by Kimi Flores
“You’re speaking to the choir.” I rolled my eyes. “I haven't had a lot of relationships either, but dating can be very scary for a girl who’d rather sit in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate, getting to know her neighbor, over the whole ‘wham bam, thank you, ma’am’.”
When I glanced his way, I noticed his amused face. “Do they even say that phrase anymore?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? I’m sure the common phrases are much more vulgar now.”
He grimaced. “I fear for my daughters and the guys they meet. Thankfully, Cass is dating someone I mentored and showed how to run a real estate agency. They operate the office in Santa Rosa.”
I nudged his bicep with the back of my fingers and felt the muscles tighten. “Oh, so kind of like how your father-in-law showed you the construction business?”
He eyed me, grinning at my retreating hand. “Naw, Joshua came to me straight out of real estate school, completely wet behind the ears, but he didn’t have a pregnant girlfriend waiting for him in their studio apartment above her parent’s garage. He and Cass didn’t even meet the first couple of years he worked with me.”
Looking down at his empty mug, I asked, “Would you like more?”
My eyes traced his hand as he rubbed his stomach. “No, I’m good. I think I’m all sugared out for a while.”
I nudged his arm again. “Oh come on, who’s going to help me eat all those desserts in the kitchen?”
He leaned forward and looked back at me, the fire licked along his jawline and I became lost in the desire to use my fingertips to follow the same path. “Pop them in the freezer, and we can eat them a little at a time. I have a feeling we’ve got a long winter ahead of us.” His eyes were soft and warm. “We’ll have plenty of time to eat them in front of a cozy fire.”
My stomach bursts with butterflies. More nights like this with him? I could definitely get behind that idea.
Chapter Five
Tess
After peeking through my kitchen window at Elliott for the hundredth time since he’d started working today, I decided I needed to get out of the house. My curiosity could easily become a stalking obsession if I wasn’t careful. I was a little unnerved by my quick, growing attraction to him and needed a little distance this morning. Plus, it was about time I did some adulting and hit the grocery store.
I wasn’t used to driving on wet asphalt, but thankfully the rain was only spotty and I hadn’t had any problems. As my wipers swished back and forth, I noticed all the Christmas spirit that decorated Main Street. I was used to seeing patriotic decorations and American flags line the streets, but wasn’t surprised to see it look like the north pole this time of year. I marveled at how easily the small-town people just transitioned from one holiday to the next with such detail and ease.
Making my way down Main Street, I passed Sue Anne’s Cafe where my sister, Lina, and I would go at least once a week and have the best ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwiches and fries. Lone Pines Lanes, Hope Falls Twins Cinema and Two-Scoops Ice-Cream Parlor stood in place as the street stretched on. Lina, our friends and I would slip into each of those places to escape the blistering heat.
Read Between the Lines bookstore came into view and the strangest sense of peace hit me, as if I really was home, where I belonged. One of the many careers Lina and I would dream about on that porch swing was to open our own bookstore. We’d even gone as far as asking the owner for jobs so we could learn what it took to run one. Unfortunately, at the time, neither of us were of a working age so that was a no go.
Lina and I had spent hours in that store, scoping out the latest teen books. I’d never forget how excited we’d been when our eyes met covers of The Babysitter’s Club series. New books in hand, we’d ran back to the house. The rest of the afternoon had been spent lying on our bunkbeds, in the room that was now my office, taking turns reading chapters to each other.
God, I missed those times with her. Over the years, we’d remained close, but had also slowly let life get in the way of spending time together. It wasn't until now that I realized how much I missed her. This was yet another year I wouldn’t get to see her either since she and her family, as well as my father and his girlfriend, were heading out to Spain to visit my sister’s in-laws. I’d been invited to go along, but at the time I figured I’d be working.
With a deep sigh, I continued to drive toward the end of Main Street, passing several newer businesses I didn’t recognize until I pulled into the parking lot of Stanton’s Market. This place hadn’t changed a bit.
It was a much smaller store than I was used to, but the simple local farmer’s market charm was a lot more welcoming than the huge megastores I usually shopped in.
Grabbing a cart, I mapped out which aisles I needed to go down. List in hand, I was very methodical with my shopping. After carefully stacking a bunch of canned and boxed goods into my cart, I hit the area where I got most of my food—the freezer aisle. Since my mom had died when I was a teenager, I never really learned to cook.
Once my dad was in charge of dinner, we’d gone from home cooked meals to pre-packaged food. Anything that was easy to heat up and get on the table was his idea of dinner. College life didn’t really give me much of a chance to do anything different. Between classes and studying, I rarely even looked at the food I ate. Once again, my career had narrowed my choices and taken most of my time, so grabbing takeout or popping a frozen meal in the microwave had worked best for me when I’d get home after a long day.
I was a little disappointed when I saw the limited selection available at this market. When I stopped to think about it, most people in town probably cooked each meal if they weren't eating out. Grabbing doubles of the few packages they had, I decided I’d need to look for the largest market out of town and plan on shopping there at least once a month.
