by LuAnn McLane
Danny chuckled. “You’re funny.”
“I get that a lot. Problem is that I’m not trying to be funny,” Susan said, and he laughed again. She lifted a corkscrew from her purse. “You know, just in case I need to uncork a bottle of wine on a moment’s notice. S-sorry—you can get going. This could take a while.”
Danny shrugged his wide shoulders. “I’m in no hurry. I was just going to grab lunch at the deli next door. I’m obsessed with Damn Good Sandwich,” he said calmly while her heart raced.
“Ham Good Sandwich. City council made him change the damn part.”
“I know, but I’m a rebel and John Clark does make a damn good sandwich, so I still call it that.”
“Oh yes, the food there is amazing. Hard to resist the aroma of bread baking. I’ll l-let you get back to your lunch,” she said in a rush.
“Have you had lunch? I’ll be happy to get something for you.” Danny smiled. “Or you can join me. He has a few tables inside. My treat.”
Lunch with Danny Mayfield? “Oh . . . n-no,” Susan said, forgetting for a moment what she was looking for in her mess of a purse.
“You sure?”
Susan nodded firmly. “But thank you for the offer.” She picked up another hint of his aftershave and had an insane urge to reach over and touch the dark stubble shadowing the bottom half of his handsome face. This was the closest she’d been to Danny since their prom date back in high school and her reaction to him had been just as instantaneous. He’d been a cute teenager, but he’d matured into a very sexy man, whom she’d done a very good job of avoiding for the past ten years, not an easy task in a small town.
“Did you find your keys?”
“Keys? Oh . . .” Susan scooped her hand around in her purse. “Here they are!” She lifted her Tinker Bell key chain and jangled it in triumph.
“How could you miss that big thing?” Danny chuckled and then gave her a high five, which she promptly missed. He laughed, thinking she’d missed on purpose, and she decided she’d let him think so.
“Gotcha,” Susan said, hoping she didn’t sound as nervous as she felt.
“You did,” he said as he picked up the box.
Susan opened the heavy door and flicked the lights on, illuminating the main showroom. The calming scent of cinnamon and vanilla filled her lungs, and she glanced at Danny to see his reaction to her eclectic array of handmade gifts and repurposed items. She simply loved her store, and if she won the lottery tomorrow, she’d keep Rhyme and Reason open just for fun.
“Wow, Susan, this is really cool,” Danny said, eyeing a display of old silverware made into wind chimes. He put the box down. “No wonder my mother loves to shop here.” He walked over and touched one of the chimes, making the silverware tinkle. “Do you mind if I have a look around? I’m really impressed.”
“Thanks.” Susan felt a warm rush of pride. “Go ahead.”
Danny picked up a colorful rug from a stack and looked at it. “Sweet. Mom would love something like this.”
“Made from old T-shirts.”
“Resourceful.” He picked up another one. “Did you make them?”
“Most of them. My mom made a few too. They’re easy to do.”
Danny nodded and put the rug back in the stack. “I have plenty of old T-shirts I could donate to the cause. How about socks? I have a million of just one.”
Susan grinned. “Socks are repurposing gold. Puppets, holiday snowmen, pincushions, pet toys . . . I have a display over against the wall called Sock It to Me.”
Danny shook his head. “This is really amazing.”
Susan felt another rush of pride. “I get such satisfaction out of finding new ways to use old things—especially if they are going to be thrown away.” She pointed to a colorful display of candles in various shapes and sizes. “Those were all molded from pieces of broken crayons,” she explained with a smile.
“Smart and useful.” He seemed duly impressed.
“And see those bowls over there?”
Danny nodded. “Oh wow, I can see that they’re made from vinyl record albums.”
“Yes, but I only use ones that are too scratched to play. I collect vinyl. There’s just something soothing about listening to music on a turntable,” she said with a sigh.
“Yeah, I agree. My sister Mattie’s husband got me interested in records. You should see Garret’s collection. It will blow your mind, especially on his state-of-the-art sound system.”
“I’d like that,” she said without thinking, but her heart thumped when he nodded.
“Great, I’ll be glad to take you, Susan. Oh hey, if you’d like to sit in on a recording session at My Way Records, I can arrange that too. Jeff Greenfield is working on a new country album, and Garret is one of the studio musicians. He said that Jeff’s wife, Cat, is going to do a couple of duets with him and she wrote several of the songs.”
“Oh, everyone in Cricket Creek is so proud of Jeff’s success. I just love his old-school country voice. I was at the concert at Sully’s when Jeff proposed to Cat.”
“I was too. I think the entire town was there. Well then, that settles it. You have to come.” Danny gave her another bone-melting smile and then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Give me your number, and I’ll let you know when we can sit in on a recording session.”
“Oh . . . um . . .” At the mention of giving Danny Mayfield her number, reality smacked Susan in the face and she swallowed hard. “My schedule is rather full.”
“There will be a lot of sessions to choose from.” He looked at her and waited.
