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Gracie smiled as she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. She’d finally made a decision of her own. She’d made the decision to bail on the whole dreadful affair.
It seemed as if everyone was counting on this marriage. It had definitely been a big help to the Bygones economy, thanks to the Morgans. My dad. Thinking of him, she felt guilty. He’d been happy, thinking she would never have to work hard again. She was marrying up, he’d said. She’d be set for life, her brother Evan had added.
She’d never agreed with her dad about marrying up. Her dad and her five brothers were the cream of the crop. Very few men could compete with those men of hers. Trent Morgan might have money but he was far from marrying “up” for Gracie. He’d proven more than once that he wasn’t the man she wanted to share her dreams or her life with.
She drew in a deep breath and she didn’t cry. As difficult as tomorrow would be for her, for her family, today she could breathe. She had made the right decision. She’d made the decision she’d been afraid to make weeks ago when she first caught him cheating. She’d made the decision she should have made months ago when first she realized something was wrong.
She’d started the relationship with Trent thinking it would be perfect. But they’d been two different people. She knew how to rely on her faith. He used his faith as a disguise.
She had tried to do the right thing for everyone. But she hadn’t done the right thing for herself.
She only hoped she still had a job here at The Fixer-Upper hardware store. She hoped her boss, Patrick
Fogerty, hadn’t replaced her. She would definitely need the money, because she had a feeling Mrs. Morgan would want to be reimbursed for the wedding that hadn’t happened.
Her dad couldn’t afford the expense.
Somehow she’d make this right. She would get her life back. Tomorrow she’d admit to Miss Coraline Connolly, retired principal of the Bygones school system, that she’d been right. She and Ann Mars, owner of the This ’N’ That, had both questioned her in the past few days, telling her she didn’t look as happy as a bride-to-be ought to.
Outside The Fixer-Upper she could hear cars. People were probably looking for her. She guessed her dad would have gone home to search in all of her old hiding places. No one would think to check for her in the hardware store, a business that had been in town for only two months, with an owner few people really knew.
They’d like him once they got to know him, she thought, once they realized he wasn’t just a city person looking for a fresh start. He was a decent man who really wanted to be a part of a community. She thought that about all the new business owners in Bygones. From the coffee shop to the bakery, they had made the town better. They were giving her hometown hope. The folks in Bygones needed hope.
She needed hope. She closed her eyes and prayed, something she should have been doing more of. She should have paid attention to her nagging doubts about this marriage. She should have listened to God. Instead she’d listened to everyone else, to all the people telling her how great it would be to marry a man like Trent.
Gracie swiped a hand across her eyes. A tear or two slipped down her cheeks, not for the marriage that wouldn’t be, but for her dad, her family and her community. She thought about her mom and how things would have been different if Eva Wilson had lived.
The door chime dinged on the wall across from her. Someone had opened the front door of the hardware store. She scooted to the edge of the stool and glanced at the back door, her only way to escape. But running out the back door would set off an alarm, and the overworked, understaffed local police didn’t need more drama. They were probably busy looking for her.
She reached for a three-foot length of rebar and held it tight in her hand, just in case the person coming in thought they could rip the place off, since everyone in town was otherwise occupied. There had been some vandalism lately. As quiet as Bygones used to be, a break-in wouldn’t be so surprising in this economy. The door to the storeroom opened. She held the rebar close, took a deep breath and waited.
Patrick Fogerty stepped into the room, all six feet four inches of him. He looked around and then spotted her. Gracie shrugged as she watched her boss take a few steps into the room, his ruggedly handsome face masked in shadows, his dark hair a little messy from the wind.
For the first time she really wanted to cry. It was a strange mixture of relief, sadness, guilt and anger that wrapped itself up inside of her like tangled string, none of it really making any sense. Tears sprang to her eyes and she blinked them away. Patrick offered her a sympathetic smile and that was when the tears really began to flow.
Gracie Wilson stared up at Patrick, her wide, dark eyes filling with tears. He watched her for a long minute, surprised to see her sitting in the stockroom of his store. When she hadn’t walked down the aisle, everyone had been surprised. Everyone, that is, except Ann Mars. He’d been sitting next to her in the church, and for whatever reason, she hadn’t seemed all that shocked. She’d told him that it was because she was in her eighties and she knew a thing or two about life.
Miss Mars, instead of being worried, had seemed relieved. He’d thought he heard a few sighs of relief throughout the sanctuary of Bygones Community Church.
“Are you going to hit me with that rebar?” he asked, because he didn’t know what else to say. Damsels in distress were not typically his cup of tea.
