Page 24 of Honeycombs & Homecomings

Great, and now he was thinking of Jo again.

He swallowed thickly. “Millie, that’s right. Of course I remember you. How have you been?”

“Good,” she waved a manicured hand in a slow motion from the right side of her body, sweeping it across to the left, indicating the auction house as a whole. “Well, as you can see, I run a very lucrative business.”

“Oh, you own it?”

She lifted her chin and one tiny eyebrow. “No, I manage it. It’s an excellent position. And yesterday we sold all the furniture from one lot, which is why we’re so empty right now.” It sounded like she was defending her job, like he’d accidentally demoted her, and remembered why he’d always tried to be out of the house way before she arrived when he knew she was coming.

“You’re clearly doing an exceptional job,” he said, and then gave her his practiced look—a smile that won over men, women, and children alike. Well, all but Jo. She’d always seemed immune to this smile, and it drove him crazy.

Worked on Millie, though.

She fluffed her hair. “Yes, I am.”

He turned to the desk—the two men who’d been trying to move it stood leaning against the wall, taking what looked like a well-earned break. “What’s this you have here?” He moved forward to get a better look and immediately recognized the handiwork. This was one of Mr. Ward’s desks. The craftsmanship was unmistakable, and this desk was one of the finest examples. Cash had also spent a lot of time with Allie and Jo in Mr. Ward’s workshop, and he knew the time and effort that must have gone into a desk of this quality.

“It’s a desk I just acquired. It’s stunning, but if I can’t get it in my office, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. I guess have the legs removed.” She placed her hands on her hips.

Cash stomach somersaulted. Doing that would completely ruin the piece and sack any value it may have had. Without thinking it through, he said, “How about selling it to me?”

She turned, her face a mask of indifference. “It’s not for sale.”

“I’ll make it worth your while.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but she quickly hid it. “It’s a piece I’m very attached to, I couldn’t let it go for any less than—”

“I’ll give you five-thousand.” He needed a desk anyway, and it would mean so much to him to have a piece of Mr. Ward’s furniture.

A wide smile spread over Millie’s hot pink lips, and she extended a hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Chapter 8

Running around the upstairs apartment, Jo glanced around one more time to make sure she hadn’t missed a spot and that everything was straight and orderly. Her mother, thank all the angels in heaven, had shown up at ten am with Jo’s Aunt Sophie and her cousin Cecilia, to take her morning shift. That was two days in a row. Jo’s mother had pulled herself together, done herself up, and put on her most stoic expression.

That expression wasn’t exactly friendly, but Jo happily took it over trying to get to the sheriff’s office to give her prints, get the upstairs cleaned and act as cashier before she ran over to the fair at noon to beg Kathy to stay on for the rest of the afternoon.

She wasn’t sure what she would’ve done yesterday if Cash hadn’t shown up and come to her rescue like he had, she’d barely made it to the festival to relieve Kathy. A lump formed in her throat, knowing she wouldn’t see him again while he was here. She was way too busy, and if the last fourteen years were anything to go on, he had other bigger priorities than her. He’d helped, because he was a helper, always had been. That’s why when he’d left, she’d been sure to clarify she needed nothing else from him. She couldn’t deal with that and the Warners at the same time.

The Warners would be here at six-thirty, and she never would’ve been able to get it together without all the help yesterday.

The upstairs had originally been made for an apartment, but when she and Allie had purchased the shop, they quickly turned it into offices and storage. Jo had never felt so grateful for it as the moment she realized they’d have to sell their house. Now, she just wanted it to look presentable. She was under no delusions that the Warners wouldn’t want to see what was up here. Then her mother arrived, easing even more stress. To make the money they’d made for her to get her grandmother’s ring back, they’d need the store open and the booth at the Festival.

The fold out couch was straightened, the little kitchenette along the same wall as their front balcony straightened, the bedroom door was closed and the bathroom scrubbed until it sparkled. They had a bathroom downstairs too, but you never knew when two bathrooms might be necessary. Grabbing a hoodie off the rocking chair they’d kept for her mother, she sped down the steps, through the office and on to the show floor. A line had already formed out the door.

“Mama, I’m headed to the festival.” Jo leaned over the counter and pecked her mom on the cheek and then her aunt, who stood right next to Clara.

“All right, baby,” her mom said.

Her Aunt Sophie waved, “Josie, dear, tell Jessie and Caroline to be on time to dinner tonight. We have gentleman callers.

Jo nodded. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be seeing her cousins anytime soon, but she was also pretty sure they wouldn’t want the message, so she went with it. “Okay, Aunt Sophie.” She turned to leave, nearly knocking into her cousin, Cecilia who was puttering about helping customers.

Jo flew out the door and sprinted down Main Street to the dirt path that led into the fair. Edison lights hung from the Cultural hall to posts that had been set up on the opposite side of the path. At night they looked like fairy lights, guiding tourists to the festival grounds. She skirted a family with two toddlers, a stroller, and a Labradoodle, and then halted as a large crowd bottlenecked at the entrance. She scooted off the path, ducked under the posts and went around the side. She took a sharp right toward the vendors and ran down the path behind her own tent. She whipped open the back with a flare, and skidded in, halting and dropping her hands to her knees.

“I’m here!” She stood up and sucked in a gasp of air.

Kathy grinned at her, and behind her, her cousins, Caroline and Jessie, worked the counter.

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