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He was coming to find out that everything in the house was practically built of lead.
“You sure you want to give all of these away, Mrs. Wy?”
“Positive.” As if to show him that she had no problems with muscle strain, she gamely tapped her temple. “I’ve got a whole storage closet worth of memories in here. Besides, the library has a new bestseller program. I can get most any book the month it comes out now, so I don’t have to buy the books anymore.”
“But these are in good shape.”
“Brigit at the library wants them, so they’ll be put to good use. They’re sending a truck here to pick them up.”
“I’m glad of that.” At first Matt thought he was going to need to transport the books to the library, too. He wouldn’t have minded, but his back and arms were already releasing a heartfelt sigh.
Sitting on one of the stacks of boxes, perched on the edge like a parakeet, so bright and vivid in her yellow and lime-green jogging suit, Mrs. Wy said, “Matt, we’ve been moving things out here for a whole week. Have you noticed that the place isn’t looking much emptier?”
He’d noticed that from the moment he’d lugged down a mattress and discovered five storage containers underneath it, each filled to the brim. “You, Mrs. Wy, are a pack rat.”
She laughed. “I didn’t think I was…but you may be right.”
“You have four different sets of china.”
She twisted her lips in a pretend pout. “And darn if I can’t use but one cup and plate at a time. Well, don’t worry about that. Minnie’s going to be here any minute to look at those dishes.”
That brought him up short, though he didn’t really know why. Minnie Clark had been a nice kid at one time, and seemed nice enough now. She was pretty to look at, if you were more into the girl-next-door type instead of cover-girl wanna-be’s.
“You close to her?” he asked, figuring he might as well get her whole story since Wanda seemed to be bringing her name up on a regular basis.
“We have gotten close over the years. Minnie is the type of genuine person that comes few and far between.” Mrs. Wy lowered her voice, even though there was just the two of them in the warm garage. “Her last beau was handsome as all get-out, but a real stick-in-the-mud, I’ll tell you that.”
Before he knew it, Matt was perched on a box of books, too, looking out her garage opening at two rows of rosebushes and feasting on gossip. “What happened?”
“Peter decided to move on to a bigger city and left Minnie in a state of shock.” She lowered her voice. “He’d led everyone to believe he was going to propose.”
“He never did?”
She paused and blew out a heartfelt sigh. “Nope. I tell you, when Minnie came knockin’ on my door, all teary-eyed and sputtering, I was sure she was going to be flashing a diamond, not telling me a tale about how Peter had cut and run. She was in a sad state, I’ll tell you that.”
Crossing her knees, Mrs. Wy confided, “I heard his rejection had a lot to do with little Kimber. He didn’t want any part in taking care of another guy’s child, even though that little dear is just about the cutest thing you ever saw.”
Though Matt guessed he could imagine some men not being too interested in a rival’s child, holding it against Minnie for taking in her orphaned niece was a whole other matter. “That guy, Peter, sounds like a—” he tried to come up with a term safe for a lady’s ears “—jerk.”
“Oh, he was a jerk.” Folding her arms over her chest, Mrs. Wy nodded. “It’s good he went. I never liked him anyway. But he could have been nicer about everything, you know? There was no need to just go on out there and trample poor Minnie’s heart. Especially when she was trying to do her best. Nobody deserves that.”
Matt was saved from saying a word by a sunny greeting from the topic of conversation herself. “Hello? Wanda, you around?”
“We’re in the garage!”
Footsteps click-clacked on the cement walkway that led from the front of the house to the garage in the back. Before he knew it, Matt was returning a smile just like the one Minnie was gifting Wanda with. “Hey.”
Her steps faltered. After nodding in his direction, she wandered over to his companion. “Wanda, you shouldn’t be outside in this heat. It’s gotta be ninety degrees in here.”
“I’m always cold. This feels better than that blasted air-conditioning.”
“You can change the thermostat. Raise it higher, you know. Then you won’t be so chilled inside.”
“I’m fine, dear.” Mrs. Wyzecki pointed to the boxes of china. “Matt brought these out, but it’s up to you to choose your set. After you do, Matthew can carry them over to your house.”
Minnie glanced his way. “You don’t need to do that.”
“It’s no trouble.”
