when I said our store needed a pop of color, I didn’t mean—” her friend and business partner, Ashley, winced and shook her head “—oh...I should have gone with you to the hardware store.”
Ellie spun around, biting back her annoyance. Ashley was supposed to have gone with her and yet again, she had had a conflict. Ellie took in her friend’s cute fall sweater and jeans, and realized Ashley hadn’t stopped by to help. She’d probably fib and claim she had a scheduling conflict when in reality, she had a date.
Ashley couldn’t hold back a smile. “I have a date, okay?” Ah, she actually admitted it. “I can’t help it if you’re all work and no play.”
Ellie held up her palms to the unpacked boxes and unassembled shelving unit leaning against the adjacent wall. “Our shop is having its grand opening tomorrow.” She rolled her shoulders, hating the edge to her voice. She was hungry and every muscle in her body hurt. And more than anything, she was tired. So, so, so tired.
Ashley shrugged and glanced around. “Everything looks great. Besides, we can’t put the shelves up on the back wall until you finish painting.” Her friend since the first day of kindergarten dragged a finger along a strand of her smooth blond hair and flipped it over her shoulder. “I told you that wall could wait, but you wanted to have everything perfect for tomorrow.”
Ellie angled her head. “Don’t you?”
“The shop looks great. We can shove those boxes in the back. No one will see them. Can’t those teenage boys from the church help again? They’re always looking for volunteer hours.” Ashley tapped the cardboard box with the toe of her new boots and rubbed her palms together. “No sense us breaking our backs.” Ashley laughed.
Ellie straightened, stretching the crick in her back. What did Ashley know about backbreaking work?
“Oh, you’re too much of a perfectionist,” Ashley continued. “You’ll always find things that need improvement.” Her pretty face brightened into a smile. “You need to relax. Have fun. Go on a date.”
Ellie forced a laugh. Go on a date? Not likely. She wished she could be as easygoing as her longtime friend, but someone had to be the serious one, the planner. Ashley had led a charmed life where everything had been handed to her. Ellie’d had to work for absolutely everything she had and she was done letting others make decisions for her. She was finally taking the reins. Opening her gift shop as she’d always dreamed.
When the right time came, Ellie had reached out to Ashley. Ellie had the vision. Ashley had the financial resources via a trust fund. Their arrangement worked. Ellie liked control and Ashley didn’t mind being more or less a silent partner, especially when she had a date or more pressing matters.
Ashley grabbed Ellie’s hand and swung it playfully, nearly tugging her arm out of its socket. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
“I do tend to stress.” Ellie reclaimed her hand and rubbed her shoulder.
“You’re a control freak.” Ashley shot her a you-know-I’m-right smile; a smile that always got Ashley exactly what she wanted. “I’m cool with that because I can be spacey sometimes.”
Ellie jerked her thumb to the wall separating their shop from the bakery next door. The smells of fresh-baked bread and sweet cupcakes permeated the shop when the paint fumes didn’t take over. “Are you going out with Tony again?” Nervous bubbles popped in Ellie’s stomach. Tony Vino and his father owned the bakery next door. “Do you think that’s a good idea? If things don’t work out, you’ll have to see him all the time.”
Ashley smiled. “You worry too much. Just have fun, can’t you? Besides, I promised him I’d treat him to dinner for all the help he’s been giving us. Can you imagine if we had to unload all those trucks ourselves?”
How quickly Ashley forgot about all the hard work of the young men from her church. And her brother. Greg had helped unload a truck or two. But now, suddenly, Tony, who seemed to do more flirting than actual work, was the hero in Ashley’s eyes.
Ellie rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance. “I have to clean up here. Can you at least come in early tomorrow to help me put up the shelves and unpack the last few boxes?”
“Of course.” Ashley tugged on the bottom of her sweater. “Our grand opening is going to be awesome. I have this really cute dress I’m going to wear.”
Ashley’s enthusiasm vibrated through Ellie. It was this passion that moved Ellie to action. Otherwise she might have still been holed up in her childhood bedroom, stewing over a dead-end job and mourning the breakup with her boyfriend. She blinked slowly, knowing she had dodged a bullet on that one. One of these days, she’d have to track down the poor girl who’d sent her boyfriend romantic texts and send her a thank-you note. If Ellie hadn’t casually picked up her boyfriend’s dinging cell phone and seen the texts, she might never have known he’d been cheating on her. That had been the pivotal moment. The push she had needed to break up with him, move back to Williamstown and change the direction of her life.
“Okay?” Ashley’s impatient tone suggested she had been trying to get Ellie’s attention while she was composing a thank-you note she’d never really write.
“I’ll be here at 7:00 a.m.,” Ellie quickly said to cover up the fact she had been zoning.
“Nine.”
“Fine.” Ellie’s tone was part amusement, part frustration. Why did she bother?
Ashley wiggled her fingers and ran out the front door and Ellie followed her to the exit. A set of bells clacked on the glass, an unnecessary setup considering the alarm system emitted a soft chime every time either the front or back door leading to the alley was opened. Ellie snapped the dead bolt into place and stared out onto quiet Main Street. The crimson-colored leaves on the trees fluttered in the wind and a few drifted to the ground. She loved this time of year.
Crisp nights. Crunchy leaves. Colorful knit sweaters.
She turned around and stepped into the center of her new gift shop. Excitement coursed through her. Finally, tomorrow was the grand opening. She closed her eyes briefly and tried to memorize the moment. Savoring this feeling for if, or more likely when, the going got tough.
Then something...a stillness maybe, sent a chill skittering down her spine.
Ellie rubbed her arms. She was tired. Really tired. But a good tired. Her muscles ached from all the physical labor she had done over the past three weeks getting this place ready. All she needed to do was clean up the roller and paint tray and call it a night.
Thwack.
The sharp noise sounded from the storage area. The fine hairs on the back of her neck prickled to life. Holding her breath, Ellie crept toward the storage-slash-office at the back of the store. She was such a chicken.
It’s nothing.
Her pulse whooshed in her ears totally not buying the “it’s nothing” theory. It didn’t help that the exterior door leading to the alley was propped open. Nothing strange there. She had propped it open. She hadn’t wanted the paint fumes to asphyxiate her. As it was, she had a dull headache thumping at the back of her eyes.
Her attention shifted to the floor. One of the paintings
