She slid the hand she’d used to shield her eyes into her pocket and caressed the smooth folded notepaper filled with sweetness for Adam’s eyes alone. Yet hiding it in such a lighted area without him discovering her in the act would be anything but simple.
Adam trailed after her. “What can I get you?”
“Oh, I’m just looking. It seems the whole city is talking about the different things you’re bringing in, and I wanted to see for myself before you sold it all.”
Pride gleamed in his eyes as he swung his arm out in an arc to encompass the interior. “Take as long as you like. I’ll be over here if you need help.”
She studied the contents of a display case showing decorated egg cups, porcelain bonbon dishes, and the like, while he wrote in a notebook. Her plan was to drop the note into something, but that was proving difficult since most items with open tops were inside the cases. And then she spied the two valises standing beside the rounded lid of a steamer trunk. What if she merely dropped her note behind it? Surely he’d find it when he swept the floor. But how to distract him from the room so she could do what she needed to do?
The sound of stomping feet on the sidewalk rattled the glass in the front window.
Adam glanced at his pocket watch and then walked around the counter and headed to the door. Half a dozen young lads blazed in and stopped short as Adam raised his hands. “Welcome, boys. You have two choices. Settle down and act like a paying customer out for a stroll, or stand outside and look through the window.”
Behind Adam, Janet saw her chance. She backed up to the trunk.
One of the boys angled his head to look up. “Is it true you’re selling toys, Mr. Hazelton?”
While Adam nodded at the boy, Janet reached over and dropped her love note near the back of the domed lid, except instead of sliding down the back, it balanced on the edge.
“Yes, I am,” Adam said. “Now, mind your manners or I’ll chase you out myself. They’re over there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder in her direction.
One puff of air would topple the note over the side, but Janet had run out of time. She eased over to the counter.
“Yes, sir,” the boys chorused, already on the run to get to the back corner toy display.
“If you break anything, I’ll be calling on your folks,” Adam called after them.
“Well done,” Janet said.
He turned to face her. “Ah, you’re still here.” His gray eyes glinted as they looked at her—not through her, but at her.
Her pulse pounded in her ears. How long could she stand there under the force of his gaze without babbling about how he made her feel? Dragging her eyes away from his, she turned to the door. “Not for long. Since you have your hands full, I’ll be off. Your store is always changing. I’ll be back soon.”
“Hey, Mr. Hazelton?” one of the boys called out. “Are these wagon wheels supposed to fall right off?”
Janet smiled as she walked away. That is, until she remembered her parting shot about being back soon. How soon could she return to find out if he located her note? Not long if it didn’t go over the edge. How long could she stay away without knowing? Already, her knees grew weak at the thought of him reading her heartfelt words.
At the end of the day, while locking up the storeroom, Adam’s gaze fell on Mrs. Eider’s pink vase. As the black cloud of devastating pain enveloped him, he dropped to the floor with his head between his knees. Waves of self-loathing poured over him as he immersed himself in memories he refused to forget. Why had he lived when he’d been the cause of others dying?
For several minutes he sat there before struggling to his feet. With the weight of his sin pushing down on his shoulders, he trudged to a house so devoid of life even spiders didn’t bother spinning their webs in the corners.
Adam lay in bed the next morning and stared at the ceiling. He’d flipped and flopped during one of his worst sleepless nights ever, probably caused when the pink vase triggered memories of his family home.
But today was another day to get through, and he wouldn’t allow his despondency to drag down the spirits of others.
Dressed in his finest, the mayor was waiting at Adam’s store when he turned the corner onto Main Street. “Happy anniversary, sir.”
“Thank you, Adam. I snuck out while the missus was making my breakfast.”
Adam unlocked his door and led the way inside. “I have the vase back here.”
“I thought it prudent to give it to her now instead of having her wait all day. She’s a very impatient woman.”
“A good plan, sir. She’ll have a day to remember, for sure.” Adam wrapped the vase in a piece of soft flannel, and then covered it with brown paper. However, instead of tying it with a string as he usually did, he cut a length of pink ribbon to secure the package. “There you go. I wish you both all the best.”
“Thank you, Adam. I’ll tell her you said so. Good day.” He rushed out the door with his present cradled close to his heart.
Adam stared at the doorway for a long time. He’d ordered the vase, among other things, to resell as a way to make a living. Yet, that one item was a permanent memory for a special event in two people’s lives.
He took out a new journal and then reached for a pencil. On the first page, he wrote down the date and that it was the thirtieth anniversary for Mr. and Mrs. Eider. If nothing else, he’d be able to wish them a happy day when the next year rolled around. He tucked the journal into the drawer he kept his valuables in, but paused before he pushed it closed. For the first time in years, he had thought about the future outside the realm of business.
He surveyed the showroom. Shelves and display cases filled with tins, toiletries, and fragile items. Stacks of luggage, crates, and linens across the center aisle. A back corner of items for youngsters. Where had the vision come from to have something special for everyone?
