Sisters, Ink

by Rebeca Seitz

  “The Red Sea may not have been that hard.”

  Tandy chuckled, warmed at the sound of Kendra’s laughter. “Hey, I had an idea and wanted to run it by you.”

  Tandy tugged a bit on Cooper’s leash. “Shoot.”

  “I was over in Sara’s store today and noticed she’s not using her entire space. It’s not huge, but I think it’d be big enough for us, and we’d be right by Emmy’s, which fits in well with us.”

  “How much is it?”

  “I didn’t ask since she’d want to know why I was interested, and it’s right there by Clay’s. Didn’t think you’d want me to chance it.”

  “I love the idea. Call Sara and see if we can meet with her in the morning. We can talk to her, then go to Nashville to meet this Jane woman.”

  “Good deal. See you in a few hours!”

  Tandy closed the phone and pulled Cooper back to the car. “Come on, boy, we’ve got three more hours to go, and then you can have the whole farm to run around.” Her heart beat faster with every hundred miles traveled. Stars Hill—home—was so close.

  Cooper woofed and wagged his stubby tail.

  * * *

  COMING BACK TO Stars Hill was a strange experience every time. Seven weeks ago she’d had no idea how one little trip would change the course of her life. As she drove the Beamer down Lindell, she saw it all now with fresh eyes. The eyes of someone who lived here. There would be no sign stretched across the street for her this time. That would have given everything away.

  She parked the Beamer a block away from Clay’s diner so he couldn’t see her until she walked up. Praying he was there and not off on a date with some hussy, she opened her door and pulled Cooper out with her.

  He sniffed the air, recognized its scent, and barked.

  “Hush, boy, you’ll give us away.”

  The new lampposts glowed a welcome. No breeze blew, as though the town waited for her to make a move. She walked down the street, seeing his red and navy sign hanging above the door, below the navy awning. A few of the tables held couples, but the place wasn’t too full.

  She stopped on the corner across the street, staring through the window at his world. A world she hoped he would invite her into when she walked through that door. Cooper sat down and waited with her.

  After a full minute in which she convinced herself he wasn’t there, he exited the kitchen and stood behind the counter. The light didn’t let her see the details of his face from here, but his shoulders and head were bowed. He looked tired. Defeated.

  Cooper saw him, too, and made a beeline across the street. She let herself be pulled along, then opened the glass door.

  He looked up at the sound of the bell and froze. Unsure, unsteady, she threaded her way through the tables, skirted the counter, and came to stand in front of him. It felt like every eye in the room was on them, and for once she didn’t care.

  “Hi.” It came out breathless.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “Hi.”

  Cooper settled back on his haunches, eyes going back and forth like he was watching a tennis match. “I wasn’t sure if you would want to know, but I didn’t want you to hear it from someone else, so …” If only she could read his eyes. They hadn’t left hers since she’d walked in. “I’m moving here.”

  Life sprang into those green depths watching her. A slow grin grew across his face, and the steel band around her heart began to loosen again.

  “You’re what?”

  “I’m moving here. I’m here, actually. My stuff probably beat me to Daddy’s.”

  “Yes!” Before she knew it, he had picked her up and swung her around, showering her face with kisses. She dropped Cooper’s leash before strangling him and reveled in the joy of Clay, in the feel of those thick black curls on her skin again, in knowing he still loved her. His strong arms around her waist were all she’d thought of for several hours of the drive. Shoot, for the last two months.

  She heard clapping and wondered if that was in her head or if the Stars Hill diners were congratulating them. When Cooper woofed, she had her answer. Clay’s adoration came to an abrupt halt, and he set her on her feet, his eyebrows scrunched. “Wait, what changed?”

  “I—”

  “Not that I’m saying you shouldn’t move here.” He tightened his hold on her waist again. “I just want to make sure I understand.”

  She glanced back at the room, at the side she could see of it, blushing when she saw that everyone waited for her answer.

  Clay saw it, too. “Show’s over, folks. We’ll be right back.”

  He tugged her into the kitchen, and Cooper’s nails clicked as he followed. “Now, you mean you’re going to live here, right? Not going back to Orlando?”

  She nodded and grinned.

  “What happened to the need to prove yourself, to be a big attorney, to make partner, to give back to your parents?”

  “I found a way to do that here.”