Dark brown eyes finally met his, sparking in him a new wave of interest. Minnie was far more than simply pretty, Matt decided. She was…lush.
Mrs. Wy cocked her head, obviously listening for the pitter-patter of tiny feet. “Where’s your shadow?”
Matt liked how Minnie smiled at that.
“Kimber’s helping Mom make cookies today.”
“I was just telling Matt here about what an angel that little pea pod is.”
“I don’t know if angel is the best descriptor, but she is a good girl.” Her voice softening, Minnie added, “I never knew how much I needed hugs at the end of the day until I had her. Now I can’t imagine life without Kimber sleeping down the hall.”
Looking for something to say, Matt stated the obvious. “I’m glad she’s getting settled in.”
A shadow formed behind her eyes. “Well, we’re working on the settling in. Sometimes I think Kimber’s adjusting. Other times, I don’t know if she ever will.”
“Give it a while more. Time heals. It always does,” Mrs. Wy said.
Matt knew those words were true. Too bad Minnie didn’t look as if she agreed. She kept flitting her eyes to him, then to Mrs. Wy, then back to him like a firefly that couldn’t stay away.
Minnie pointed to the boxes. “Wanda, I was thinking…I don’t need any of your dishes.”
“You better take a set, I’ve been planning on it.” Mrs. Wy clucked. “You said you could use them.”
“Y’all are busy. And you don’t need to bother.”
Matt flexed his arms and pretended he felt no pain. Pretended he didn’t feel a pull toward her. Something about Minnie made him want to go all he-man. Maybe because she looked so surprised that someone would go out of his way to help her? “It’s no bother. Believe me, you don’t want to carry them around. Those boxes are heavy.”
“Oh. Well, then, thank you.”
Matt was just thinking that her show of appreciation was definitely lacking when Mrs. Wy got right to the point. “Minnie? You look a little peaked. Is something wrong?”
“Maybe.”
“Well, what is it? Honestly, I haven’t see you so sad since that Peter took off.”
Minnie visibly winced as she turned Matt’s way. “Please don’t tell me Wanda’s been telling you about Peter.”
“Not too much,” he said. But he couldn’t help looking at Minnie meaningfully. “Not too much” meant Mrs. Wy hadn’t yet told him Peter’s social security number.
“I bet.” Minnie rolled her eyes.
“What is wrong, then?”
As if they were at a coffee shop, Minnie plopped down on yet another box of books. “SavNGo Discounters is coming. They just put up a big sign in the front field of the old Crocker Ranch.”
It took about half a moment for Matt to realize two things. One, Minnie didn’t like SavNGo, and two, she didn’t know he had anything to do with it.
Mrs. Wyzecki sighed in relief. “I know that, dear. Now we won’t have to drive to Wichita Falls for toilet paper.”
“One of my customers, Zenia, mentioned that when SavNGo comes, she won’t have to come to Carried Away anymore. She’ll be able to get her cards and gifts cheaper there.” Flipping that thick brown ponytail off her left shoulder, Minnie exhaled softly. “And the thing of it is…I’m afraid Zenia’s right.”
Matt suddenly felt as if Mrs. Wy’s hot-as-blazes garage had just sucked all the life out of him. Usually he surrounded himself with folks who couldn’t say enough good things about the coming of his store. SavNGo brought jobs and good prices. Healthy competition.
Now, looking at Minnie, he was terribly afraid SavNGo might cut into her business. It was always a possibility.
While Matt fumbled for a comment that wasn’t full of false hope, Mrs. Wyzecki jumped to the rescue. “People will still come to your store, honey. And I wouldn’t pay any mind to that silly Zenia Hardt. Everyone likes you. And they like all your cute gifts and fancy stationery. Business is going to be just fine.”
“What am I going to do if they don’t?” Pursing her lips, Minnie added, “I’ve been talking to other people in my shopping plaza. Brenda Martin, who owns Mystery Books is worried, too. So is Abel Pierce at the hardware. We’ve been doing the math, and it doesn’t look good. If I lose even a fourth of my customer base, I’m going to be in a heap of trouble. And I’ve got Kimber.”