What else could he say to the woman he’d known for only a couple of months? She’d been recommended by Ann Mars, his worthy representative and guide to all things Bygones. Ann had promised him an employee who would be on time, work hard and know how to fix anything as well as bring in customers. She’d picked the right person.
Gracie Wilson could handle tools, she could handle customers, and she even seemed to know how to handle him. She’d kept him from giving up on this venture. After all, he was a city boy, born and raised. Moving to Bygones, starting a new business in a town that was struggling financially, that took faith. When his seemed to be in short supply, she loaned him hers the way neighbors loaned a cup of sugar in Bygones, Kansas.
He’d made a commitment. A business of his own in trade for a commitment to stay for two years and make it work. There were several new businesses in Bygones. They were painted, remodeled and hopefully a cure for a town that didn’t want to lose everything.
“I was prepared for a burglar,” she whispered as tears trickled down her cheeks.
He stood there for a long minute, unsure of what to do next. Call the police? Call Ann Mars, his Save Our Streets sponsor?
She shifted on the stool. “Say something.”
“Gracie,” he cleared his throat, “I guess I’m surprised to see you here.”
She looked up, smiling a little as she brushed tears from her cheeks. She looked tinier than ever in the white creation of a dress, her dark hair pulled back with rhinestone clips and strings of pearls.
“I think there are probably a lot of people surprised,” she said, brushing away her tears.
“Yes, surprised and worried. They’re searching for you.” He focused on the rebar she still had a death grip on. “Other than the ones who decided to take advantage of the reception.”
“It should be a good party.”
“What happened?”
“I couldn’t marry him.” She laughed and then sobbed. “I’m going to be in big trouble.”
“Seems to me the trouble would have been marrying him if you had doubts.”
She nodded but didn’t speak. The tears were streaming down her cheeks again, and he wondered if her doubts were real or if she just had cold feet and needed a few minutes to get her thoughts together.
“Can I help?”
She shook her head. “No. I mean, there’s really nothing anyone can do. I just can’t marry him.”
“Are you sure?” He cleared his throat, not at all sure what else to say in a situation such as this. He’d never had little sisters. He’d dated but never been married.
He’d learned one thing about women: sometimes they walked when things looked difficult. At least, that was what had happened to him.
He didn’t think Gracie was the type to skip out on someone just because it got a little difficult.
Sitting on the stool, she looked smaller than her barely five feet, especially in the billowy white dress that didn’t seem to suit her style. Not that he was a guy who paid much attention to style. But even he could recognize when a woman needed someone, though.
He pushed aside misgivings and reached to hug her. First he took the rebar from her hand and set it on the worktable. She leaned into his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her, keeping his face out of the protruding objects that decorated her hair. Avoiding the light scent of her fragrance took more effort. It matched the softness of her skin and the sweet way she leaned against him.
For a guy who didn’t notice much, unless it had to do with home remodeling or electrical problems, he noticed a lot in those few minutes holding Gracie.
“I can’t marry him,” she finally whispered against his shoulder and then she backed out of his embrace. “But I’m going to have to face this.”
“Yes, I guess you will.” He reached for a roll of paper towels on the shelf and pulled off a few sheets for her to wipe her eyes. “I don’t have a handkerchief.”
She smiled through her tears and then laughed. “Wouldn’t that be chivalrous if you did? Maybe a little too cliché?”
“I guess that’s a good reason to never offer a woman a handkerchief. What guy wants to be cliché?”
“You could never be cliché.” She smiled as she said it, dabbing her eyes with paper towels that were less than soft. “My dad is going to be embarrassed. Mrs. Morgan will be furious. I wonder if there’s a bus out of this town tonight.”
“I don’t think a bus comes anywhere near Bygones. And if you caught a bus, who would work for me?”
“You haven’t replaced me?”
“Of course not. And if you’re up to it, I’ll need you here Monday morning. Remember, you had that great idea to have the block party in a few weeks. I can’t do that without you.”
“You could.”
“Yeah, but people trust you. They aren’t always trusting of the city guy who has moved in and wants their business.”
“They’ll learn that you can be trusted.”
“Thanks, Gracie.” He reached for her hand and helped her down from the stool. “I like the boots.”
“Thank you. I picked them out.” She twirled in the dress that looked like white lace gone crazy. “I did not pick this. I think it makes me look like a bad version of Cinderella at the ball.”
“It isn’t that bad.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “It is that bad. You’re just being nice.”
“Okay, I’m being nice. I am a nice guy. Haven’t you heard?”
She smiled up at him. She was more than a foot shorter than him, with a pixie face and dark eyes that could tease or flash with humor. Sometimes those eyes flashed fire if something got her riled up. She was twenty-four, ten years younger than his thirty-four years. She sometimes seemed younger, but more often seemed a decade older.
