There! She was pretty sure this was Luke. He appeared to be shopping for screws. She really wanted to meet his eyes, even for a split second. Doing so would allow her to confirm his identity and have a miniscule interaction with him.
She walked up the aisle adjacent to his. Gathering her nerve, she made her way around the endcap and down his aisle.
He gave no sign that he was aware of her presence. His head remained bent.
She pretended interest in the plungers, arrayed ten yards from him on the other side of the aisle. Covert side glance. He’d clothed his muscular body in jeans and a well-worn black leather jacket. He had dark brown hair, a profile of hard angles, scruff on his cheeks, and leave-me-alone body language.
If he wanted to be left alone, how was she going to have a miniscule interaction with him? Inspiration struck and she knocked three of the plungers onto the floor.
At the clatter, he jerked. His head lifted.
“Sorry.” She smiled at him.
Without smiling back, he returned his focus to the screws.
Shay set two of the plungers back in place and carried the third away, acting like a customer looking for additional items. Actually, she was a customer. Buying a plunger was the least she could do in the name of her cover story. One could never have too many plungers.
She texted Gabe as she walked. It’s absolutely Luke Dempsey. He entered Rocky’s Hardware. Come IMMEDIATELY. Gabe was as big a Miracle Five devotee as she was.
She took some deep breaths and shook out her legs. Luke’s hazel eyes had been like the ice covering a lake. Cold and dangerous.
Gabe caught up to her, a little out of breath, in the hammer aisle.
She motioned for him to bend down so she could whisper in his ear. “He’s super intimidating.”
“Really?” Gabe appeared enthusiastic.
“Take a look at your own risk.”
He ambled off and eventually met her at the cash register after she’d paid for her plunger. The door wheezed behind them as they exited. Together, they strode back toward Papery.
“That was so lucky,” Shay said.
“I can’t believe we just saw him in the flesh.”
“It was a Christmas miracle.”
“Luke Dempsey.” He shook his head. “Unbelievable.”
“Did you find him intimidating?”
“Very.”
“I think he might still be haunted by his brother’s death.”
“I wonder if he’ll ever come inside the shop? That grief journal we carry has really helped some people.”
“He didn’t look to me like the stationery type, Gabe.”
Two women stood outside Papery, sweetly waiting in response to the Be back in five minutes! message Gabe had taped to the locked door. It wasn’t until after the women left—one with Happy New Year! cards because she’d given up on getting cards in the mail ahead of Christmas—that Gabe circled back to what they’d been discussing when she’d spotted Luke.
“You said earlier that I’d forgotten one hugely important obstacle between you and Connor,” Gabe prompted.
“Connor asked me to be his dating consultant because he’s interested in someone else. You warned me that some other woman was going to take him off the market if I didn’t act. But the sad truth is, some other woman has already taken him off the market.”
“Tell Connor how you’re feeling. Maybe he’ll rethink the other woman.”
“Or maybe, if I tell him, that will only end up making him feel awkward around me.” She continued into her office and lowered to her desk.
Who is Molly? Is she someone I know? And what had she done to inspire Connor to try so hard to please her?
Shay had had several boyfriends. Getting them had never been the issue. It was transitioning to love and lifelong commitment that had been the tough nut to crack. Pondering Connor’s pursuit of Molly raised a depressing truth.
Connor was willing to spend the type of time and effort in pursuit of Molly that Shay’s boyfriends had never been willing to spend in pursuit of her.
And now, in a display of terrible timing, she was developing a crush on Connor right when he was about to confess his affection for someone else. Why hadn’t she noticed his appeal sooner?
Regret heavy on her shoulders, she pulled out her phone and texted him. I had a verified Luke Dempsey sighting just now.
Seven minutes later, Connor replied. Congratulations! Did you know that Ben Coleman is one of my teacher friends? I’d be happy to introduce you anytime.
Ben was another member of the Miracle Five. Connor was willing to set up an introduction simply because he knew it would mean a lot to her.
See? Connor was good.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to date someone who’s just good, without fine print?” Gabe had asked. It would be nice. At what point was she going to grow up and start choosing men who were great for her?
Not at this point, apparently, since Connor was off-limits.
I’d be delighted to meet Ben, thank you. She followed that with another text a few seconds later. Do you remember the dating strategies you and I discussed yesterday?
We discussed that, if I listen to Molly, I’ll get a grasp on what types of activities she enjoys. In Molly’s case, she enjoys ice skating at Christmastime. So, I can simply ask, “Would you like to go out with me sometime?” Then suggest that we go ice skating.
Precisely! Ice skating is a good choice because there can be a lot of pressure associated with spending a first date sitting across a table from someone. This way, you’ll have an activity to think and talk about. If the ice skating goes well, you could see if she wants to grab a coffee from the stand beside the rink. But only if it’s going well. If it’s not, go your separate ways and reassess.
Got it. Can you and I practice the ice-skating date soon?
Tomorrow after work? I can meet you at the high school.
If so, I’ll introduce you to Ben.
It’s a (pretend) date! See you then.
Chapter Five
At the appointed time, Shay turned in to the parking lot of Misty River High School. The lot had cleared out significantly, but not totally, at this hour on a Friday.
She enjoyed staying at least slightly connected with her alma mater. In the spring, she always set up a Papery booth at the high school’s fundraising farmers market. In the fall, she made it a point to attend a handful of the home football games.
Whenever she returned to campus, a landslide of memories greeted her. Her brother, peeling onto the main road on those rare and precious occasions when he’d taken her, Ash, and Danielle off campus for lunch. How she’d felt, waiting on the starting line of a cross country meet, her anticipation and adrenaline buzzing. The beloved red dress she’d worn to the Midwinter Dance her senior year, and how she and Nicolas had slow danced to “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.
She parked and observed a trio of girls talking and laughing as they crossed in front of her. They were so young! They were experiencing what Shay had once experienced on this campus. She felt linked to them and, at the same time, separate from them. They were going to the school she’d attended, but the campus and the staff and the world had changed since then.
She walked in the direction of the beige brick administrative building, where Connor had suggested they meet.