The December Market (Shelter Springs #2)

20

As much as she adored the holiday market, Amanda was always happy when it was nearly finished for the season.

She was running low on product for The Lucky Goat kiosk, and a few of the shelves were empty. Her employees were equally depleted of energy and enthusiasm for dealing with the seemingly endless crowds of shoppers.

All week long, she had only been able to come to the market in the evenings. She told herself it was by necessity, since she was so busy with holiday shoppers at her store as well, but she knew the truth.

She was doing her best to avoid Rafe.

Yes, she was being a coward. Unfortunately, she had absolutely no willpower where the man was concerned. Despite knowing all the risks and dangers, she was rushing headlong into disaster, her feelings for him growing stronger every time they were together.

After that last kiss between them, it had been easier to avoid him than to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him again or confronting this deep ache inside her for more.

On the Saturday before Christmas, the final day of the market, she had no choice but to spend the afternoon and evening at The Lucky Goat stall. She was shorthanded, with a few of her employees leaving early for the holidays to spend time with family out of town.

She not only had to deal with details of wrapping up the market from her position as the organizer but she also had to take down her products and decorations so the wooden stall could be disassembled after the holidays and stored with all the others in a vast warehouse on the edge of town.

She rather hoped Rafe wouldn’t be there since it was the final day of the market. No luck. She saw him as soon as she turned the corner to head toward her kiosk. He stood just inside the first aid room.

For a fleeting moment, she thought about sneaking past him unseen, hiding herself among a quartet of women obviously out for a girls’ day. She wouldn’t be that cowardly, though. Instead, she drew in a breath, braced herself and moved toward him.

When he spotted her, his gaze seemed to brighten. “Amanda. Hi.”

Oh, she had missed him. She hadn’t realized it until this moment, standing in front of him again. How ridiculous was that? He wasn’t hers to miss.

“How are you, Rafe? How’s the arm?”

He held it up and she saw he now had a black brace instead of the old-style cast. “It’s fine. I’ve transitioned to a removable cast, which is much more convenient. I don’t have to wrap it up in plastic to take a shower.”

She didn’t want to think about the words Rafe and shower in the same sentence.

“Where’s Isaac today?”

“Spending the day with his grandfather again. I think they plan to knock off some last-minute shopping.”

“On the final Saturday before Christmas? Your father is brave. You know that’s the busiest shopping day of the year, right? People usually think it’s Black Friday. They’re wrong. As a small business owner, I can tell you that I always have far more customers in my store today than on the day after Thanksgiving.”

“Better my dad than me, I guess.”

She managed a smile and gestured to the first aid station. “I imagine you’re happy to be almost done with your assignment here. When will you be able to go back to work?”

“After the holidays. Working here hasn’t been as bad as I feared. We didn’t have to perform any dramatic rescues with the jaws of life but I’ve enjoyed the people watching. And I’m not as sick of Christmas music as I expected to be.”

She smiled. “Maybe we’ll see you back here next year, then.”

“I wouldn’t go quite that far.”

“Here’s hoping,” she said.

They were interrupted by one of the vendors from out of town asking Rafe if he had any ibuprofen for a headache. With a wave, she left him to his duties and hurried the rest of the way to her market stall.

Throughout the day as she chatted with all the customers taking advantage of the last day clearance sales, she was aware of Rafe across the way.

She noticed when he attended to an older woman with a walking frame who seemed to be having a dizzy spell. When he helped Janet Pell from the crepe stand, who apparently had a small hot oil burn, when he rewrapped Kelli Child’s wrist, which seemed to be taking an extraordinarily long time to heal.

She was trying not to stare as he chatted with a couple she didn’t know when Cat Lewis spoke over her shoulder.

“He’s mighty fine, isn’t he?”

She jumped, caught unawares. “Who is?” She feigned ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t you?” Cat gave her a knowing look. “I’ve seen those sneaky little peeks you’ve been taking at the town’s sexiest paramedic. I can’t say I blame you. The man should be on one of those smokin’ firefighter calendars.”

Amanda hoped Cat couldn’t see her color rise. “I’m not looking at anyone,” she lied. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Aren’t you?” Cat’s expression turned shrewd. “That’s too bad, since that particular sexy firefighter in question keeps sneaking looks over here, too. Somehow I don’t think married old me is the person who has caught his eye.”

Despite the sharp thrill the words sent through her, Amanda forced herself not to react.

“Coincidence,” she said promptly.

Cat looked disappointed. “I was really hoping I was sniffing a new romance in the air, along with all the peppermint and hot cocoa.”

