“I had a feeling you might say so.” He handed her a sheet of paper that detailed the offer, including salary and benefits.
Tears appeared out of nowhere, as they often did these days. “I’m sorry.” She accepted the tissue he handed her. “I’m sure Molly told you I’ve been an emotional disaster area since the fire.”
“She certainly didn’t put it that way.”
“Well, it’s true. I’m on emotional overload. Your son has been a saint.”
“He’s a good boy.”
“He’s a wonderful man.”
Linc nodded. “That he is.”
“Have you heard about my daughter?”
“I have.”
“At some point, she’ll be coming to live with me, and it’s important that I’m upfront with you about how she’ll be my top priority.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything different. This is a family-friendly company. I raised ten children while running this place. I never missed a game or a play or a parent-teacher conference, and I don’t expect my employees to either. We cover for each other as needed, and we put family first. Always.”
The trickle of tears became a torrent. She used the tissue to mop them up. “I’m mortified.”
Laughing, Linc got up and came around the desk to sit next to her in the other chair. “Don’t be. You’ve had a lot to deal with all at once. Anyone would be overwhelmed.”
“Your company is exactly what I need right now, and I gratefully accept your wonderful offer. I promise to work very hard for you.”
“I have no doubt that you will, and we’re thrilled to welcome you to the team—and the family.”
“Thank you so much. I promise not to be one of those people who cries at work.”
His warm smile touched her. “It’ll all be fine. I promise. My father-in-law likes to say that we usually figure out our path when we’re already on it, and I’ve found that to be very true.”
“That sounds about right. I suppose I need to get busy finding a place to live and buying sheets and towels.”
“I know just the place to get everything you need—with an employee discount.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I plant a lot of trees. I am a great believer in planting things for future generations.”
—Penelope Keith
After leaving the store with her offer letter in hand, Amanda walked back to the Grange, where she’d parked her rental car. It was such a beautiful sunny day, and more than anything, she wanted to see Landon to share the news about her new job. But first, she had her meeting with Mildred. After that, she’d go find Landon.
Mildred lived in a tiny house on the outskirts of Butler and welcomed Amanda into her cozy home with a friendly smile. At a quick glance, you’d never know the woman was in her nineties. She had snow-white hair and lively hazel eyes. “You must be Amanda. Come in.”
“Thank you so much for seeing me, Mrs. Olsen. I really appreciate it.”
“Please, call me Mildred, and I’m delighted to have the company. Could I offer you a cup of tea or coffee?”
“Tea would be wonderful.”
“Right this way.” Amanda followed her through the living room to a galley kitchen. “Have a seat and make yourself at home.”
“Thank you.”
Mildred prepared the tea with an expert-level attention to detail, brought the delicate china pot to the table to steep and went back for teacups, cream and sugar and shortbread cookies. When everything was set up to her satisfaction, she took the other seat at the small table.
Amanda took her notebook out of her purse and stirred cream into her tea.
“You have to try the cookies,” Mildred said. “They’re from the store. Some of our most popular.”
Amanda took a bite of a cookie, and the lemony, buttery sweetness exploded on her tongue. “Oh wow. That’s good.”
“Don’t tell anyone, but I eat a box of them a week.”
“Your secret is safe with me.”
She leaned in to add, “The good thing about being ninety-two is you can eat whatever the heck you want, within reason, of course.”
“Of course,” Amanda said, delighted by her. “So tell me how you got started with the company.”
“I was eight when Elmer’s daddy hired me to sweep the floor for a dollar a week. That doesn’t sound like much these days, but at the time, it made a big difference for my family. I came every day after school to sweep, and every Saturday morning. After I finished school, I joined the bookkeeping department, and I’m still there more than eighty years later.”
Amanda took notes as Mildred spoke. “That’s an amazing accomplishment.”
“It’s been a wonderful life, to be sure. I’m the last remaining first-generation employee of the store. I’ve seen it all, I’ll tell you.”
“What’s the greatest change you’ve witnessed during your tenure?”
“The sheer volume of customers that come through our door, and with the catalog coming, I imagine that number is only going to get bigger. Our company is growing in leaps and bounds, thanks in large part to Lincoln’s leadership. He’s such a nice boy, and so very smart. Elmer will tell you he’s injected so much energy and passion into the business.”
Amused to hear Linc, who was at least sixty, referred to as a “boy,” Amanda said, “How do you feel about the changes?”
“While I’ve always loved the nostalgic atmosphere in the store and don’t think that should ever change, I understand that times change, and we have to do the same to stay relevant.”
“That’s a very evolved attitude.”
“It took me a while to come around, but Linc’s an inspirational leader. He’s committed to keeping the business moving forward. You didn’t hear this from me, but there’s even talk of a second store in Stowe.”
“Is that right?”
She nodded, her eyes twinkling over her teacup. “The kids don’t know yet.”
“That’s a big scoop.”
“Sure is. Linc, Elmer and I talked about it over lunch last week, and it sounds to me like Linc is pretty far down the road with the idea. He’s even located a space he’s interested in.”
“When will he tell the kids?” Amanda asked, intrigued by the family dynamics.
“When he has all his ducks in a row. The kids tend to be more conservative about new things. If it was up to them, there’d be no website, no catalog, no warehouse, no intimate line. They prefer to keep things the way they’ve always been, whereas Linc sees the bigger picture.”
“That’s the exact opposite of how you’d expect it to be.”
“For sure.”
“Tell me more about you. Did you grow up in Butler?”
“I did. We lived three streets over from Elm, right near where Hunter and his Megan live now. I could walk to the store after school. I was twenty when I married my Herman, and we had fifty-two wonderful years together right here in Butler until he passed.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss.”