“Well . . .” What in the world was she doing getting cozy with the one person in Cricket Creek she’d wanted to avoid? How could she forget the embarrassing circumstances behind their one and only date? Feeling warm, she took off her puffy jacket, which had made her look like the Michelin Man. She seriously needed to shop for a cute winter jacket. And then she remembered she was wearing a green sweater embellished with Santa’s sleigh and all nine reindeer, led by Rudolph with an actual blinking red nose. Susan’s mother didn’t get the whole ugly Christmas sweater concept and bought Susan a new addition to her growing collection at the beginning of each holiday season. Susan always accepted the new sweater with an “ooh” and “ah,” along with an inward groan, but she wouldn’t hurt her mother’s feelings for the world. “I wouldn’t want to be an imposition.” She put her hand over Rudolph’s nose.
“It wouldn’t be an imposition,” Danny insisted, and looked at her expectantly.
Susan would bet there weren’t many girls in Cricket Creek who wouldn’t readily give their number to Danny Mayfield. But just like in high school, he was way out of her league and she knew he was just being kind and she had sort of initiated the invitation even though it hadn’t been her intention. “Well, I appreciate the nice offer, but I’m really b-busy with the Christmas season upon us,” she said. “I have a lot of decorating to do before the parade and Christmas Walk.”
“Okay. I understand.” Danny slipped the slim phone back inside his jeans pocket, and his smile faltered. He pointed at the box of mason jars. “Where do you want the box?”
“Up in my . . .” she began and then stopped herself. “Oh, it’s okay right there. You’ve helped enough.”
Danny gave her a level look and then sighed. “Susan, I know you don’t want that box sitting here in the middle of your shop. Instead of you having to struggle, I can take the box wherever you’d like it to go.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. “Or if you’d prefer, I can get out of your hair,” he said with a slight frown. “I get the feeling I’ve overstayed my welcome.”
Susan knew her cheeks must be as rosy as Rudolph’s nose. “I’m sorry, Danny,” she said slowly, struggling not to stutter. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for your help. If you hadn’t appeared out of nowhere I w-would have crashed to the ground.”
“You don’t need to be grateful. I was happy to help.” Danny tilted his head to the side as if about to ask her a question, but then seemed to think better of it. He also appeared confused and maybe a little bit hurt, and if there was one thing Susan hated to do, it was to hurt someone’s feelings. He was only being polite, and it was silly for her not to accept his assistance.
“If you wouldn’t mind, I really need to have the jars taken up to my kitchen in my apartment above the shop,” she said even though her pulse fluttered at the thought of having him in her home.
“I don’t mind at all.” Danny gave her a slight smile and nodded. He picked up the heavy box with ease. “Lead the way.”
“Okay, follow me,” Susan said, even though the knowledge that he was watching her walk ahead of him was quite unnerving. Was her sweater clinging to her butt? Was she wiggling her hips too much? She stood up straighter but then felt awkward and tried her best to walk normally down the narrow hallway that led to the staircase to her apartment.
Once she reached the landing, Susan opened the door and flicked on the overhead track lighting. The wide-open space and tall ceilings allowed her to decorate in the eclectic shabby-chic style she loved. As in her shop, Susan used old things for new purposes.
The clump of Danny’s work boots sounded manly on the hardwood floor. She rather liked the deep sound. Danny Mayfield is inside my apartment ran through Susan’s head, and she wondered how this even happened. Oh yeah, she had fallen into his arms. And today had started out so normal. She shook her head. “Geez . . .”
“Something wrong?”
Oh damn, she had said that out loud. Talking to herself was a product of spending so much time alone. “Oh . . . no.” Embarrassed where her train of thought was going, she shook her head harder.
“Where to?” Danny asked, following her inside.
“Over there in the kitchen.” Susan pointed over to the far corner of the giant room that was sectioned off by a tall counter and really sweet bamboo stools she’d found at an estate sale.
“Okay.” He followed her through the main living area, weaving past a wide variety of furniture that changed frequently. “On the counter?”
“On the floor is fine. I’m going to fill the jars with dry cookie mix, tie festive ribbons around the top, and sell them in the shop.”
“A great Christmas gift idea. I’m sure they’ll sell fast.”
“All you have to do is add eggs and butter and you can make homemade cookies in a flash.” She snapped her fingers and gave him a quick smile. “I’ve already done a few.” She picked up a jar from the counter. “For you,” she said, extending the jar rather awkwardly. When he accepted the gift his fingers brushed against hers and she sucked in a breath. “I appreciate your h-help.”
“Thanks, Susan,” he said, sounding not one bit breathless.
She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded, wishing she wasn’t wearing the silly blinking sweater.
“Your sweater is cute,” Danny said, as if reading her mind.
“Oh!” Susan looked down at Rudolph, suddenly having a change of Christmas sweater heart. “A gift from my mom. She’s crazy about Christmas. I have an endless supply of these, along with various earrings, necklaces, and hats.”
“My family’s big on Christmas too,” Danny said but Susan noticed he hadn’t specified himself. For some reason she wanted to know why.
“How about you?” The thought of anyone not loving Christmas made her sad. “Please don’t tell me you’re a Grinch.”