The Emporium. The name entered his mind like a locomotive on full steam. Something for everyone, and the opportunity for anything. He liked it very much.
With the eagerness of someone with his life ahead of him, he strode down the center aisle. As he passed the trunk, a white paper fluttered and dropped down the back. Reaching down, he fished out a folded piece of floral notepaper, similar to the one he’d found days ago near the magazines. He opened it and read:
My heart beats faster when you are near, lean close to me so you can hear.
No one was in the store, and the mayor had been his only customer so far. Considering that it was the Eiders’ anniversary, there was a good chance the mayor had dropped it in his rush to get back home.
Adam took out the first note he’d found and compared the script. A perfect match. The mystery was solved. If the mayor didn’t come looking for his love note, Adam would take a run out to his place later and discreetly return them both.
Chapter 3
After three hours of typing, Janet shook the tension out of her wrists. Her speed increased by the week, but she still had a long way to go before she’d call herself proficient.
Neil leaned into her office, his hands on either side of the doorway stopping him from pitching forward. “You got a minute? I need your help.”
He’d been moody for weeks. She’d first noticed it when he hadn’t made fun of her for covering herself in ink from the typewriter ribbons after she’d cleared them out of the garden. Instead, he’d spent the rest of the evening in the barn with the stock.
Rising, she stretched. “Sure, what can I do?”
“Come with me to deliver the Emporium sign.”
“I’ve been working all afternoon, Neil. I need to get supper started.”
“Let Jack do it. I could use some advice.”
“You’re asking me for advice?”
His faced turned ruddy. “You’re a girl, aren’t you? Who else am I supposed to ask?”
She realized that the older brother who worked so hard at making her feel young and foolish was asking her for mature, womanly advice. The tension o
f bending over her machine eased considerably.
Pa appeared behind Neil. “It’s all ready to go. Stay and help Hazelton hang it, too.”
Janet perked up. “Hazelton? The Emporium sign is for him?”
“That’s what Adam’s calling his store now,” Neil said. “Are you coming?”
She looked at Pa. “I sure would like to see some of the fancy things everyone’s talking about.”
Pa chucked her under the chin. “You go on, then. Supper will be ready when you two get back.”
They had barely left the yard when Neil shook his head. “He never chucks me under the chin like that.”
“If he tried it, you’d probably jerk back in alarm.” She bumped his elbow. “I remember when he was washing your mouth out with soap every time you came home from school.”
He laughed. “That’s true enough.”
“What did you want to ask me?”
“I’m sweet on Molly Saunders and want to show her my intentions.”
“Your intentions? That’s serious. Does Pa know?”
“Pa knows I’m sweet on her, but won’t let me stop in when we’re out delivering that way. I see her when I can. There’s always a herd of ranch hands surrounding her, and I’m hoping to give her something special so she knows I’m serious.”
“How serious?”
“To marry her, if she likes my gift.”
He pulled the team to a halt outside Adam’s store.
Janet placed her hand on his arm before he could jump down. “And if she doesn’t like it?”
“Then she’s not the girl for me, silly.” He jumped down as if it made the most sense in the world.
Janet went over the conversation in her head. Somehow she had missed Neil’s question, for it seemed like he told her what he wanted to do without asking her advice. Considering his attitude, that was probably for the best.
With a ladder on each side of the facade, Adam and Neil took down the old sign and then carried it around to lean against the side of the store.
While they were doing that, Janet went inside and searched behind the trunk for her second note. When she didn’t see it, she decided it was time for number three.
A crystal lemonade set stood on a lace doily on top of one of the display cases. Once the men were back up the ladder hanging the new sign, Janet sauntered over and dropped the third note down into the pitcher.
By the time Neil and Adam walked in, she was surveying the toiletries across the main aisle with her hands folded behind her back.
Adam turned as he entered. “Thanks, Neil. Tell Jack I appreciate his workmanship.”
“I’ll do that. Mind if we have a look around a bit?”
“No, of course not.” Adam nodded to her as he passed.
Neil approached her side. “Well, what do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
He leaned close with his back to Adam. “I mean for Molly. Come on, sis, we just talked about this.”
“You said you were getting her a gift.”
“Well, yeah, but you don’t think I’m going to pick it out. That’s what you’re here for.”
Janet stepped back, not caring who heard her. “Oh, no. I am not picking out something that will be the catalyst to decide your future.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I’ll help all I can, but I refuse to make the decision of what she gets.”
“Well, fine then. I’ll pick one myself.”
Janet crossed her arms to hide her quaking hands. If he wasn’t her brother, she’d—
Adam threw her a curious glance before moving toward Neil.
Realizing he must have heard the whole thing, she sagged against the counter. She’d only agreed to help because he’d asked her to, but if she’d known he was going to stake his future on it, she would never have come. Even if it meant not seeing Adam this week.
