A couple in shorts and Atlanta Braves baseball T-shirts stood in the front corner looking at some dishes. Taking some of Callie’s earlier advice, he’d found some plate hooks and hung several of them on the wall with the price stickers showing on the outside.
Callie walked ahead of him, the back of her neck bare. She’d finally put her thick hair up into a ponytail.
A loud crash from the back made Mark wince. Just as Callie stopped, too, Hadley dashed to the front of the store through the center aisle, holding up her hands in surrender. She skidded to a halt in front of Callie in surprise.
Callie laughed. “Well, hi, there.”
Studying her, Hadley smiled back, then she looked at Mark.
“What happened in the back?” He held his breath, afraid of what she’d say in front of Callie.
Her little cheeks flushed. “I knocked over the light. It’s okay,” she added in a rush.
“What light?”
“The gold light.”
“The lamp?”
“Yes, on the floor. I didn’t break it.”
“Okay.” Mark spoke calmly so she’d relax, and it worked. She looked back up at Callie. “Can you say hi to Miss Callie?”
“Hi, Miss Callie.”
Callie dropped to her knees and folded her arms across them. “Hi, Hadley. It’s nice to see you again. Are you working with your daddy today?”
Hadley nodded, then her face became solemn. “I can’t go to school.”
“Oh?”
Hadley glanced at Mark. He motioned toward the register. “Please go back to the counter and finish coloring your worksheet.” To his relief, she skipped off.
Callie rose to her feet. The smile on her face eased his anxieties. Mark motioned toward the bed frames, his tongue tangled up in his thoughts.
Callie stepped over stacks of bed rails lying on the floor and started flipping through the headboards like she was going through a filing cabinet.
He stopped her at a queen-size headboard with a dark finish. “That piece is cherry. I bought it at an estate sale a few months ago. It’s a nice size and an antique, too, most likely prewar.”
Her eyes locked onto it as if processing some mysterious information he didn’t have access to. “That could work. What do you want for it?”
He decided to be straightforward. He could use the realty company’s business. “I paid thirty-five dollars for it, so I’d like to double my money. It’s in good condition.”
“Boy, you got it for a steal, didn’t you?” She held it by the post and examined the legs. “It has the footboard, right?”
He pointed to the smaller frame in front of it.
She hesitated. He expected her to haggle with him. “I need to make sure I get the best deal. Would you take sixty-five? I’ll be in here often, and there are other Realtors in the area that I can recommend visit you.”
“That’d be great, Callie. Deal.” He held out his hand.
She gave it a swift shake, obviously pleased. “Now let me get out of here before I spend any more money. They have me on a per-project budget.”
“Makes sense,” he said. He headed toward the register, and she followed him. “So.” He swallowed, trying not to be obvious as he took a steady breath. “Do you still want to go canoeing on Saturday?” He was embarrassed he’d waited so close to the weekend to bring up the canoe trip again, but he didn’t want to make it sound like a date.
“Absolutely.” Callie looked excited.
Straddling a yellow stool, Hadley looked up from her coloring. “I want to go!”
Callie didn’t miss a beat. “That’d be so much fun,” she replied, looking over at Mark for his approval.
“I like canoes,” Hadley insisted.
Callie laughed. “Me, too. Has your daddy taught you how to paddle?”
“No.”
“Now that’s a shame.” Callie gave Mark a teasing frown. “Every girl should have a canoe. Didn’t you say that?”
He felt his smile widen. “I may have.” They studied each other, and Mark realized Hadley coming along might be a good thing. He gave his daughter a serious look. “If she can be good tomorrow and not pull anyone’s hair or throw things in class, she can come with us.”
The little girl tossed her crayon onto the counter. “I won’t pull Alexa’s hair anymore,” she promised.
Callie slanted her head at her. “That’s a good promise to make. It’s not nice to hurt other people.”
Hadley’s cheeks went pink. She quickly turned her attention to her worksheet and began folding it in crooked halves.
Callie glanced at Mark as he rang up her purchases. “A little trouble at school?”
“We’ve been asked to stay at home today.”
“Oh, my.”
Mark looked up at her amused face and accepted the credit card she held out. “We have a few behavior issues at pre-K.”
“Hmm.” Callie turned back to Hadley, who had crumpled her worksheet into a ball. “Hadley, why did you pull Alexa’s hair?”
Hadley held up the ball in her fist. “Because I was mad. She’s mean.”
“Why is she mean?”
“She has pretty hair and so does Natalie.”
“I think you have pretty hair, too, honey.”
Hadley pointed at her head, which Mark had managed to brush this morning but just barely. “I don’t have braids.”
“Do you like braids?”
“Girls have braids,” Hadley said matter-of-factly. “But I don’t.”
Holding Callie’s receipt in his hand, Mark stared at his daughter. This was all news to him.
Callie seemed to understand everything. “Do the other girls at school laugh at your hair?”
Hadley’s eyes welled up with tears. “They said my hair’s ugly.”
“We don’t get her hair brushed some days,” Mark explained in a rush. He felt his cheeks go red in embarrassment.
