I shake my head.
“I have to do something,” she pleads as she sets her hand on top of mine. I’m tempted to pull away but am surprised to find that I like the feel of her hand there. The dads, and some of the moms in the support group I’m in, tell me there is no time limit on moving on and that by us moving means I’m ready to start over.
“Can you cook?” I ask her.
Her eyes narrow, and she smiles. “I can. Working at Aunt Mathie’s when I was younger taught me a thing or two.”
“Okay, how about this?” I say as I lean forward. “Why don’t you come over and cook dinner for Alyssa and me tonight?”
Bree blinks.
Shit, wrong thing to say.
But then her grin widens. “I’ll happily make you guys dinner tonight. Just tell me what time I should be there.”
5
Bree
“I know you have elf duty tonight, so how about after that?” Caleb asks.
The sound of rain hits the roof, and I look up at the ceiling. “If it’s raining, there won’t be any Santa visits in the town square. I can come right after I close the gallery. It just so happens I have some chicken marinating in my refrigerator.”
Caleb grins. “Perfect. That works for me.”
Opening his portfolio again, I slide out two of his eight by eleven pictures. One is of a boat by a dock with the moon shining on the water giving the whole picture a magical glow. The other is of a pink and yellow flower with a singular raindrop on one of its petals. I’m dying to put them up in the gallery.
“Can I please frame these and hang them up right now?”
Caleb’s eyes widen. “Seriously? Right now?”
I stand and nod for him to follow me. “Yes. These prints are exactly the kind of things I’ve been looking for. What I’d like to do is get larger sizes printed. All you have to do is send me the files, and I’ll handle it. In the meantime, we can let my customers get a taste of what’s in store for the showcase. You okay with that?”
He lifts his hands in the air. “Sure, why not? Let’s do it.”
Excitement bubbles in my veins. “I’ve been prepared for this moment for what feels like an eternity. I have some really nice wooden frames in my storage room. Come on.” He follows me into the storage room, and I secure the two pictures in their own frames. I hold up the one with the boat. “This one will go quickly once we get it in a larger print.”
We walk out of the storage room and back into the gallery. “Do you honestly think people will want to buy my stuff?”
“Yes,” I say, gawking at him like he’s crazy for even questioning it. “You are a talented photographer.”
He shrugs and turns his attention to my paintings. “It’s just a hobby I picked up after my wife died. Guess you can say it helped me in ways I never thought it could.”
“Art can do that,” I murmur as I stand next to him.
His eyes narrow at the initials in the bottom right-hand corner of my cabin by the lake painting. “Is that a B and a W?” When all I do is smile at him, he focuses back on the painting and laughs. “This is one of yours, isn’t it?”
“Yep.” I flourish a hand throughout the room. “Almost all of them are.”
Watching him admire my paintings makes me feel pride in my work. He stops at another one of my Sugar Mountain paintings and points at it. The top of the mountain is covered in snow, but the rest of the painting is set in the fall with orange, red, and yellow leaves as if they’re fluttering in the wind.
“This is my favorite,” he states, standing back from it with his arms crossed. “I’ve seen it look exactly like this when I went out hiking many years ago.”
His words make me smile. “Same. I can see it all as if it was yesterday.”
He stands next to me and bumps me with his shoulder. “You’re amazing, Bree. Have you ever tried selling your work to bigger galleries?”
I shrug. “It’s crossed my mind, but I’m happy with having my work here. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”
The bell on my door dings, and Lindy walks in. When she sees us, she stops mid-step and gasps. “Oh, hey. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I wave her off. “You didn’t interrupt us, Lindy. You remember Caleb, right?”
She holds out her arms and snorts. “How could I forget the guy who nicknamed me loudmouth? Come here and hug me. It’s been a long time.” He hugs her, and they both laugh.
“Yes, it has,” Caleb replies. “You doing okay?”
Lindy beams. “Can’t complain. I got a husband and a little girl now.”
Caleb nods. “I have a little girl myself. They can be quite the handful.”
“Yes, they can,” I agree with a laugh. “Lindy’s little girl is wild.”
Caleb smiles at us both but then focuses on me. “Well, let me get out of your way. I’ll see you tonight.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Lindy’s mouth gape, but I don’t acknowledge it. “What does Alyssa like to eat?” I ask.
“Anything as long as it has cheese in it,” he answers.
I wink. “I think I can handle that.”
“All right. I’ll see you later.” He smiles at Lindy. “It was nice seeing you again.”
Lindy grins back. “Same to you.”
Caleb glances at me one more time before making his way to the door. I know what’s going to happen the second he walks out. When the door shuts behind him, I close my hands over my ears just as Lindy squeals. Caleb’s right. She is a loudmouth.
“Oh my God, you have a date!”
I watch him get in his car and drive away, but there is that butterfly feeling in my stomach. “It’s not a date,” I say, wishing in all reality that it was.
Lindy snickers. “Okay, so maybe his daughter will be with you guys, but I could see it in his eyes. He’s attracted to you.”
I wave her off. “No, he’s not. It’s just a business deal. He’s going to design my gallery’s website, and as payment, he wants me to cook him and his daughter dinner. Besides, I’m sure he’s still sad about his wife. Dating is the last thing on his mind.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” She places a hand on my shoulder. “You might just be what the man needs.”
I don’t know what it’s like to lose a loved one to tragedy. I’m sure it puts a hole in your heart. Whatever happens, I’m not going to rush it.
It’s still raining by the time I close up the gallery, so there won’t be any Santa visits. I run home to grab my chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and the sides I planned on cooking for myself. It turns out mac and cheese was already on the menu, so that should make Alyssa happy. I’ll be sure to add extra cheese to it.
When I pull into the driveway, Caleb walks out with an umbrella. “Hey,” he calls out, holding it over my head as I get out of the car. “Need help with the groceries?”
“Sure. They’re in the back.” I open the backseat door, and he takes one bag while I take the other. “Thank you for coming out to help me.”