Page 12 of Bidding on a Second Chance
“I bet it didn’t feel good,” she said.
His look of concentration neared a scowl.
“Concern, worry, fear. None of it feels good. And you didn’t have to be in an accident for me to feel those things. Every time you were on the clock and I heard about something happening, I worried. What if you were involved? What if you were in danger?” She bit her lip, rising emotion warning her off continuing.
Graham’s inhale sounded like a precursor to a rebuttal, but Teddy sank his teeth into his hand. He hissed and set the dog in the new pen. As he straightened to his full height, the shoppers appeared next to him, ready for checkout. The left side of her face heated as she rang up their sales because she could feel Graham’s attention fixed on her from that direction.
She managed to keep her gaze averted as the ladies accepted their bagged purchases. She bid them as cheery of a farewell as she could, knowing Graham was waiting to finish their conversation.
Maybe something else would catch their eye on the way out.
But no. Because God never orchestrated such details when Piper needed them.
Flustered and desperate for a place to hide, she turned toward the pile of clothes next to her behind the register. One of her regulars had dropped them off today, and she needed to decide which to buy and which to pass up.
“That’s the real reason?” he asked. “Youreallycouldn’t tolerate my job?”
“You’d never be happy with me, Graham.”
“Why not?”
Because he wanted kids, and she couldn’t set herself or the next generation up for the possibility of so much loss. She couldn’t give him the family he wanted. He’d said it was okay if she never wanted kids, but then he’d made occasional remarks that suggested his desire for them hadn’t ebbed. Remarks like the one he’d made at her house the other day, about people getting married because they wanted love and a family.
She couldn’t allow him to sacrifice that dream for her. She wanted him to live a happy life full of all the love he could find, and she begged the Lord that if and when he did, he’d get to keep it.
Graham crossed his arms. “That’s a no on baring our hearts and sharing our deepest motivations, then?”
Apparently, although she highly doubted his reasons for refinishing furniture went as deep as her reasons for saying no when he’d taken a knee. They’d been broken up for years. This shouldn’t be an issue anymore. There was no harm in accepting his help and getting on with life, right? Because there was no getting around how much she needed the assistance, and no one else had offered.
Everyone was so busy this time of year. In Redemption Ridge, the community pulled together for good causes. Fundraisers and events packed the calendar, especially around Christmastime. Between the barn dance, the charity concert, the Christmas choir, the cookie decorating contest, the breakfast fundraiser … Her mind shorted out there, but those events only scratched the surface. With so much going on, who could spare enough time to complete the donation for the Rasinskis?
Graham would be a lifesaver in one way and a major risk in another.
“It’s supposed to be Second Chances furniture.” Her voice sounded weak, almost hoarse. She cleared her throat to sound less like she was grabbing any excuse she could find to send him away. “I can’t hand it over to someone else. The store’s on the flyer.” Movement caught her eye. Teddy prowled the perimeter of his pen.
“I’m the one who taught you to refinish furniture in the first place. I’ll refinish it here, where you can supervise. I don’t have the space at my place anyway. I can come before or after my shift, depending on when I’m on duty.”
“You won’t be home much. What about your dog?”
“Daycare. He loves it there.”
The man had an answer for everything—except the one question she really wanted him to tackle: Why help her? She studied him, wishing he had ever worn his thoughts on his face. “I just need to be sure this isn’t an attempt to get back together.”
He laughed ruefully. “Believe it or not, I’m not interested in more pain.”
“Something we agree on.”
He gave a humorless smile. “Since I know how bad it feels to wonder, my real reason is the Rasinskis. They’re good people.”
She let the poorly-concealed jab slide. “Okay. That’s how I feel too, so we agree on two things.”
“Great.” Graham’s focus dropped to Teddy, who stretched his paws toward the register. “I’ll start tomorrow. Want me to take him out before I go for the night?”
“That’d be great.” She lifted Teddy’s leash from behind the counter.
Great, great, great. Except, none of this felt great. It felt like opening the door to heartbreak and asking it to set up shop in the stockroom.
He accepted the nylon lead, his fingers brushing hers.
