Page 91 of The Tattered Gloves
“Hey,” he said, setting himself down next to me. He left a space between us but wasted no time in taking my hand in his. A smile swept across his face the moment he realized I hadn’t flinched or pulled back. “Do you see how many people came to help us today? More people have been in here today than I’ve seen in months. If we can stir this much support just in preparations, I know we can make it through the next month and prove to my father that this place is worth keeping.”
“Why do you want to keep it so badly?” I asked, watching the way his finger brushed mine in a slow, steady pace. “I mean, I know you’ve read half of these books in here… and you mentioned that this used to be your mom’s favorite place, but with everything you’ve told me about her, I would think you’d want to get rid of it. Doesn’t it hurt? The memories of her?”
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But when she was here… when she was my mom, she was a good mom. Or at least that’s what the kid in me wants to believe. And, yeah, there are days when I walk in here, remembering the way she’d greet customers, happy and content, and I just want to burn it to the ground. But it’s mine, you know? It’s mine now, and I want to make it better. Not because of her or the family legacy or whatever, but because I think it deserves more.”
A devilish grin appeared at the corner of his mouth. “And, of course, there’s the motivating factor of royally pissing off my dad when he can’t shut this place down.”
I laughed, feeling my head fall naturally to his shoulder. His breath caught as I waited for my heart to stop working.
But it just kept on beating like normal.
Because it recognized him now. It trusted him.
And so did I.
“I THINK I’M going to puke,” I said, checking the clock on the wall for the hundredth time.
It was five minutes to nine on New Year’s Eve. Our big blowout sale started today.
“Don’t you dare. I mopped the floors last night,” Sam joked.
We’d both come in to assist Diana, who normally took care of the morning shift, because we honestly had no idea what to expect. Of course, when I hadn’t seen hundreds of people standing outside, waiting to get in, this morning, I’d already doomed us a failure.
“We’ve marketed mostly to teenagers and stay-at-home moms,” Sam said, trying to calm me down. “Now, I don’t know much about moms, but I do know a thing or two about teenagers, and one of those facts happens to be that we are not fans of the morning hours. Well, present company excluded.”
I gave him a hard stare. “I still hate mornings. I’m just here to make sure you don’t screw this up.”
He laughed. “Well, thank God for that.”
Walking toward the front door, dressed up for a change in his usual dark denim but sporting a new green henley he must have just picked up, I watched him flip the sign over the minute the clock hit nine.
“Open for business. Now, we just wait,” he said.
I could hear the obvious nervousness in his voice. He was trying to play the cool and confident guy today, but I knew better.
A lot was riding on this sale.
Thirty minutes later, not a single person had entered the store, and I could feel our spirits beginning to fall.
“It’s still early,” Sam mumbled to himself.
And he was right, but after another hour and no customers, I was feeling panicked.
So, I did the only thing I could think of. I pulled out my phone and feverishly began sending out SOS texts to everyone I could think of.
I would not let this store fall apart.
Within a half hour, my cry for help was answered. Big time.
Allison arrived, armed with friends, ready to help. They got to work on contacting as many students as possible. If there was a place to be today, we wanted it to be here. Then, Addy arrived after rearranging her schedule for the day. Under her arms, she carried several grocery bags and a large box.
“What did you bring?” I asked.
“Food, some art supplies, and” — she paused for effect as she rearranged everything in her hands, pulling a box forward — “a coffee machine!”
Sam and I both gasped.
“It’s not a big one,” she explained. “Most people have one of these in their house now, and you’ll have to keep up on the pods or whatever they’re called. But, if there is one thing that brings people in on a cold day, it’s the promise of free coffee and food. So, here, go set everything up.”