He knew she’d gone through a lot. She’d lost her mom fourteen years ago. Miss Coraline had given him tidbits and told him to take care of her girl, because
Gracie acted strong but she needed to be able to let other people be strong for her. He’d gotten a lot of advice from Coraline Connolly since he’d moved to Bygones.
“You are a nice guy, Patrick.” Gracie sighed and reached back for the veil that hung from a hook on the wall. “And my name is going to be mud. I’m glad I have one friend left.”
“Want me to drive you home?”
She nodded. “Please. Unless of course you’re willing to help me run away from Bygones. Far away.”
“Sorry, I’m here for at least two years and I’d like for you to be here, too. If you stay, you know I’ll have your back. I’ll be here for you.”
“Thank you. And I’m going to help you find a wife. You need a wife. A good country woman that can cook biscuits and gravy.”
“The person who just ran from her own wedding wants to arrange one for me?”
“I guess you have a point. I don’t think I’m the poster child for encouraging someone to take the walk down the aisle.”
He grinned at that. “No, probably not.”
“Can you get me out of here without everyone seeing me?”
“In that dress?”
She looked down. “I guess not.”
“I have sweatpants and a T-shirt you could change into. They’ll be a little big, but not as obvious.”
“And then I can leave the dress here. Mrs. Morgan will want to return it if she can.”
“Or maybe you’ll change your mind?”
“About the dress or Trent? I don’t think I’ll be taking either of them down the aisle.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. He’d known her all of two months and he didn’t think he should be the one standing here having this conversation. There were people in town who had known her all her life. The same people who had shared stories with him of a rough-and-rowdy little girl turned woman. A woman who seemed to know her mind and be able to handle almost any situation.
Sometimes when Patrick looked at her, he saw seven shades of vulnerable in her dark eyes and a whole lot of sadness. He thought maybe the only other person who saw that look was Miss Coraline. The retired principal seemed to see a lot in everyone. He guessed it probably had made her very good at her job.
He shook himself from those thoughts and gave Gracie an easy smile. “I’ll get the clothes and you can change in the restroom.”
“Thank you, Patrick.” She had that soft look in her eyes, the one that said she might cry again if he said the wrong thing or got too close.
He backed away, made sorry excuses and headed for the exit.
He’d come to Bygones because his family business had closed down after a big-box store full of discount lumber and building supplies moved into their suburban Detroit neighborhood, the neighborhood that had supported them for years.
Bygones was his future, his dream. It seemed literally the answer to his prayers: a small-town hardware store, close neighbors, a place to start over.
He hadn’t realized moving to a small town meant getting tangled up in the lives of the people who lived there. He hadn’t realized they would pull him in and make him such a part of their families and community.
More than anything, he hadn’t planned on someone like Gracie Wilson storming into his life.
Chapter Two
Gracie sat in the passenger seat of Patrick’s Ford truck. Her dress was hanging at the store, covered in plastic. She had donned gigantic-size sweatpants and a T-shirt that hung to her knees. She’d used a stapler to narrow the waist of the pants and she’d tied a knot in the tail of the shirt to shorten it.
As they drove through the now darkened streets of Bygones, it was hard for her to recognize this as the town she’d grown up in. The brick of the stores downtown, one whole section of buildings, had been painted a creamy color. Awnings of various colors brightened the exteriors. There was a coffee shop—who would have thought they’d have one of those in a small farming community?—a bakery, a flower shop, a bookstore and a pet shop. In Bygones? There were days that she drove to work, parked her truck and wondered if she was in the wrong town.
The streets had been repaired, there were new streetlights, and the park had been cleaned and spruced up. It was window dressing, just like the marriage she’d almost had. Could pretty stores and some remodeling actually save a town that was dying? Young people were moving to cities to find jobs, people were losing farms and houses, tax revenue was down, and the school and police station were in danger of closing.
The biggest hit to the town had been the closing of Randall Manufacturing. A lot of her friends had moved when the factory closed.
“Do you really not know who did this, Patrick?”
He glanced her way, looking pretty confused. “The wedding?”
“No, the town, the businesses. Who put up the money for Save Our Streets?”
“Not a clue.”
She didn’t continue the conversation. She was too tired for the words. Someone, no one knew who but everyone speculated, had started this renovation project, bringing in new businesses and new people. Someone thought they could save Bygones. And as happy as some people were, others weren’t so happy with change and an influx of new citizens.
She closed her eyes and let the town and the gloomy thoughts slip behind her.
“You okay over there?” Patrick’s strong, husky voice slipped through the cab of the truck and she nodded.
“I’m good. I’m tired but I’m good.” She opened her eyes and looked at the strong profile of her boss. He glanced her way briefly.
