Page 16 of Candy Cane Dreams
"So you two own and run a candy cane shop, and yet your favorite candy is chocolate. Is this something I should report to the candy police?"
Lilly giggled again, her shoulders shaking, but she kept any noise from coming out of her mouth.
Jack looked amused at his daughter, and then at Kate. "We would be guilty as charged. Although, to be fair, both of us love candy canes and eat far more than we should. After all, that's how our store makes a profit."
A little bit of the light dimmed from his eyes after saying that last part, and it made Kate wonder if the reason Jack worked so much was because the store was having financial difficulties.
She remembered what someone had said about Lilly being in the hospital and Jack trying to keep the store afloat for her.
That seemed to insinuate that there might be some trouble. Not to mention, Kate couldn't imagine handcrafted candy canes being a lucrative business.
She glanced again at the displays, noting the prices and trying to figure out how much he would have to sell in order to simply pay rent on the building.
Maybe they owned it outright, and then he'd just have to figure taxes. She hadn't lived in the area long enough to know if taxes were expensive or not. In some places, taxes could break a family trying to make a living.
She'd seen that firsthand in the inner city.
"There. Another tray done. Can you carry this carefully over to the rack?" Jack said, looking at Lilly, who nodded eagerly.
Kate got the impression that Lilly found any job in the candy shop an honor.
As Lilly picked up the tray and turned, she tripped on something and tumbled, barely catching herself before the candies spilled all over the floor.
A micro-expression on Jack's face showed dismay, and then relief settled there as the candy was safe.
Lilly's eyes were big, and her mouth was open, almost as though she was ready to say something, whether it was an apology or an exclamation of surprise or dismay, Kate wasn't sure.
"That was a good catch," Kate said. "You're very light on your feet, Lilly."
Lilly saw the acceptance and compassion on her dad's face, and it seemed to soothe her, because she turned to Kate with a smile that grew wider as she met Kate's gaze.
Carefully, walking very slowly, Lilly carried the tray to the rack that Jack had indicated.
Was it possible that as young as she was, she knew how important the candy shop was to her mother's memory and she was putting too much pressure on her young little shoulders to learn and make her mother proud of her?
She seemed kind of young for that type of issue, but maybe she'd overheard her dad talking to someone about it.
"All right, Lilly. You know what time it is. I'll be up in fifteen minutes, after you've taken your shower, and we'll read a little bit before bed. You do have all of your homework done, right?"
Lilly nodded, and then she put a hand up and wiggled her fingers at Kate.
She didn't give her dad any trouble as she turned toward the back and disappeared into a hallway.
"She loves it down here. She'd spend all day every day here if I let her."
"She's different here than she is at school, that's for sure," Kate said, not wanting Lilly to overhear her.
Jack glanced back toward the hallway and tilted his head to one side as footsteps echoed, showing that Lilly had headed up the stairs, and then a door closed.
"She's a good kid," Jack sighed. "This was her mother's shop, and it was Lauren's dream to have Lilly follow in her footsteps, because it had been in the family for so long. I'm doing everything I can to try to keep it together."
Kate nodded, and she was trying to figure out what kind of questions she could ask that would let her know if the shop was in some kind of financial trouble. Not that it was any of her business and not that she could do anything to help. She mightbe able to buy a few pieces of candy, but she wasn't going to be able to pay any major bills. She hadn't even managed to find herself a place to live, not one that she could afford anyway. There were some high-end rental places on the outside of town, and a couple of nice houses for sale, but again, they were out of her price range and completely out of her budget.
"I would think this season would be your best sales season," she said, hoping the statement was open-ended enough that if he wanted to talk about his financial issues he could. Perhaps that had something to do with Lilly's issues.
"It's a good thing too. Lilly was sick for a while over the summer, and I'm still paying on the hospital bill. Thankfully, they've allowed me to set up a payment plan, or... the creditors would be after me right now."
"Oh, that's too bad. She looks perfectly healthy."