Then again, maybe this was another opportunity to venture out of my comfort zone and learn how to cook a meal with real ingredients. I sure did enjoy the meal Cass had made, and who knew, maybe I could find an easy recipe to repay Elliott for replacing the box.
To say I was relieved would be an understatement when I found my favorite food behind the glass display door—Tater Tots. Whether you make home cooked meals on a regular basis or not, no one in life should take hot, crispy tots for granted.
Just as I rounded the corner, a pair of familiar brown eyes widened and stopped me in my tracks.
“Tess? Is that you?” Jaime Anderson, my closest teen friend in town, asked with elation. Before I had a chance to answer, she zoomed around my cart and pulled me into a bear hug. It startled me at first, but then I wrapped my arms around her and returned her embrace.
“Hi,” I said, muffled against her.
“I can’t believe it’s you.” She released her death grip and stared like she thought I’d disappear at any moment. “What the hell have you been up to all this time?” She’d grown out of the braces and now had perfectly white, straight teeth, but she also still had that gorgeous blonde hair. It was cropped now, stopping at her shoulders.
I could barely wipe the smile off my face at her reaction to seeing me. We’d been inseparable every summer and had remained pen pals until I’d gone off to college. Man, it was so good to see a familiar face I’d once held so dear.
“It’s great to see you, Jaime. I wondered if you still lived in town.” On the drive up, I’d thought about all the fun times we’d enjoyed together and had, in fact, hoped that she was still around. I also had to wonder if we still had anything in common.
“Of course, you know when you’re born and bred here, it’s tough to leave.” She lifted her shoulders like she’d just stated a national fact. “God, you look so good. How have you been?”
I hid my disappointment in my own life and put on a brave smile. “Great. Graduated from college in New Mexico with a degree in human resources and, up until recently, I worked for the same company in Tucson. How about you?”
“Well, as you see by my fancy uniform�
��” She swiped her hand across the name embroidered on her chest like she was Vanna White on The Wheel of Fortune. “—I’m the manager here.”
It was then that I noticed her baby blue smock jacket. “Congratulations,” I said, even though a part of me was surprised to find her working here when she’d always talked about opening her own business. Then again, who was I to say anything when I’d ended up in human resources? I loved the field, but no little girl dreams of working in HR.
With a wistful smile, I asked, “Remember when we’d ride our bikes here to grab a soda and a snack?”
She chuckled, placing her hands on the end of my cart. “Yes, and you always had to get those god-awful Bugles or Funyuns.”
“Hey,” I complained good-naturedly, “there’s nothing wrong with them. Both are highly underrated.”
A guilty look must’ve crossed my face, causing her to glance into my cart. There, hiding under all my frozen meals and boxes of mac and cheese, sat a bag of each of the chips she’d mentioned.
She didn’t even try to hide her amusement. “Some things never change, huh?” She stepped back and leaned against the tall shelf behind her, like she was getting comfortable. “How long are you in town?”
“Indefinitely.” I felt ecstatic at that being my new truth. I was here to stay. “Just moved here from Tucson on Friday.”
Pushing herself away from the shelf, she wrapped me in another hug. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.” She stepped away and reached into her back pocket to retrieve her cell phone. “Let me give you my number so we can catch up. It’s been way too long.”
In typical fashion nowadays, I gave her my number and she called me so we’d both have a way to get ahold of each other.
We said our goodbyes, but before she got too far away, she spun around. “Wait a minute. Have you heard about the basketball game next weekend?”
Halting to a stop, I shook my head. Basketball game? Why would I be interested in a basketball game? “Uh-uh, I haven't heard anything.”
“Oh, you have to come,” she said enthusiastically as she stepped closer once more. “It’s become an annual event the last several years and the whole town will be there. The current high school basketball team plays a game against Hope Falls High alumni, any age, so you can only imagine how entertaining it is.”
The ends of her blonde hair swept back and forth along her shoulders as she began to eagerly tick off on her fingers. “There’s food, craft items and all sorts of things for sale. Tickets sales and a percentage of the merchant profits all go to a good cause that a committee votes on and reveals at the end of the night.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun.” It’d been years since I’d had the time to enjoy something like that. It would be nice to see if there was anyone else here in town that I remembered.
“It is,” her eyes flashed with excitement, “and you can catch up with the old gang because when I say everyone in town is going, you know I mean it. Besides the Winter Festival and a benefit gathering at the end of the year, it’s the only thing we’ve really got going on here in town this month.” She laughed, but I felt it was coming from more of a sense of settling for this life than true happiness at the upcoming events.
Had she not had an opportunity to go to college like I had? Strangely, I entertained the idea. If I had stayed here, grown up in this small town, would I not have gotten my degree and chased after a profession? It had never been something I’d considered as an option before, but now the question weighed on my mind.
I smiled. “I’ll call you to get the details.”
“I’d love that, but you can also see the signs posted all around town.”