“Rafe and I are friends. That’s all. He’s been enormously helpful at the first aid station, even with his broken arm. I’ve also grown fond of his son, Isaac.”

“He’s a cutie,” Cat agreed. “The two of them make quite an irresistible package. Too bad I’m not in the market for a sexy paramedic with a cute kid.”

Neither was Amanda, she reminded herself. She spent the rest of the afternoon and evening doing her best to avoid even accidentally glancing in that direction.

Finally, after what felt like an endless day, the last shoppers wandered out of the convention hall, the food concessionaires started cleaning their grills and other merchants began packing up their wares.

“Well, looks like we survived another market.”

She smiled at Cat. “It’s been a record-breaking event.”

“How long before you have to start planning for next year?” her friend asked as she pulled out boxes from under the counter and began filling them with their few remaining unsold items.

“Not yet, thank heavens. Give me a few months to catch my breath first.”

She and Cat quickly packed up the rest of the inventory and worked together to pull down their sign and the brightly colored Christmas lights from the facade of the shop.

She picked up two boxes to carry out to her SUV. With a tired sigh, Cat did the same. “I’ve got this,” Amanda said. “Go home and take a rest. You’ve earned it.”

“I don’t mind helping.”

“I know, but you’re dead on your feet. This won’t take me long.”

Cat looked as if she wanted to argue but she finally sighed. “You’re as tired as I am, but you definitely beat me in the stubborn department. All right. I’ll take off. I’ll carry what I can to my car and drop it at the store on Monday.”

If her arms were not loaded with boxes, she would have hugged her friend. Instead, she could only nod as she turned toward the exit nearest where she had parked. She only made it a few steps when Rafe joined her, reaching for the boxes. “Here. Let me carry that out for you.”

“You don’t have to do that. You have a broken arm.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Which doesn’t stop me from carrying a few light boxes.”

If she was stubborn, Rafe was positively intractable.

“Thank you, then,” she said with as much graciousness as she could muster. She grabbed another two boxes and followed him out the door.

She led the way to her SUV, where she popped the hatch with her key. He slid in the boxes he carried, then took the other two from her so he could place them in as well.

“Are you clearing everything from your kiosk out tonight?”

She nodded. “I find it’s always better to take care of it the night the market closes rather than drag it out through the weekend, like some of the vendors prefer to do. When it’s over, I want to be done.”

“I can understand that. I’ll help you finish up.”

“I would appreciate that, if you’re sure you don’t mind. Cat was more than willing to help me, but she was dead on her feet and ready to go home.”

“No problem.”

They made several more trips, loading up every inch of her vehicle, from the cargo area to the back row of seats and even the passenger seat.

They had picked up the final trio of boxes when they bumped into Isaac and his grandfather.

The boy beamed with delight. “Hi, Amanda!”

“Hello, Isaac. Mr. Arredondo.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Rafe asked. “I was planning to come pick Isaac up at the house after I finished helping Amanda load up.”

“We figured we would drop by and see if your mom and Crista might need help taking down their booth.”

Guilt flashed across Rafe’s features, as if he had only then remembered his mother and sister-in-law would also be carrying boxes out of the convention center.

“Right. Let me take these last few boxes out to Amanda’s car then I’ll come back and help Mom and Crista.”

“Can I help you?” Isaac asked Amanda.

She set down her boxes on the counter and handed him the smallest one from the top.

“Here’s a box that’s just Isaac-size,” Amanda said. “Is that one too heavy for you?”

“No. I’m not as strong as my dad but I still have muscles.”

From what she knew of the man, Amanda could think of few people as strong as Rafe.

“I’ll head over to find your mom and Crista, then,” Al Arredondo said.

Rafe nodded. “We’ll be there soon.”

Together, he, Amanda and Isaac carried the rest of her boxes out to her SUV and managed to find room on the floor of the passenger seat.

“Thank you,” she said as they returned to the convention hall. “You helped shorten a job that would have taken me another hour.”

“My pleasure,” Rafe said, with a slow smile that made her toes curl.

“Hey, Amanda.” Isaac skipped along beside them. “Guess what? Christmas Eve will be here in only three more sleeps!”

“I know. Isn’t that exciting?”

“And yesterday was my last day of school. And tomorrow is my concert.”

“Oh. You’re having a Christmas concert?”

“Not just Christmas. It’s our December concert for all the holidays. The whole school is in it.”

“That sounds great.”

“It will be,” he said with complete confidence. “Anybody can go see it. Do you want to come?”

“Um. I would think the concert is for the families of the students who are performing.”

