The December Market (Shelter Springs #2)

5

Though the next day was nearly as chaotic and busy at the store as Black Friday had been, Amanda couldn’t seem to get the awkward encounter with Rafe out of her head.

What was wrong with her? She interacted with people all day long. She had become excellent at dealing with irate customers who ultimately didn’t like a product they had chosen and purchased, with parents who ignored their children as they raced through the store opening bottles and knocking things off shelves, with suppliers who missed deadlines and unexpectedly increased prices.

Why, then, had she completely botched that conversation with him? From the moment she showed up out of the blue with an abundance of meals for him and Isaac to her fumbled attempts to ask him about Birdie and Paolo, she had been unnerved and off-balance.

He probably thought she was some kind of weirdo do-gooder.

She sighed. What did it matter what Rafe thought of her? While they were neighbors now, both living on Huckleberry Street, she expected she would have very little to do with him or his son, if their past history was any indication.

Unless, of course, their grandparents ended up embroiled in a hot and heavy relationship. Would that make them... stepgrandchildren?

She had no idea and didn’t want to think about it—or Rafe—another moment. That’s what she told herself, anyway, until the next time the awkward memory of their encounter popped into her head.

During one of the rare slow moments at the store, she was trying her best to focus on juggling the complicated schedule for December—given that for two weeks, half of her employees would be working The Lucky Goat stall at the holiday market—when the bells on the door jingled. She automatically looked up and was both shocked and delighted to see her dear friend Natalie Shepherd walk through.

“Nat!” Amanda exclaimed, setting aside her laptop and rushing to hug her friend. “You’re back! I thought you weren’t flying home until next week.”

Natalie looked burnished and beautiful, alive with health and happiness.

“Yes. We were supposed to fly home on Monday but with all the Thanksgiving travel traffic, the airline called and said they either had to bump us a few days or they could get us home on a red-eye last night. As Griffin has to work in the urgent care Wednesday, we opted for the red-eye.”

While Griffin had his own family medicine clinic in town, he and other physicians in the area shared shifts in order to staff the local urgent care clinic.

“I’m sorry you had to cut your trip short.”

“Only by about thirty-six hours. It’s fine. We had an amazing experience. You should have seen how many people in Guatemala he was able to help. And they were all so very grateful, too.”

This was the second time during the year they had been together that Natalie and Griffin had gone on a trip overseas so that Amanda’s brother could work with a medical charity that provided free care to people in need.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. It must be so rewarding for both of you.”

“I didn’t do much except hand him bandages and tongue depressors occasionally. It was still wonderful. You should come with us next time. The organization we were working with asked Griff to consider a longer trip over the summer, maybe to eastern Africa. He’s thinking about it.”

She couldn’t help but notice how Natalie glowed when she talked about Griffin. It made Amanda’s heart happy, even as she was aware of a small twinge of envy.

Natalie was so good for Griffin—and vice versa. The two of them seemed to fill in all the cracks that sorrow and pain over the years had etched on their hearts.

“We got you something. Griff helped pick it out.” Natalie handed over a gift bag.

“Oh. Thank you. That is so nice of you both.”

“Go ahead. Open it.”

When she did, she pulled out a gorgeous hand-beaded hummingbird in brilliant colors, dangling from a looped ribbon.

“Oh! It’s wonderful. Thank you! I love it!”

“As soon as I saw it, I thought of you and your trees here at the store.”

She had two Christmas trees at The Lucky Goat, one decorated with ornaments for sale that had been made by local craftspeople, the other, in the window, adorned with her own personal collection of handmade ornaments from around the world.

“I’ll hang it right now. Thanks, Nat.”

She moved to the front window and found a spot between a carved wooden crèche ornament and a hammered iron twisted candy cane.

“How was Thanksgiving?” Natalie asked after Amanda stood back to admire the tree. “Griff is hoping Birdie will forgive him for missing it this year.”

“You know she will. Birdie never holds a grudge, and she certainly doesn’t mind that you weren’t there, especially when you were engaged in a good cause.”

“He was still sorry not to be able to spend it with you both.”

“We missed him, too. And you as well. Thanksgiving was quiet. Me and Birdie and Mabel Mulcahy.”

Natalie winced. “Sorry about that.”

“Mabel was actually quite lovely. I think she has mellowed a little over the years.”

Birdie’s neighbor in the apartment building had once owned a small market near the elementary school featuring a huge candy selection, offerings far sweeter than Mabel had ever been to her young customers.

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yes. It was a nice day.” She paused, remembering the day before and Birdie and Paolo walking arm in arm through the store. Should she say something to Natalie? She debated for only a moment, then decided she owed Griffin a little advance warning.

“I should probably give you and Griffin a heads-up so you’re not caught by surprise like I was. I think Birdie might have a boyfriend.”

Natalie’s quick laugh faded quickly when she saw Amanda didn’t join her.

“You’re serious.”

Amanda nodded. “Totally serious. I should say that I’m not a hundred percent certain and I might be making a big deal out of something that’s not there. But she has been spending a lot of time with a new resident at the Shelter Inn. A widower. Paolo Arredondo.”