I looked down at my haul. “I think I should check out before I find more to buy, so I’ll talk to you later.” There was way too much food in my cart for one person. I probably shouldn’t have come in on an empty stomach because I was going home with everything in aisles three through five.
“In that case, hold up.” She walked with me to the checkout stand and spoke to the young employee at the register. “Give her the ‘Welcome to Hope Falls’ discount.”
“Huh?” The clerk stared at the register as she smacked her gum. “Where’s that?”
“My discount. Give her a discount under my employee number.” She waved a card in front of the cashier.
I felt flustered. “Oh, Jaime, that’s not necessary.” Who seriously did that these days? I felt humbled and was astonished at such a gracious act of generosity.
“Nonsense.” She waved her hand in front of me, such a kind look in her eyes. “My uncle won’t mind at all.”
“Your uncle?” Was that why she worked here, out of family obligation?
She nodded. “He inherited it from his in-laws, so now most of our family works here. Isn’t that right, Trish?” She addressed the clerk, who continue to smack her gum and look bored. Jaime rolled her eyes and mouthed, “My uncle's daughter.”
Once Jaime helped bag my groceries and put everything in the cart, we said one final goodbye and promised to call each other.
I had moved to Mayberry, I was certain of that now. The crazy thing was, I thought I was really going to love it here.
Chapter Six
Elliott
I’d just moved some lumber and hardware from the back of my truck into my garage and was in the process of closing the door when I heard soft footsteps approaching.
I turned to see Tess pulling her long sweater tighter around her body while craning her neck to look around me. “What’s all that for?”
“A special project I’m working on.” I reached out and latched the lock, making sure it was secure. We didn’t have a high crime rate here, but there were plenty of nosy neighbors.
She stood in the driveway with a content look on her face. That was an expression I hadn’t seen on her yet and found myself spellbound by her natural beauty and the peace that seemed to have overcome her. “Thank you for giving me electricity.”
“You're welcome.” I grinned. “Thank you for letting me fulfill my promise to Gus.”
Her shoulders sagged just slightly and she looked a little disappointed with what I’d said. Maybe she’d thought I’d did it more for her than for Gus. If that was the case, I had to let her know her thoughts were correct. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” I said, moving closer, taking a moment to appreciate the light lavender scent that seemed to be coming from her sweater.
Tilting her head up, her brown eyes met mine. The gold specs sparkled with eagerness as she waited for me to let her in on my private thoughts. When I placed my hand on her shoulder, her back straightened. I probably should’ve taken that as a sign to back up, but how would she ever learn to relax around me if I reacted each time she did. I needed her to understand I changed the box more for her than I did to preserve Gus’s old house.
I looked down at our feet, then back up and admitted, “It was kinda killing me to watch you live in that house without a basic necessity. It’s not in my nature to ignore that sort of thing and, as long as we’re this close,” I moved my hand back and forth between our houses, “I’ll always make sure your needs are taken care of.”
I watched her throat as she gulped hard and I realized how my words could have been interpreted in an entirely different way. There was no doubt that I was attracted to her, but I didn’t want there to be any awkwardness between us. “Plus, now you get to try out the heated floors.” I dropped my hands and took a few steps back to give her some space.
Her eyes widened in delight. “The floors are heated?”
I rubbed my jaw and frowned. “Yeah, it wasn’t listed under the house features?”
“Nope. Nobody said anything about heated floors and it wasn’t on any of the paperwork.” I could feel the excitement rolling off her.
“I’m surprised. That would be a selling point, unless Gus never told anyone we put them in. Oh well, you want me to show you how to turn them on?”
“Yes, please.” She boun
ced eagerly on the balls of her feet. Her childlike reaction made me feel like a King, here to make her every wish come true.
Twirling around, she made her way down the driveway. I watched as she swayed her curvy hips in an attempt to step over puddles and not soak her tennis shoes.
I caught up and pointed to her feet. “You’ll probably want to invest in some winter clothes and boots. It’s going to get much colder than this soon.”
She glanced toward me. “Thanks, I’ll get right on that.” The teasing tone in her voice had me thinking about things that had no business taking residence in my head.
Once inside her house, I opened the coat closet and showed her the first thermostat. “Gus didn't want to change the feel of the house by having a bunch of external controls mounted to the walls.” I tapped the flashlight app on my phone to see what I was doing.
“C’mere, let me show you how to operate it.” I motioned for her to join me in the closet and once she stepped in front with her back to me, those uninvited thoughts returned. The lavender scent I’d smelled earlier was even more intense in the confined space. I reached around, trying hard not to touch her and pressed a sequence of buttons. I showed her how to turn it on and off, as well as how to program it to switch on and off by itself.
“Like this?” Moving closer to the thermostat to get a better look, she repeated what I’d just shown her.
I leaned in closer and bent forward to watch what she was doing. “Yes. Just like that.”
Sporting a proud smile, she spun around, realizing with surprise that our faces were inches apart. “Oh,” she giggled nervously. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were so close.” But I didn’t do anything to step back, at least not until she bit her lip and asked, “Do you mind showing me the one upstairs?”