mind was, Man. In the form he was made to be. Fit. Tough. Strength both ingrained and worked for.

  A smile hovered on her lips. She didn’t know whether to call him mean for not holding her as they undressed together, or totally wonderful for understanding how shy she was feeling and for undressing for her, so she could look at him. So she could prepare herself.

  Naked, unashamed, standing before her. All his muscles — more than she’d anticipated, this man was huge! — were still taut though he stood in a relaxed manner, feet apart, hands at his sides.

  ‘Now it’s your turn,’ he said.

  Lily stripped, taking her time with each piece of clothing. She kicked her shoes off. She unbuttoned her blouse and threw it onto the chair with his clothing. Unzipping her black skirt then letting it fall to the floor. She unhooked her white day-bra — nothing fancy — and she let the straps slip off her shoulders. She threw it on top of her blouse.

  He let his breath out in a low whoosh. ‘Perfection,’ he said softly. ‘All of you.’ He bridged the gap between them and kissed her, his tongue playing with hers. Lily’s skin tingled. He ran his hands down her arms, from her shoulders to her wrists which he held a moment, then broke the kiss and his hold of her and looked down at her body.

  All she was left standing in was her black G-string. She almost laughed with relief that she wore G-strings and not the cover-all knickers that would probably be more comfortable beneath her work skirt. She hooked her fingers in the G-string, now willing to take it off and stand naked in front of him.