Natalie blinked. “I know Paolo. His daughter-in-law Louise was one of my mother’s good friends. She used to come to our house and style my mom’s hair, even in her last days of hospice.”

“Oh, how kind.”

While Louise had always been cool to her , Amanda could appreciate the woman’s compassion toward Natalie’s mother, who had died of cancer when they were teenagers. Jeanette Shepherd’s death had been a pivotal event for Nat and her siblings. It had hit Jake particularly hard. He had never stopped mourning his mother and had been in a dark place for more than a year after her death.

“She was always really wonderful to Mom,” Natalie said, then frowned again. “You think Birdie is dating Paolo? Really? Are you certain they’re not just good friends?”

“Maybe. But I’ve seen them together several times now and she mentions him often when they are not together. Yesterday, they came into the store Black Friday shopping together and Birdie had her hand tucked in his arm the entire time as they walked around.”

Even as she said the words, she realized how silly they sounded. She remembered what Rafe had said, about Paolo wanting to help.

Of course Birdie would have her hand tucked in Paolo’s arm. She could not see well and sometimes needed assistance navigating the world around her, especially when she was in places that were not as familiar to her as her own apartment.

Amanda should never have said anything to Natalie—or to Rafe the day before. She cringed again, remembering the awkwardness of their conversation.

“Good for Birdie! Paolo is a great guy.”

When Amanda did not answer, Natalie gave her a closer look. “You don’t agree? Is there something wrong with Mr. Arredondo, something I don’t know about? Some compelling reason Birdie should not be spending time with him?”

Apparently Amanda was the only one uneasy at the idea of her eighty-year-old grandmother dating someone, when Birdie had never shown interest in anyone before.

If it didn’t bother anyone else, why did Amanda find it so concerning? Was it possible she was envious that her grandmother might have someone in her life when Amanda was alone, as always?

No. She wasn’t that selfish. She loved her grandmother and wanted her to be happy. She was just concerned that Birdie would end up hurt.

She had only been thirteen when her grandfather died but Amanda could still vividly remember how deeply her grandmother had grieved for him. For nearly a year afterward, Birdie had withdrawn into herself. She had stopped inviting them to dinner and had nearly lost her art gallery because she seemed to have stopped caring about anything.

None of their efforts to reach her had worked. For the only time in Amanda’s memory, Birdie had been without her ready smile and warm hugs.

She couldn’t bear thinking about Birdie being hurt again, after everything she had already endured.

“There’s nothing wrong with Paolo, as far as I know. I wouldn’t have even brought it up except I was shocked to see them together, and I wanted to give Griffin some advance warning so he wasn’t caught by surprise, too.”

“I’ll let him know. I think he’ll find it sweet, though.”

Natalie brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, and as she did, Amanda caught a glint of something sparkling there in the lights of her window display Christmas tree.

She gasped. “Natalie! What is that on your hand?”

Nat gave an innocent look that did not fool Amanda for a moment. “What? This?” She held out her hand, where Amanda could see the gleam of a beautiful diamond and emerald ring. She couldn’t believe she had missed it until now.

“Griffin proposed? You’re actually doing this? Oh, Nat. We’re going to be sisters, just like we always talked about.”

Even as she said the words and hugged her friend tightly, Amanda felt a little ache in her chest. When they had talked about it, back in their teenage years, they thought they would become sisters when Amanda married Natalie’s brother, not the other way around.

“Tell me everything,” she exclaimed, ignoring the ache. “When did he pop the question?”

Natalie smiled with so much joy that Amanda had to hug her again.

“Apparently, he bought the ring a few months ago and has been waiting for the right moment, carrying it around in his pocket. It’s a wonder it wasn’t stolen or lost somewhere along the way.”

Amanda could just imagine her brother waiting for the perfect occasion to propose.

“Our last night in Guatemala, we were walking on the beach near our hotel. The moon was glimmering on the water and we were both a little sad to be leaving when there were still so many people needing help. We were talking about where we would go next and he suggested we should block off some time in our schedules for something besides travel. Then he popped out the ring, knelt right there in the sand, told me he loved me with every breath inside him and asked me to marry him.”

“Oh,” she breathed.

“It was the perfect proposal. Exactly right.”

Of course, she had to hug her future sister-in-law all over again.

“I’m so happy for both of you,” she said. “There is no one on earth I would rather see with my brother forever.”

Natalie gave a soft, dreamy smile. “I was wondering if you would consider sharing maid of honor duties with McKenna. I’ve asked her to be the matron of honor but with three small children, she will likely need help.”

She was so very grateful to have Natalie back in her life. For many years after Jake’s death, they had both let grief and guilt interfere with their friendship, until the previous Christmas had finally allowed the healing between them to begin.

“Of course! I would be honored.”

“Thank you. We’re thinking summer. Neither of us wants to wait long. We have to work out all the details around my few remaining travel obligations, but I’ll keep you posted when we figure out the timing.”