  “But we already have attorneys. Which I can go maim right now if you need me to, but—”

  She put her fingers over his lips. “When I went back to Orlando, I was so lonely. I thought it would help if I could find some girlfriends like the sisters. You know, girls to scrap with and talk about life. I searched and searched, but I couldn’t find a way to find those girls. And then it hit me: If I was looking for these groups, then there were probably lots of other women in the same boat. Needing friends, wanting them to be scrapbookers, and not having a way to find them. So I called Kendra.”

  “Uh-oh. This can only get crazy from here.”

  “Exactly. We found a lady in Nashville who owns a company called Sisters, Ink. She had this vision of creating an online database of scrapbooking clubs and got her girlfriends to start the company with her. But then the whole thing fell apart. She’s getting married, and one of the owners is pregnant and just adopted a little girl from Chile. Another of them is going through marriage counseling. They didn’t have the time to devote to the business. So Jane decided to sell it.”

  “Enter you and Kendra.”

  “Yep. We’re going to Nashville tomorrow to sign the final papers, but it’s pretty much a done deal. We’ll be the new owners of Sisters, Ink and, hopefully, provide a resource for women to find other women in their local communities with whom they can scrap and share friendship.”

  He shook his head. “You are the most brilliant woman I’ve ever met.”

  “I’m not sure about that, but as Momma always said, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’”

  “Pretty smart woman, your momma.” He leaned in and kissed her, and heat and joy flared inside her. This wouldn’t be the last time his lips touched hers. She didn’t have to walk away from him. Not ever again.

  Cooper woofed, and they broke apart to look down at him. Tandy bent and patted his head.

  “You were doing all this and never thought about calling to tell me? I’ve been in agony here, woman!” He pulled her back up to stand against him, and she saw the ocean she’d left behind in his eyes.

  She ran her finger down his strong jaw. “Poor baby. I didn’t want to get your hopes up—my hopes up—and then have it fall apart. Leaving you once was hard enough. I didn’t think I could do it again.”

  He slid his hands up her side and held her face. “I love you, Tandy Ann Sinclair.”

  “I love you back, Clay Michael Kelner.”

  “You know, lots of women would have been happy just to be in love.”

  “Hmm. Maybe. But I’m not one of them.” She leaned her head back and looked at him. “I need you to understand that. I do love you, more than I knew a woman could love a man, but I don’t want my whole world to center around you. It’ll suffocate you and me and us. Momma and Daddy sacrificed so much for me, and Momma was right when she told me to go to Orlando.

  “I didn’t realize until the past few weeks, though, that she told me to go there because she knew it was the one place I was afraid of. I don’t think her dream was for me to
go to Orlando and live the rest of my life. It was to chase after whatever God made me to do and not be afraid if that purpose took me to a city I was scared of.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I almost missed that, but I get it now.” She shook her head. “I spent a lot of years fulfilling an expectation that no one had of me.”

  His eyes softened as he watched her, and the tenderness there made her heart race.

  He tucked a coppery red curl behind her ear. “You are such a smart lady, Taz. I’m not sure how I got this lucky.”

  She kissed him and pulled back. “Just remember that in the next few weeks when I’m running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get a business going.”

  “I can help with that. Starting this place was no piece of cake, but it’s doable. Are all four of you doing this thing?”

  “Yeah. Meg and Joy won’t be too involved, but they’re co-owners. Kendra and I will mainly run the place. We’re talking to Sara tomorrow about some store space she has between her shop and Emmy’s.”

  “So you’ll be right here near me every day?”

  She hadn’t thought of that. “Yep!”

  “This just gets better and better.”

  “Hey, you two—” Kendra stuck her head around the corner of the doorframe—“any chance we can get some drink refills out here before Jesus comes back?”

  Tandy laughed and went to hug her sister.

  “Can’t a guy have a moment in his own diner?” Clay made a move to pull Tandy back into his arms. “I’ve been waiting for this for weeks.”

  “Sorry, man.” Darin came into the kitchen as well. “I tried to stop her, but you know how it is.”

  “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”

  “Hello?” Kendra waved her hand in the air. “I’m right here in case anyone wants to talk to me.” She put her hands on her hips in playful exasperation.

  Clay glanced at the clock on the wall. “We’re closing up in ten minutes. Let me run settle the tabs, and we’ll all go out and do something.”

  “Yeah, like unload my moving truck. Daddy’s going to have a conniption when he sees how much stuff is in there.”

  “We’ll figure it out.” Clay sounded happier than she could ever remember. “Be right back.”