Matt was surprised. Hadn’t Paige left Minnie money for the girl? And…why wasn’t Mrs. Wy saying a word about how Matt practically was SavNGo? At least to the town he was. Things were getting awkward. He’d just opened his mouth to set Minnie straight when Mrs. Wy spoke.
“Don’t fret, honey. We’ll come up with something. We always do.”
“Oh, I know. I’ll figure it out.” With a look of apology his way, Minnie hopped off the box she’d been perching on. “I’m sorry I even brought it up. I guess I haven’t put the office behind me yet today.”
“Don’t you worry. Matt here can’t seem to stop talking on his phone and that silly blueberry.”
“BlackBerry,” he corrected. “And I’ve got work colleagues expecting me to take their calls.”
Mrs. Wy harrumphed. “Morning, noon and night?”
“Especially then.”
“One day you’re going to find out that work won’t stop for the day unless you do the stopping.” Heading to the door leading into the kitchen, Mrs. Wyzecki fanned herself. “I think I’m going to take a little break for a bit. It is warm out here.”
As the door shut behind the elderly woman, Matt stood up, too. And, he was just about to tell Minnie the God’s honest truth—that he worked for SavNGo—when he took a real good look at her.
She turned his way and then stepped a little closer. When she smiled, a dimple appeared. So did a set of pretty white teeth.
His senses came alive. Suddenly, talking about work seemed like a real bad idea.
Minnie smelled like lemons and something like cherries or spring. Her pink T-shirt clung to her breasts in the midday heat, making it near impossible to keep from sneaking a peek at her chest every time he tried to do the right thing and keep his eyes focused above her neck.
Minnie leaned forward an inch. “So…were you about to say something?”
“No.” Actually, no words were coming to mind. Not a one.
“You sure?”
“I mean, it can wait.”
“Oh. Well, then I think I’d like these dishes,” Minnie said, pointing to a box filled with delicate china covered in hand-painted roses. “Wanda used to serve me tea on this set when I was little.”
“All right. I’ll carry it over for you.” Matt wiped his suddenly sweaty hands against his thighs.
“You sure it’s no trouble?”
Matt bent down and stifled a grunt as he lifted the china-filled box. “No trouble at all,” he muttered as Minnie Clark, once very young and very forgettable, started leading the way to her house.
And he, Matt Madigan—former high school quarter-back and current director of store planning for SavNGo Discounters, aka Minnie Clark’s nemesis—was following Minnie like she was the next big thing.
Chapter Four
“Just set that box right here, Matt,” Minnie said, pointing to the one clear spot on her back kitchen counter.
As he did that, she asked, “Would you like a glass of tea?”
“Thank you.”
Quickly Minnie poured some into a mason jar and handed it to him, trying not to notice that their fingers brushed. That he was standing in her kitchen. To give herself something to do, she poured herself some, too. “This tastes good.”
A ghost of a smile lit his lips. “It does.”
They’d run out of conversation. After darting a glance her way, he wandered down the length of her counter. “What’s all this?”
“Samples. I’m thinking of expanding a bit, hoping to hook some more people before SavNGo comes in. I’m looking into selling some local artists’ work and also carrying more fancy stationery.” Pointing to the cards encased in plastic, she said, “These run a little on the expensive side, but they’re real pretty, you know? Some of my older gentlemen customers love to pick up fancy cards for their wives’ birthdays and such.”
Matt jumped back as if they were on fire. “They’re real pretty.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry if you couldn’t care less. Most men don’t think about cards until they need one. And that doesn’t happen too often.”
“It’s not that. It’s just that I probably ought to tell you something, but I’m not real sure how to do it.”
Minnie wondered what he could possibly have to say to her that would worry him. Maybe it had something to do with Mrs. Wyzecki?
When he still seemed tongue-tied, she playfully patted his arm. “My mother always says it’s best to get tough things over with. Just tell me.”
“It’s not easy.”
With amusement, Minnie watched Matt sip his tea, examine her silly 1950’s era kitchen clock, run a finger along the edge of her white laminate countertop. “Come on. Whatever it is can’t be all bad. What is it?”
“I work for SavNGo.”
Thank goodness her glass had been out of her hand! “What do you mean?”
“I’m the Director of Store Planning.”
He said that title with a bit of importance, like she was gonna be impressed.