Adam tried to concentrate on Neil’s problem, but he kept looking over in Janet’s direction. He hadn’t followed the complete conversation between the siblings, but when he saw the angry color darkening her cheeks, he felt he had to step in and do something.
Neil clasped his hands together on top of his head. “How am I supposed to know what a woman wants?”
“Who is she? Does she live around here?” Adam turned so that Janet was behind him where he couldn’t be distracted by her.
“Molly Saunders. A rancher’s daughter.”
“How well do you know her?”
“Well enough to marry her.”
Adam spun around at the sound of metal striking metal.
With a grimace, Janet raised the silver-latched lid of a tea chest off the rim of a nearby tin. “Sorry, it fell. I think I’ll wait in the wagon.”
Adam took a deep breath and then released it slowly as she left. He turned back to Neil. “Your gift must come from your heart if you expect it to reach hers.”
Neil shook his head. “I don’t even know what that means.”
“Look around and see if something attracts you. Then close your eyes and imagine yourself giving it to her. How do you think she’ll receive it? For example, look here at the trinket boxes. There’s a crystal one, a silver one with embossed roses, and a wooden one with inlaid doves. Of the three, which one appeals to you?”
“I know that she prefers lilacs to roses, and she likes birds, too, but I can tell you right now, all of these cost too much.”
“If you can’t afford these, Neil, how can you keep a wife? You’ll need to provide her with clothes, shoes, linens, and all sorts of little things.”
Neil stared at the trinket boxes, deep in thought.
“Where will you live? Will she expect you to live on their ranch? Or at your place with your family? If it were me, I’d be asking what she expected before asking her to share my life. Otherwise, you might end up sharing hers.”
Adam knew he’d talked himself out of a sale, but he couldn’t allow Neil to do something rash without speaking his mind.
Sure enough, Neil left without a gift, although he said he would probably be back.
As they pulled away, Adam looked up at his sign with the realization that the new store was having an effect on the old Adam. First, he’d started making notes about his customers’ private lives, and now he was offering advice without being asked. Heartfelt words had poured out of him like those from a preacher, or a father—or a friend.
He reached for his duster and started cleaning. If he wasn’t careful, he’d be spilling his past to whomever would listen. Then once word got out, the good people of Miles City would be traipsing to his store—not to buy his goods—but to throw rocks through his windows.
He continued down the counter, picking things up and moving them farther down, while melancholy caught him in its grips.
When he picked up the lemonade pitcher, however, a flash of white drew his attention. He peered through the crystal and then tipped it over. Out poured another folded floral note.
Setting the pitcher down carefully on the doily, he stared at it as memories of the mayor’s anniversary filled his mind. Eider hadn’t returned that day, so after supper, Adam had carried the two love notes to the Eider place where the mayor had said he’d never seen them before.
Perplexed, Adam had put them back in the drawer when he returned to work the next morning.
And now there was another one.
The problem was that there were so many strangers coming to look at the items in his store, he couldn’t hazard a guess who was leaving the notes, or for what purpose. Carrying the duster and the note, he went behind the counter to his stool. He couldn’t say why he hesitated opening the note, yet apprehension set his pulse beating in his ears.
When he couldn’t take it any longer, he unfolded the floral notepaper and read:
I’ve loved you longer than you can guess. Love me, trust me, and I’ll confess.
Love? Someone was professing their love? He tapped the note on the glass counter. Was Neil using his store to
leave love notes to Molly? He compared the script with the others. They all matched, but it didn’t mean it was or wasn’t Neil’s since Janet took care of all the paperwork for the family.
He paced the length of the store for several rounds before taking up his duster and continuing his work. When he reached the end of the counter, he’d made a decision.
Janet returned to Adam’s store three days later to thank him for whatever he’d said to Neil. Her brother had gone from brooding to pensive, without any more talk of Molly. It didn’t matter to her who he married, except she had prayed it would be God’s will, and if so, there wasn’t a rush. She was curious to discover if that’s what Adam had told him.
Adam looked up and nodded to her before giving his attention back to the seventy-year-old Lowell twins who were trying to decide between a trunk and two valises for their journey home to Canada.
She moseyed around the store with her hands behind her back. Only a few weeks ago she’d been lamenting the fact that Adam never looked at her, never mind smiled. Now, he threw her a look whenever she entered his fancy emporium. One of these days, he might even smile.
Her heart jumped when she saw her love note peeking out from under the pile of magazines. Strange. She’d been sure he’d found it.
As she continued her stroll, she caught sight of the second note on the back edge of the trunk, which happened to be surrounded by the men.
She carried another note in her pocket, but it didn’t look like she’d have the chance to leave it behind.
“I want my own suitcase,” George, the younger twin, announced.
“Me, too. We’ll take them both,” his brother said.
After they paid, Adam grabbed a suitcase in each hand. “Allow me to carry them to your buggy.”
The Secret Admirer Romance Collection Page 21