  He walked out of the kitchen, and Tandy looked to Kendra, who grinned.

  “That seemed to go well.”

  Tandy nudged her sister’s arm. “When did you get here?”

  “We were over in the corner when you came in,” Darin said.

  “I wasn’t going to miss this!” Kendra said. “Did you think I would just sit at home, waiting on you to call me with the details?”

  “Now that you mention it, no.”

  Kendra held up a small digital camera. “And you’ll be happy to know I captured your perfect scrapbooking moment on film.”

  “You didn’t!”

  “I did.” Kendra gave a satisfied smile. “Somebody had to make sure you didn’t crop any more Cooper photos.”

  At the sound of his name, Cooper barked, making them all laugh.

  “Thanks, sis.”

  “You bet.”

  “Did you call Sara?”

  Kendra nodded. “We’re meeting her tomorrow morning at nine. Joy and Meg said to do whatever we thought was best, that worked with the budget.”

  “Great.” She ran her hands down her jeans. “Let’s get over to Daddy’s and start unpacking. Whatever doesn’t fit in the house we can put in the barn for now, I guess.”

  “Sounds good. We’ll meet you there.” They made their way out of the kitchen, and Tandy watched as Kendra and Darin left the diner, Darin’s hand on her back. She had no idea if her sister would manage to stay with Darin longer than the usual couple of months, but it was nice to see her happy for now anyway. She turned back to tell Clay she was leaving and noticed everyone had left. He turned out the lights.

  The glow from Tanner’s streetlights spilled into the windows, giving just enough light to catch the sparkle in his eye.

  She’d almost missed this.

  Her breath caught at the thought, then eased as he walked over to her, steps steady and slow. She watched his shoulders move, smiled at the shadow in that little spot between his shoulder and neck, where her head fit so well. She had a place to fit. To really fit.

  A tear traced its way down her cheek, and she couldn’t decide if it was happiness at belonging or pain for all those who didn’t have this. For all the years she hadn’t had this.

  Clay stopped in front of her, blocking part of the light. She shivered at his nearness. “Ready for some unpacking?”

  “If it involves being with you, I’m ready for whatever.” He put his arms around her. “Thank you.” His voice was low and husky.

  “For what?”

  “I know this had to be hard for you.”

  Cooper gave voice to her sigh, and she smiled. “It was and it wasn’t. It was hard when I thought I had to give up one dream to get another. It was easy when I figured out how to have them both.”

  “You are—” he kissed her—“the most—” he kissed her again—“wonderful woman—” another small kiss—“I have ever met.” His last kiss was deeper than the others, telling her how much he loved her, wanted her, and treasured her.

  When he raised his head and searched her eyes, she took a deep breath and locked her gaze to his, letting him see the love there in its entirety. For one brief, desperate moment, it felt like she’d jumped off a giant cliff and hung suspended in thin mountain air. But then he smiled and tightened his arms around her, and she knew that he knew. No, she felt that he knew.

  After a long moment, he stepped back and held out his hand. “I think we need to go unload some boxes. If we stay here much longer, I’m pretty sure I’ll be dragging you up those stairs and ruining this before it ever gets off the ground.”

  She shivered at his words, wanting the same thing and grateful that he was man enough to both admit it and avoid it. “Right. I’m parked outside. Want to ride with me?”

  “Sure.”

  She tugged on Cooper’s leash, and he hauled himself to his feet. They walked out the door, and she stood with Cooper while he locked it. When he turned back, she took his warm hand and held it as they crossed the street.

  A man on one side. A dog on the other.

  And a heart that could feel again.

  Momma’s Buckeyes

  (Serves four ladies for three hours)

  Ingredients:

  2 sticks soft margarine

  1½ boxes of confectioners (powdered) sugar

  2 c. peanut butter (16 oz.)

  Large package chocolate chips

  ½ stick paraffin

  Mix first three ingredients together by hand. (Get those fingers good and gooey!) When all ingredients are thoroughly mixed, roll into balls about half as big as a golf ball. Place balls on wax paper.

  On stovetop, melt chocolate chips and paraffin in a double broiler over medium heat. Stick a toothpick about halfway in a peanut butter ball and dip the ball into the chocolate. Place back on the wax paper to dry.

  Hint: If one falls off the toothpick and into the chocolate, you’ve just created a great excuse to eat your mistake. Grab a spoon!