Especially since it seemed like no matter what happened, she was somehow forever going to be connected to Jake Summerford and Magnolia Sound whether she wanted to be or not.
And for the first time in her entire life, the thought of living here in this town was the very last thing she wanted.
She had walked through the doors of this shop dozens of times in her life, but this was the first time she was doing it as the owner.
She owned a business.
One of the many places in Magnolia Sound that she loved.
With a steadying breath, Mallory smoothed a hand over her hair and did her best to keep a serene smile on her face.
Even though the entire morning had been beyond traumatic for her.
Pushing the glass door open, she stepped into Barb’s Beach Buys and let out a long breath. Hers, this place was hers. Slowly, she began to walk around the large showroom and touch and admire things. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Barb standing in the back corner watching her. When she finally did, Mallory felt herself blush with embarrassment.
Making her way toward her, she smiled. “Hey, Barb. It’s nice to see you again.”
She was expecting maybe a handshake or a more professional greeting, but instead, Barb Harper walked right up to her and pulled her into an exuberant embrace. “Mallory Westbrook, you have no idea how thrilled I am that this place is going to you!”
Taking a step back, Mallory studied her. “Really?”
Barb nodded. “You are going to be the perfect owner! I knew it the first time you came in here!”
That made Mallory chuckle softly. “I was twelve back then.”
“But you had an eye for décor!” Barb cried. “I saw the appreciation you had for the pieces in here and the way you talked about how you would group items together. Oh, how I used to enjoy watching you!”
And her blush deepened. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course!” Barb paused and looked around. “Why don’t we sit down and get comfortable? I’m sure you have lots of questions about the place.”
It was true, but there was one that she simply had to have the answer to first.
“How is it that Pops owned this place when it’s your name on the sign?”
Now it was Barb’s turn to blush. She fidgeted in the white rocking chair she chose to sit in before looking at Mallory. “About ten years ago, I thought I was going to have to close the shop.”
“What? I don’t remember that!”
Nodding, Barb said. “It’s true. I fell down the stairs that winter. I really did a number on my back and broke my leg. I was running the place essentially on my own so when I couldn’t work…”
“The store didn’t open,” Mallory finished for her.
“I was devastated. This place isn’t much, but it was mine and I built it up from nothing,” she said with a hint of fierceness. “As you can imagine in a town like this, everyone knew of my struggles. Zeke came to me and offered to buy the place but he’d let me keep running it. The only ones who knew of the arrangement were the two of us. Well, the two of us and my husband, Gary.” She smiled. “I know this is going to sound weird, but…we’re really excited that you’re finally here to take over. I’m sorry it happened this way, but it gives me so much peace knowing my baby is in good hands.”
As much as Mallory wanted to be pleased, it wasn’t quite so cut-and-dried.
“Do you have a staff now or is it still just you? I thought I remember seeing some part-time helpers here…”
“I have a wonderful staff and we were all so relieved that our showroom was spared during the storm. We have a small warehouse full of inventory that suffered some water damage, but it’s all covered by insurance so you’ll be starting with a clean slate where that’s concerned.”
And that’s when it hit her that there was so much she was going to have to deal with – inventory, learning the entire business, meeting vendors…it was a lot to take in. But as she looked around the room, she felt…invigorated. Was she nervous? Sure! This was all new to her. The thing that had her most excited was that this was a place that would always make her feel close to Pops. He had done this for her.
And maybe for Barb. Which reminded her…
“So what are your plans for retirement? Are you going to travel?”
“Not right away. I was figuring you might need me here for a while until you get settled. This all happened so suddenly and I’m sure you weren’t planning on moving here tomorrow,” she said with a sweet smile. Placing one hand over Mallory’s, she gave it a light squeeze. “I won’t walk away until you’re ready. I want you to know that you’re not alone. The girls and I are here to help.”
Mallory let out a breath that she didn’t realized she was holding. “I’m so glad! I was so nervous! This is all so new and…”
“It’s a lot, I know. But like I said, you’re not alone. There are three of us here – four or more during the summer months when we’re busier – but if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, all you have to do is call.”
For a minute, she was too overwhelmed to speak.
“Carol Taylor is my go-to girl here,” Barb explained. “She’s been with me almost ten years, ever since I was able to re-open the shop. Then there’s Nicole Walters. She’s young – a senior in high school – but she is a fantastic salesgirl. Blonde hair, blue eyes…she is completely adorable! And then we have Bree. She’s a bit older than you and she’s married with two little ones, so this job is a bit of a necessity and escape for her.”
Laughing softly, Mallory said, “I can only imagine!”
“They are the best staff a girl could ask for. I believe I’ll be leaving you in very capable hands.”
Mallory had to agree. “How about we get started?”
Two days later, Jake still had no idea what went wrong.
For the life of him, he thought they were going in the right direction but when it came right down to it, they weren’t on the same page on anything. And on top of that, Mallory was always going to blame him for her not coming home this summer.
And that was the one thing he knew he could never make up for.
Even if he spent every day of the rest of his life proving to her how much he loved her and wanted to be with her, he can’t give her back the time she missed with Zeke.
“Jake!” Colton called out. They were working on Zeke’s place–well, now Susannah’s place–and he found some issues with the addition now that everything was down to the studs.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, we found something and...um…”
He really didn’t have the time or patience for this right now. “Just get to the point, Colt. We’ve got a lot going on here and I’m sure Susannah would like to have a little peace and quiet back.”
Looking a bit embarrassed, Colton raked a hand through his hair and sighed. “You know we had to go all the way back to the far side of the structure, right?”
Jake nodded.
“We replaced all the rotted wood and with the new roof going on, that solved the issue with where we believe the water damage came from.”