Danny looked off into the distance. “I enjoy the family gatherings. Now that Mason and Mattie have kids, they’re super into the holidays.” He shrugged and turned his attention back to her.
“It’s a fun time of the year, but can be stressful.”
“Yeah, I try not to stress too much. Your place is awesome, by the way,” he said, changing the subject. “I love the hardwood floors and exposed brick.” He looked up. “The beamed ceiling is really sweet, and I like how the lighting is recessed between the wood.” He turned toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “And you have an awesome view of Main Street.”
“Along with a very short commute to work.”
“With no traffic.” Danny chuckled and then continued to walk around, as if fascinated. He picked up a ceramic frog and examined it. “The poor guy is missing a foot.”
“I tend to buy broken things that no one else wants. I drive my assistant, Betsy, absolutely nuts when I find something she knows won’t sell.”
“You feel sorry for it?”
Susan grinned. “My apartment is like living on the Island of Misfit Toys.”
Danny laughed. “It’s kind of like being in a museum. I wish everything had little cards so I could read the history.”
“If you look closely you’ll see that quite a few pieces on display are actually telephones,” she said, wondering why her mouth kept moving when she should have been sending him on his way. It was like her voice had taken on a life of its own and her brain had taken a holiday. “Something else I can’t resist.”
“Really? Show me one.”
Susan walked over to a shelf and picked up a red car. “See?” She lifted the top to expose the phone. “I collect odd things. Don’t ask me why.”
“You collect cool things,” Danny corrected. “And it’s what you do for a living.”
“Some are items that didn’t sell in the shop and I just couldn’t toss away, and some things I buy to sell in the shop to begin with and then can’t part with. Good thing I have a lot of space.” She grinned. “Or then again maybe it’s a bad thing.” She put the car back on the shelf.
“Not at all. You just see beauty or value in things that other people miss.”
“Thank you,” Susan said, even though she suspected he was just being kind. “I suppose part of it comes from growing up on a farm. My mom used everything and wasted nothing.” When Danny smiled she realized that she was starting to feel comfortable with him and her stutter, thank goodness, vanished. “We were green way before it became popular.” She chuckled. “Or then again, maybe we were just poor but I somehow didn’t know it.”
“Hey, when hard times hit, everybody in Cricket Creek struggled. Our marina sure did. There was a time when we thought we would lose it,” he said with a sigh. “Nearly put my father in the grave, trying to keep Mayfield Marina afloat.”
“But you, Mattie, and Mason banded together and saved the marina not only for your family but for Cricket Creek. I can’t imagine this town without it, Danny.”
“Thanks.” He gave her a warm smile. “Well, we have Noah Falcon to thank for coming home and building the baseball stadium. It was the shot in the arm we needed. His rookie baseball card is one of my prized possessions.”
“Oh I know. For a while Main Street was becoming a ghost town, one store closing after another. It’s so wonderful to see Cricket Creek thriving again. New shops are springing up all over Main Street. The deli next door is ham good,” she said with a grin.
“Are you sure I can’t treat you to lunch?”
A big part of Susan wanted to accept his offer, but she suspected he was only being nice. She wasn’t about to repeat the mistake she made by going to the senior prom with Danny. She wanted to ask if his mother had put him up to this just like she did back in high school but she simply shook her head. “I really do have to get to work.”
He hesitated for a fraction as if he might try to convince her, and she sure hoped he didn’t because her resistance to Danny Mayfield was hanging on by a thread. “Okay. Well, I’ll come back when you’re open to shop for my mother.”
“Great,” Susan said even though the thought of seeing Danny again made her heart hammer. He was way too good at putting her at ease when she needed to keep her guard up. “I’ll show you out.”
Danny nodded and fell into s
tep beside her, continuing to look here and there. Susan was used to people wandering around in her apartment, picking up items almost like they were in her shop.
They were nearly to the door when Danny stopped in his tracks. “Where did you get this rocking chair?”
“I bought it at an estate sale a few weeks ago, intending to sell it. She slid her hand over the smooth wood of the arm. “But I just couldn’t bear to part with it.”
Danny inclined his head. “Really? Why?”
“It’s just so beautiful, obviously handmade. Rocking in it is so soothing after being on my feet all day long.” She sat down in it and sighed. “It’s like whoever crafted it made it just for me.” She looked up at him. “See, it’s proportioned just right. I’m so tall that it’s hard to find a chair that feels this comfortable. I change things around in here all the time but the rocking chair is a keeper,” she said, but he had a strange look on his face, making Susan think she was going on way too long about a chair. “Anyway . . .” Feeling a bit silly, she stood up and headed toward the door. He followed her down the steps and through the shop.
“Anything else you need brought out of your SUV?”
“Nothing I can’t manage, but thank you.”
Nodding, he put his hand on the door to push it open but then hesitated and turned back to her. “It was good to see you, Susan. Funny that we don’t run into each other more often.”
“Literally,” she said and he chuckled.
“I hope we do run into each other more often and don’t mind if it’s literally. If you change your mind about sitting in on a Jeff Greenfield session, let me know.” He reached into his wallet and handed her a card. “That’s the office at Mayfield Marina. Just leave me a message.”