Page 27 of Cookie

“Let me try a jump and see if that’ll do it,” Charlie said and jogged back to his truck.

“Are you the guy that bought the bookstore?” another man asked.

“Yes, I’m Ryan Stone,” I said and held my gloved hand out.

“Nate Brenner. I’ll be stocking up on books before winter really hits. Do you have puzzles too?” he asked.

“Yes, and we just got an order yesterday that has more puzzles, lots of new books, some adult coloring books, and a few puzzle books,” I said as a few more people walked closer to where we were talking.

“Will you have them out later today?” a woman holding a baby asked.

“I hope so. It’s just me there today, but I’ll try to get most of it on the shelves.”

“I can help after lunch,” Charlie said as he connected the jumper cables to the snowplow that were now connected to his truck.

“Give it a minute, Gary, let me rev up the truck,” he said before jogging back and making his engine roar.

“Charlie’s a good one,” the woman said and glanced between the two of us.

“He really is. I’ve been so unprepared for everything to do with living in the mountains,” I admitted.

“I was the same way five years ago. Now it’s all a habit. Don’t worry, you’ll get there,” Nate said as we all now stood and watched if it would start or not.

“Gary, see if you can turn it over,” Charlie yelled over the engine. Gary turned the key or pushed the button or whatever it took to start a snowplow. At first it only clicked, but then Charlie revved the motor on his truck even more, and this time it gave a small signal of life.

“Come on, old girl,” Gary yelled while trying it again, and this time it sputtered and ground until it finally started with a big puff of black smoke out of the smokestack.

Everyone shouted and I shouted along with them, then it hit me. I wasn’t an outsider. I was part of their community. They all accepted me, whether they knew me or not. Charlie hopped out of the truck and checked that Gary was good to go before he gave him a thumbs up. He hurried over to me and kissed me. “Ready to go to work?”

“I’m ready,” I said. Everyone went back to their cars and moved out of the way as Gary slowly made his way down the street. Charlie followed right behind while thoughts of how much I already loved this town floated through my mind. When we were in front of the bookstore, Charlie came to a stop and turned to look at me.

“Is this okay? I’ll stop by after lunch and help you with that order.”

I leaned across the cab and kissed him. “This is perfect. Love you. See you later.” I jumped down to the now cleared street and hurried to the door of the store.

“Hey, can you call me when you have everything unpacked?” Nate, the guy who’d asked about puzzles, asked as he walked toward me.

“Sure, I’ll try to find them in the order this morning,” I said and took the piece of paper he’d written his number on.

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” he said and continued down the street.

Unlocking the door, I stepped inside. It was freezing cold since the fire had died, and apparently the power had gone off, but it didn’t matter. I walked over to the woodstove and stacked it the way Charlie had shown me and within an hour the place was warm, and I was halfway through the first box of the order. It was official. Grace was my home and my community, and I could build a fire by myself.

Twenty-Five

Charlie

Thanksgiving was here, and the weather had only gotten worse. We’d received a fair amount of snow every few days, so we had to work at keeping the parking spaces in front of the shop clear along with the sidewalk to the door. Ryan was lucky. A canopy covered the sidewalk in front of the bookstore, so at least he didn’t have to worry about the front walk. But the fact the power had been spotty wasn’t helping.

“I’m going to go to my house today and bring down a load of wood,” I said to Ryan after we’d showered and were getting dressed for work.

“Did you want to stay the night?” he asked. Since we’d spent one night there, he’d often mentioned staying there again. But the snow had been so steady I didn’t want to risk it. I’d been stuck there in the past when the snow got too deep for me to drive to Grace until the plow cleared my driveway.

“Not this time. I’m going to go check everything is okay and bring enough wood to get us through the week. Then maybe we could stay there Thanksgiving night?” I asked.

“That sounds nice. Will it be a problem driving there after dark?”

“No, it should be fine. I’ll be cautious. Plus, they’re not predicting snow before then, so the roads should be clear.” I had been so hesitant to show him my home, and now I couldn’t even imagine why. Ryan was a sweet guy and even if my house wasn’t the nicest, he didn’t seem to mind at all. It was comfortable and welcoming, and if I was going by the way he melted into the couch when he was there, he felt it as well.

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