He shook his head vigorously, his dark curls flopping. “Not only for family. Miss Watson said our friends can come to see us if they want. You’re my friend, aren’t you?”

She sent a helpless look at Rafe.

“This is a hectic time of year for people,” he said gently to his son. “Amanda is extra busy. She’s been working hard here at the market for the past few weeks and she’s also got her store in town. She might not have time to come to a school show, especially since she doesn’t have any kids performing in it.”

Amanda let out a breath. She had once wanted a house full of children but fate had other plans for her. She fought down the instinctive sadness over something she couldn’t change.

Her circumstances didn’t mean she had to stay at home and feel sorry for herself.

“You know what?” she said suddenly. “I would love to see your concert. You said it’s tomorrow? On Sunday? Are you sure?”

Isaac’s eyes lit up with excitement. “That’s right. We’re doing it that day so more people maybe can go, like grandmas and grandpas from out of town. It starts at six o’clock, but you should probably be there a little bit early if you can. My teacher said it’s going to be packed and there might not be enough seats for everyone. Do you know where the elementary school is?”

She smiled. “I actually went to that same elementary school a long time ago.”

It had been rebuilt since then but at the same location.

“My dad went there, too,” Isaac said, eyes bright. “Did you know my dad when he was a kid like me?”

She and Rafe again exchanged looks. “I did, actually. I didn’t know him very well. He was older than me by a few years and he was one of the boys who always played basketball or football out in the playground. But I definitely remember him.”

Rafe gave her a sidelong look, his eyes sparkling as much as his son’s. “I hope I wasn’t mean to you or something.”

“I never saw you be mean to anybody.” She plucked a sudden memory from the depths of her subconscious. “Once, I fell on the playground and scraped my knee. I was crying and upset, thinking my mom was going to be so mad at me for ripping my jeans. I remember you helped me to the office and made sure I got a bandage. I guess you were in training to be a first responder, even back then.”

“My dad is one of the helpers,” Isaac said proudly.

“I know. Aren’t we so lucky to have him?”

Rafe looked embarrassed as he opened the door to the convention hall for them. “I don’t remember that. I’ll have to take your word that it really happened.”

“It did,” she answered, just as Mr. Arredondo came toward them, carrying a couple of boxes.

“I can get those,” Rafe said, but his father held them out of his reach.

“I’m good. They’re not heavy.”

“How many more boxes does Crista have?”

“A few, plus the display easels and racks.”

“We’ll head there now,” Rafe said.

“I would be happy to help them take the booth apart, especially after you and Isaac helped me,” Amanda offered.

Always try to pay it forward . That was one lesson Birdie had tried to teach both her and Griffin.

To her relief, Rafe didn’t argue. “Thank you,” he said and headed toward Crista’s stall.

Isaac didn’t release her hand as they walked, chattering about his program and his friends and how he couldn’t wait for Christmas. She had no idea why the boy seemed to like her so much, but she was too charmed by his sweet affection to question it too much.

Crista’s booth seemed bare and rather forlorn without all of her beautiful watercolors on display and with only a few of the hand-painted wooden ornaments and Nativity figures that Amanda had always found lovely and detailed.

“Hi, Abi . Hi, Aunt Crista,” Isaac called out as they approached.

Louise looked up with a bright smile for her grandson. As soon as she spotted Amanda walking beside her son, her smile faded like cocoa left to cool too long.

She gave Amanda a rather stiff nod that she tried to return with more warmth.

“We came to help you carry stuff outside,” Isaac announced. “Good thing I have big muscles, huh?”

She gave her grandson an affectionate pat on his curls. “Yes. It’s a very good thing.”

Louise turned back to Amanda. “Don’t you have your own market stall to take down?”

“I’m done, actually. Your son and grandson were kind enough to help me. I’m happy to help you.”

“Thank you, but we can handle it ourselves,” Louise said, her voice firm. She wasn’t overtly rude but she also made it clear as fresh ice that Amanda was not welcome within her family circle, even in something as benign as helping them take down their booth.

Under other circumstances, Amanda might have nodded politely and walked away. But Rafe had been kind enough to help her and she felt compelled to help his family in return.

Whether his mother liked it or not.

“I don’t mind,” she said calmly.

She picked up an empty compartmentalized box and gestured to the wooden ornaments hanging on pegboards. “Do these go in here?”

Crista came forward. “Yes.”

“Would you like them wrapped in paper or anything?”

“No. They should be fine in the box,” his sister-in-law said with a smile. “Thank you.”

Amanda nodded and went to work, trying her best to focus on the task at hand instead of Louise’s coolness and the reason behind it.