“Ah,” Callie said. “You can buy a detangler to make the brushing easier, and braiding is simple, by the way.” She leaned down toward Hadley. “If you come canoeing with me on Saturday, I will braid your hair.”
Hadley’s eyes widened in surprise. Mark felt a lump in his throat. When Callie turned for her receipt, he pressed it into her hand. “Thanks,” he murmured.
She grinned at him. “No problem. I’ll see you Saturday. Where do you want to meet?”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. Mark hadn’t been on the lake in several weeks and hadn’t used any of the canoes in a couple years. “How about we just pick you up?” Her eyes sparkled, and he hoped he wasn’t making it sound too much like a date. “I can throw a canoe in the back of the truck and swing by.”
She started to nod but stopped. “Wait.” She held up a finger. “Why don’t I just drive to your house and help you load it? I can leave my car there.”
“That sounds perfect.” He could tell by her undisguised curiosity that she probably wanted to see the house again.
She looked out his store window. “Do you think we can get that headboard into my car?”
“Do your back seats lie down flat?”
She nodded.
“We’ll get it in there. The sides will hang out the back, but I have some bungee cords.”
“Perfect. Goodbye, Hadley. See you on Saturday.”
Hadley was trying to smooth out her wrinkled worksheet. To Mark’s surprise, she looked up at Callie and made eye contact. “Bye, Miss Callie!”
Chapter Seven
Callie woke up thirty minutes before her alarm went off on Saturday morning. After scarfing down a quick breakfast, she packed a waterproof drawstring bag with sunscreen, bug spray, cash and her driver’s license, then threw in a couple of granola bars.
The drive took longer than she expected. Mark lived west of town in a dark
brick house that sat an acre off of the road. Back behind the house, a large barn shone in the morning sun. Mark’s pickup truck was parked just outside its doors. Hadley danced around in the truck bed.
Callie was just five minutes late, and he was already loading up. She walked past the house to his pickup truck. “Hi, Hadley.”
The little girl’s hair looked wet. She wore a pair of swim shorts and a pink princess shirt stained with purple marker or paint. Callie stopped at the side of the truck and leaned over the bed. “Are you ready to go canoeing?”
Hadley looked up, squinting hard in the bright sunshine. “I couldn’t finish my cereal.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It was yucky!” she shouted.
Just then, Mark came stumbling out of the barn, pulling a long green canoe.
“Didn’t you get that one at scout camp?” Callie asked him.
His hair was damp like he’d just washed it. “I think my father bought it from a sporting goods store outside Atlanta.”
“Nice. Seems like you’ve always had it,” Callie remarked. “Let me help you with that.” She hurried past him and picked up the other end.
Mark heaved the front end up onto the tailgate of his truck and helped her slide the canoe into the back, dodging Hadley, who giggled with excitement. When he leaned down to pick up a life jacket he dropped, Callie coaxed Hadley into her arms, and she carried the child to the truck and let her climb into her car seat in the back.
Mark slammed the tailgate shut, and Callie hurried to the passenger side. He climbed in and looked over his shoulder to back out. “Are you ready?”
“Yes!” answered Hadley.
“Very.” Callie couldn’t help but smile. She remembered this truck. His father had driven it.
Rolling down her window, she breathed in the fresh air soaked with morning dew, late honeysuckle and the scent of leafy trees. “I love it down here,” she murmured as they rolled west down the highway listening to a children’s CD that kept Hadley’s attention. Callie realized how much she’d missed home. Tennessee was beautiful country, too, but these Georgia lowlands were a part of her.
The wind whipped through the cab, blowing her hair all around her face and rippling the top of her shirt across her chest. She closed her eyes and almost felt seventeen again—carefree without any worries in the world. “I love summer, don’t you?”
He glanced at her, then back to the road. “I do. It’s my favorite season next to fall. I like the leaves turning colors.”
“Same,” Callie agreed. “I like summer best, though, because of the fireworks, watermelon, waterskiing, lightning bugs...”
“I used to dread summers as a kid,” Mark said. “My dad had chores for me to do every morning. Now I have to do them on my own.”
“I remember that! If you weren’t at practice, he always had a project for you. Well, you have help now.” She motioned to Hadley in the back seat and saw a faint smile tug at his jaw.
Callie stole a peek at his profile. He still looked like a baseball player, she thought. Tan and weathered, strong jaw, square chin, serious eyes.
“I still like being outside,” he mused. “We used to have the twenty acres, but I sold some after Dad died to pay for funeral expenses.” In a regretful tone, he added, “I sold off a few more a while back to update the house and fix the roof. I kind of wish I hadn’t because I’m behind on rent for the Market now.”
“Oh, you don’t own that building?”
“No, I wish I did. My parents intended to buy it, but once they could afford it, it was no longer for sale. Matt McIntyre owns the whole north end of the square—the law office, my place and the salon.”
Callie scrunched her brows. “Who’s he?”
“He owns the bank.”
Callie blinked at his curt tone. “McIntyre, right. I remember that name. It sounds like he owns half the town, too.”
“Yeah, he does.”
Callie made a mental note to remember that detail. If she had to approach the bank for a loan, it’d be good to know what she was getting into.
