Page 31 of The Christmas Cottage
Imogen shrugged. “If you like someone, there’s always a point in getting to know them better. It doesn’t have to be anything so serious, Jackson. You could just spend a little time with her. Who knows what might happen?”
He frowned. “She was so reserved when she first showed up here. You know, that first morning she came into the diner, it seemed like she barely wanted to introduce herself, let alone say she was Mabel’s granddaughter or what she was in town for. And now she’s started to settle in a little—but she’s not staying. Idon’t want to overwhelm her. She’s probably got enough on her plate, with helping Mabel, and?—”
Imogen pursed her lips, eyeing him, and Jackson trailed off.
“Can I tell you a secret?” Imogen asked, and Jackson chuckled.
“Sure,” he said, moving a little closer to the counter, and Imogen grinned.
“Vanessa enjoyed seeing you at the market. She’s talked about you a couple times, and shereallylikes the special latte you make her. I don’t think you have anything to lose in trying to pursue her.”
“Really?” Jackson looked at her, a bit surprised, and Imogen nodded.
“I think you’d be surprised at her response, if you ask her out. At the very least, you should try.” She handed over the box of chocolate, and he dug his wallet out of his pocket, heading to the register to pay.
All in all, he was still a little uncertain. But the idea was in his head now, and he couldn’t help but think that the next time he saw Vanessa Stewart, he might just ask her out on a date.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Friday evening at the toy shop was wall-to-wall busy, and it had been for most of the day. Vanessa had thoroughly enjoyed her workday, though—helping customers, filling orders, and wrapping gifts. Mabel had had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon, so Vanessa had even run the shop alone for a little while, and she’d been surprised at how naturally it all came to her by then. There hadn’t been any hiccups, even if a bit of a line to check out had built up at one point while she swapped between wrapping purchases and ringing customers out, but she’d handled it all. And thankfully, residents of the town were used to a slow pace, while tourists were in Fir Tree Grove to experience that. There was no rushing or impatience with the wait like she would expect for there to be in stores in San Francisco.
Mabel had been pleased when she came back in to check on things. Now she was sitting behind the register, checking customers out while Vanessa switched between placing orders for toys and wrapping gifts.
It kept her every bit as busy as her job back home did. She honestly didn’t know how Mabel had run everything on her own up until now. But there was a sense of satisfaction to thework that she hadn’t expected, that was different from what she was used to. Instead of answering emails, dealing with client mishaps, creating schedules and approving invoices all day, she was helping people find special gifts, making sure they had just the right item, and meeting all kinds of different people. She’d thought she was an introvert for a long time, that a customer-facing job would be her nightmare, but maybe she just hadn’t known that it could be like this.
When there was a slight lull in the rush of customers, Mabel glanced over to where Vanessa was pulling out a fresh roll of wrapping paper. “You should take a break,” Mabel encouraged. “Just go to the back and take ten minutes. You’ve been at it all day.”
The bell over the door chimed as four more customers walked in, and Vanessa glanced at Mabel, on the verge of arguing. But her grandmother gave her a no-nonsense look, so Vanessa nodded, heading back to the back room for a cup of tea and to check her phone.
She regretted it as soon as she picked it up. There were several missed calls from Russell, and she sighed, knowing she should return them while she had a minute. She picked up the phone reluctantly, wishing she could just go back out to the shop floor and help Mabel with the customers. Whatever Russell needed, she was sure that it wasn’t all that important or time sensitive. Mabel, on the other hand, really needed her help with the evening rush.
Russell answered on the first ring. “Vanessa. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you. What are you doing out there anyway? Can’t you have your phone with you?”
“I leave it in the back when I’m working,” she said calmly. “And the holiday rush has been crazy. I’ve been really focused on helping my grandmother. What do you need?”
“Well, things have been crazy here too. Half the staff is out on holiday leave, and the rest are having to work extra hours to pick up the slack.” There was a pointed note in his voice as he spoke. “They’re all upset with Katelyn because of the overtime schedule she made, so I want you to look at it and make sure it’s parsed out fairly. And then I can approve it after that. Ineedthat done tonight, Vanessa. And I would really like you to give the January orders a once-over. I just don’t trust that she didn’t miss anything. You’re the only one meticulous enough to do it right.”
Only a short time ago, Vanessa knew she would have been proud of Russell’s compliment. Now, all she heard wasyou’re the only one without a personal life, so you go over every small detail to keep from thinking about it.Except now, she’d started to find a life of her own, and Russell needing her to fine-tooth work that Katelyn had already done felt like a weight on her shoulders.
But she could already hear him working himself into a frenzy, and she let out a slow, calming breath. “I’ll look at the schedule tonight, Russell,” she said. “I’ll adjust it a bit if need be, so no one is working more than anyone else. And I’ll check those orders just as soon as I can get to them. I’m sure Katelyn did a good job though, she’s also very thorough. I trained her myself,” she reminded him.
“Just as long as you weren’t training your replacement,” he said gruffly, but she could hear a little of the frenetic tone leaking out of his voice. She’d mollified him for now, but she knew before long he’d find something else that needed to be micro-managed.
“I’ll email you when it’s done,” Vanessa said. “But for now, I need to get back to the shop,” she added firmly, and she heard Russell let out a long-suffering sigh. But he said his goodbyes, and she hung up the phone.
Maybe Katelyn could be my replacement.The thought startled her. What else would she do? She’d never so much as looked for a different job since she’d started this one, right after college. But there had to be other places, other bosses that wouldn’t be so exhausting. For the first time, she was no longer sure that she could keep handling this.
She’d chased Russell’s approval and the high of getting the immense workload in on time, every time, for so long, but now she realized she was never really going to get that approval. And what’s more, she also realized that she was quickly growing to find pleasure in the slower pace of life in Fir Tree Grove. She didn’t know if she wanted to go back to that fast, unrelenting pace of before.
Maybe something… in between.
When she walked back out onto the floor a few minutes later, after sipping a cup of tea and nibbling an iced gingerbread cookie, she saw Jackson walking in, dusting off his snow boots. She raised her eyebrows as she saw him, and he waved almost sheepishly, giving her a grin as he raised a to-go cup in her direction.
“I came to help with setting up some of the early displays before the event,” he said. “The ones that can stay up for the rest of the season. And I brought coffee.” He handed it to Vanessa as he walked in, and Mabel snorted.
“Nothing for me?” she teased, and Jackson glanced over at her, his already flushed cheeks reddening a little more.
“You don’t even like coffee that much, Mabel,” he said, rolling his eyes, and Mabel chuckled.