“Perfect. Summer works. I am so happy for both of you, Nat. This is the best news. Have you told Birdie yet?”

“No. We’re heading over this afternoon.”

“She’ll be over the moon. Fair warning, though, she will probably take credit for the whole thing and claim she’s the one who brought you two together last Christmas.”

“I don’t mind. She can take all the credit she wants. How can I complain when I’m the one who benefited from her matchmaking efforts?”

“Don’t tell her that or you will never hear the end of it.”

Natalie smiled. “You know, maybe you ought to let Birdie take a hand in your love life. She seems to have pretty good instincts about people and who might be the perfect match for them.”

Amanda huffed out of breath. “What love life?”

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Suddenly serious, Natalie reached for her hand. “Mandy. Jake’s been gone a long time. He wouldn’t want you to put your whole life on hold for him.”

She slipped her hand away and forced a smile, trying to hide her discomfort at the turn of topic. “I haven’t done that. I’ve dated plenty of men since he died. I’ve had a few serious boyfriends and almost got engaged a few years ago, before you came back to Shelter Springs. He was a very nice engineer from Boise.”

“Right. Ben. The twins told me about him.”

What else had Holly and Hannah told Natalie about the man? She knew neither of their friends had particularly liked him, mainly because he had refused to consider moving to Shelter Springs. And, okay, maybe because he had not been completely over his ex-wife, even though the woman had left him for someone else, running off to Hawaii and leaving him to be a single father to their two young girls.

They had dated for six months and had talked about getting married. She had become friendly with Ben’s mother and his sisters and had adored his daughters, who had been seven and five at the time.

When said ex-wife had reappeared in the picture, repentant and wanting to repair their marriage, Amanda had done the right thing and stepped aside.

She had grieved those adorable girls more than she had mourned the end of her relationship with Ben, she had to admit. With their sweet laughter and warm hugs, they had carved away a little chunk of her heart. She still thought of them often and hoped they were doing well, now that their parents were back together.

After that painful experience, Amanda had also vowed that she wouldn’t date anyone else with children. It was too messy, difficult for all parties involved. Unfortunately, that definitely narrowed the field when she was thirty-one and most men of comparable age had a past that often involved children.

“I date,” she said again. “But between the store and my grandmother and all the work I do with the market and my other projects, my time is limited. To be honest, I haven’t found anybody lately who is tempting enough to distract me from all I have to do.”

For some ridiculous reason, she thought of Rafe Arredondo, with his dark hair tousled and that sexy mouth tight with a pain he didn’t want to show. He had looked wounded and grumpy and completely adorable.

He had a child, she reminded herself. A precious six-year-old boy whom she suspected would carve much more than a chunk out of her heart if she let herself fall for him or for his father.

“I’m sorry I said anything,” Natalie said. “I’ll stop bugging you. It used to drive me crazy when McKenna and all my other well-meaning friends who were in healthy relationships tried to give me dating advice.”

“Did you listen to any of them?”

“Absolutely not!”

They both laughed and Amanda was grateful any awkwardness had passed. “We need to have an engagement party! We should at least get our friends together to celebrate during the holidays, now that you’re home. My schedule will be packed once the market starts but I could maybe swing an evening this week to go out to dinner.”

“What a great idea! I would love that.”

“Let me know after you’ve had a chance to tell everyone about the engagement and I’ll set up a text chain to try to arrange something.”

“Actually, don’t tell them anything about the engagement. Just say you want to get together for the holidays. I would love to surprise everyone at dinner.”

She smiled, imagining the delight of their friends. “Sounds great. Again, I’m thrilled for you, Nat. You and Griffin are perfect together. You’ve always been dear to me, but even if you had been my mortal enemy, I would have loved you anyway for making my brother so happy.”

Over the past year, her brother had glowed with joy, more at peace than she had ever seen him. It made her own heart happy, especially after everything Natalie and Griffin had endured before finding their way to each other.

“I should run. I just wanted to drop off the ornament and share our news with you. I probably should have waited until your brother could come with me but I was too excited.”

“You never could keep a secret.”

“True enough. Bye, Mandy.”

They hugged again, then Natalie left with a wave to the other workers in the shop, all of whom she knew.

Cat came over as soon as the door closed behind her, features avid with curiosity.

“I wasn’t eavesdropping, I promise. But I could not help overhearing the happy news. I gather Natalie and Griffin came back from Guatemala engaged. Yay!”

Amanda again felt that funny little pang of mingled joy for her brother and his new fiancée and sorrow for the hope-filled girl she had once been, wholly believing she and Jake would have their happy-ever-after.

“Yes. It’s so exciting.”

“They are an adorable couple. I know it’s a cliché but they each completely light up when the other one is in the room. I love it. Reminds me of when Sean and I were first dating. I still have that little tingle when I haven’t seen him for a few hours.”

Amanda found that adorable, especially since Cat and her husband had been married for more than two decades and had four children.

“Don’t say anything to anyone, okay? She wants to wait a bit to tell everyone.”

Cat mimicked twisting a key in a lock against her mouth, then both returned to their customers.