Mark turned up the music. He tapped his thumb on the steering wheel. Up ahead, a brown sign announced Walker’s Lake.
Callie saw the shore from the distance through the lake’s thick trees. “I love how clear the water looks. It’s still green instead of ol’ lake brown.”
Mark chuckled. “We try to keep it clean.”
“There’s not a lot of waves today.”
He motioned toward the full lot. “Boats went in early this morning, but they’ve moved on.”
They parked and unloaded the canoe, then carried it down to the water’s edge. Hadley pretended to help, and Callie convinced her to lift on her end.
While Mark went back to lock up the truck, Callie strapped on Hadley’s life jacket. Small waves washed up over the pebbly shore and made a lapping sound. “Like this,” she said, snapping the buckle on the little girl’s safety gear.
“I wear this when I swim.”
“You do? Are you a good swimmer?”
“Yes.” In reply, Hadley dashed into the water but stopped ankle deep.
She looked back, and Callie smiled. “Stay right there so we don’t forget to put you into the canoe with us.” That seemed to do the trick.
Callie glanced toward the shore and saw Mark heading her way with a ball cap and glasses on. He wore a T-shirt, athletic shorts and sports sandals. Her stomach did a cartwheel. She bit her lip and looked away.
In the distance, a bass boat floated in a cove, and the hum of a speedboat carried over the breeze as a skier flew across the surface of the water. “I’ve missed this.”
Mark picked up the canoe and slid it into the shallows. Callie grabbed his forearm as she stepped in and reached for the sides to balance herself. “Front or back?” she asked.
“Up to you.”
She grinned. “I’ll steer first.”
He let her have the stern and called for Hadley. She squealed with excitement and clambered in, rocking the boat so hard Callie squealed back and held on for dear life.
Laughing, Mark slipped the boat the rest of the way off the bank. Splashing into the lake with giant steps, he sloshed to the front of the canoe to climb in while Hadley wriggled with excitement. When they shoved off, Callie saw him look back at her over his shoulder, and her skipping heart graduated to backflips. She tried to put her thoughts in check. It was only friendship. Nothing more. Right?
* * *
Even as the sun began to warm up, Hadley’s inquisitive chatter and Callie’s good sense of direction and cheerful observations made the heat worth it. Mark pointed at a crane standing ankle deep on the shore.
“A bird!” shouted Hadley.
“He’s beautiful,” Callie called. She kept her strokes with the paddle even and strong, impressing him with her endurance.
“Are you getting tired yet?”
She laughed. “I tried to keep this up while living in Tennessee. There’s lots of rivers and waterways there.”
She drifted farther from the bank, moving into a current that carried them along. Another boat whisked by a few hundred yards away, and he watched the wake roll into waves and move their way.
“I like the waves,” she warned, and they waited for them to hit. The canoe wiggled back and forth making Hadley cry out with nervous excitement, and Mark held her tight, enjoying the ride until it petered out. Callie splashed the paddle back into the water. “Do you want to switch up now?”
“Sure.”
She paddled hard against the current toward a flooded alcove with tree stumps rising up out of the water. “I’m surprised we haven’t seen any snakes.”
He nodded. “We will. Of course, it’s nothing like you see in the Gulf.”
“How often do you go down to Florida these days?”
“I used to go two or three times a year. I’d rent a boat or go fishing sometimes.”
“That sounds like fun. Do you still have coast guard buddies down there?”
“Yeah, we meet up now and then to go swimming and diving,” Mark said.
“I was never much for swimming in the ocean.”
He chuckled. “I remember. Your parents never let you go with me on spring break. It’s the same as a lake, just deeper.”
“Yeah, with waves and riptides and things that want to eat me.”
Mark laughed as they reached the shallows. He jumped out and pulled the canoe onto the bank.
“I’m hungry,” Callie said, and he agreed.
They found an overturned tree trunk lying in the grass nearby and plunked down on it under some shade while Hadley ran up and down the muddy shoreline.
Callie looked at her lap. “Oh, no. My legs are already sunburned.”
Mark looked at her legs. They were pink. “You should put something on that before it gets any worse.” He grabbed his knapsack and pulled out his sports drink. “Hadley, come take a drink.”
“Gross,” Callie said, elbowing him in the ribs, “how can you drink that warm?”
He laughed. “The same way you can drink that water,” he said, motioning to the bottle in her hand.
Hadley came over, her hair hanging over her face. Mark handed her his drink.
“Hadley, would you like me to braid your hair now?” Callie asked.
The little girl stared like Callie was offering her a present.
“Here, turn around.” Callie stood up behind her and smoothed her hair down with her fingers. She quickly made a loose braid that she tied with a hair band she’d worn around her wrist.
“That’s beautiful,” Mark said.
Callie took out her cell phone and snapped a picture and showed it to his little girl. Hadley couldn’t stop touching the back of her head.
“That’s my hair?”
“Yes,” Mark said. “It looks awesome.”
“It’s a French braid,” Callie explained.
“It’s beautiful, honey,” Mark said. “Here, finish this drink now.”
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