a little nervous over having a stranger help her with her jacket. They weren’t out of the woods yet.
Finley smiled. “Milk.”
Rory breathed again, as Shannon retrieved some plates and coffee mugs from the cupboard and joined them at the table. “That’ll only take a minute.”
Rory faced Mary. “You have a lovely home.”
She batted a hand in dismissal. “I had such plans for this, then my Joe died. And I just sort of lost interest.”
“But we’re hoping to have a contractor out here next summer, aren’t we, Mary?”
Mary’s face saddened a little more. “I thought you were leaving if you sold the store.”
“Probably.” She glanced at Rory, then back at Mary. “But we already looked at the books with the cupboard samples. All you need to do is finalize your choices and you can easily have the entire kitchen remodeled before fall. If you want, you can call me every night with an update or tell me your problems and I’ll help you figure out how to solve them.”
Mary sat beside Shannon and patted her hand. “You’re very good to me.”
Rory suppressed a smile. It seemed he and Finley weren’t the only strays that Shannon cared for. A few times it had popped into his head that her kindness to him and Finley might be an act of sorts to keep herself in his good graces when he looked at her store on Monday. He’d dismissed that thought, but now he could totally put it out of his mind. Shannon Raleigh was a genuinely nice woman.
His heart twisted a bit. She was a nice woman. And Finley liked her. If he were in the market for a romance, she’d be at the top of the candidates list.
But he wasn’t looking for a romance.
The coffeemaker groaned its final release and Mary jumped from the table. “Cut the cake, sweetie, and I’ll get the coffee.”
In a few minutes, everyone had a slice of cake and a cup of coffee or glass of milk. They talked some more about Mary’s plans to remodel her house, then Mary asked Finley about school and Finley launched into an unusually happy, unusually lengthy discussion of her classes, her classmates and recess.
Mary seemed to soak it all up, but Shannon really listened, really participated in the conversation with Finley.
When the cake was gone and the conversation exhausted, Shannon rose from the table and gathered their plates, which she slid into the dishwasher. “We really have to get going. Not only do we have to make something for dinner, but it will also be dark soon.”
Mary rose, too. “That’s the bad thing about winter. It gets dark too early. And with all these clouds, you can’t count on the light of the moon to get you home.”
Finley laughed. “That’s funny.”
Mary tickled her tummy. “I’m a funny lady.” She pulled Finley’s jacket from the back of her chair and helped her slide into it. “You can come back anytime you like.”
Finley nodded.
“Just always remember to bring cake.”
At that, Finley giggled.
After sliding into her parka, Shannon picked up her cake carrier and headed for the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Oh, you don’t have to. I’m fine.”
“I know, but Mom and Dad are arriving one day this week for the holiday. So you’ll be invited to Christmas Eve dinner. I’ll need to give you the time.”
“Sounds great.”
Shannon gave her a hug, opened the door and stepped out onto the cold porch.
Carrying Finley, Rory followed her. “She’s great.”
Leading them down the stairs, Shannon said, “She is. But she was even funnier when her husband was alive.” She peeked back at Rory. “He had a heart attack two years ago. She’s really only now getting back into the swing of things.”
“That’s hard.”
“Yeah.” She caught his gaze again. “But lots of life is hard.”
He knew she was referring to her divorce, which she’d barely explained. Still he could tell that life—marriage—hadn’t treated her any more fairly than it had treated him. It was no wonder they got along so well. Both had been burned. Both knew nothing was certain.
They finished the walk chitchatting about nothing, making conversation to alleviate the boredom. But when they got into the house and Shannon pulled off her knit cap, throwing snow around her kitchen when she freed her hair, a knot formed in Rory’s stomach.
He liked her. He wanted to kiss her so much that he’d almost acted on the impulse twice.
He didn’t want to get married again. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to get in a serious relationship again. But he liked her.
And he wanted to kiss her.
And if he didn’t soon get out of this house he was going to act on that impulse.
THE SNOW ITSELF might have stopped by Sunday morning, but on Monday morning the air was still cold, the wind wicked.
They set out to get Rory’s car from the interstate at seven o’clock, but discovered it had been towed—with all the other stranded cars—to a used car dealership in the next town over, so the roads could be plowed.
By the time they returned to Green Hill, the store was already open for business. When they entered the crowded first-floor sales department, color, scent and sound bombarded them. Throngs of noisy people crowded the sales tables. Red, green and blue Christmas ornaments hung from the ceiling, along with strings of multicolored lights and tinsel. The scent of chocolate from the candy department wafted through the air. “Jingle Bells” spilled from the overhead speakers.
Shannon cast a quick glance at Finley, who was being carried by her dad. Her eyes had grown huge. Her mouth was a little O, as if she were totally surprised or totally horrified. When she threw arms around Rory and buried her face against his neck, Shannon guessed she was horrified.
Rory held her tightly. “Finley, honey, we’ve been over this already. I told you the store would be decorated for the holiday. I told you there would be Christmas songs.”
Finley only snuggled in closer.
After the lovely weekend that had caused her to begin to bond with a man and child she couldn’t have, Shannon had promised herself she would keep her distance. No more private conversations with Rory. No more helping to discipline Finley.
But a frightened child had to be an exception to her rule. She grabbed Rory’s hand and led him in the direction of the elevators.
“Come on,” she said, ignoring the thump, thump, thump of her heart from
