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Sissy’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. Your mother was in earlier this week. So excited to have you and her grandson under her roof again she was bubbling like an overflowing glass of champagne.”
“What can I get for you today?” the other sibling asked with a broad smile.
Oh, how she’d missed all the smiling faces. In big cities, people stomped past, slammed doors in your face, and looked at you crazy if you smiled. It took Sandra a long time to remember not to smile at strangers. With the mention of each item on her list, the two sisters bustled around gathering what she wanted, occasionally raising a couple of items out for her to choose. There wasn’t any better customer service than in this place.
Wrapping up her purchases, Sissy glanced up. “You thinking of staying a while?”
“For the foreseeable future.” When she’d escaped the confines of this small town, she’d thought she’d never look back. Now, she couldn’t wait to settle in and make a life for herself and her son. A good life. A small part of her still hoped for the fairy tale.
“How lovely.” Sister’s smile widened. “I know your mama missed you.”
Sandra already knew that. Her mother had been coaxing her to come home ever since David had been born, and twice as hard since her dad died. Once she’d finally found the nerve to walk away from a bad marriage getting worse, there was no reason to say no. “I’m here now.”
“She is going to have so much fun spoiling that grandchild.”
Sandra bit back a grimace. “Yes, I know.”
“You have a great day.” Sissy handed her the bag with all of her purchases. “And tell your mama how happy we are to have you and that boy of yours back home where you belong.”
Where she belonged. Once upon a time she couldn’t wait to get away from the confines of a small town and see the world. She sure hoped coming home wasn’t a bigger mistake than leaving, but as hard as it was to admit, she didn’t have a choice. “Thank you.” Sandra tucked the bag into the back seat of her car and climbed into the driver’s seat. She took a moment to soak in the warmth of her interaction with the sisters. Yes, everyone knew your business, but she needed to remind herself that it was only because they all cared. She shuddered at the challenges of the busy place where she’d raised her son. Coming home might be difficult, but staying would have been worse. Here her son could breathe and enjoy his childhood. And living with her mom would give her the time she needed to get on her feet and save some money. In her mom’s big backyard, maybe they could build the tree house David always talked about. Not that she knew how to build one, but that’s what YouTube videos were for.
Enough lollygagging, she put the key in the ignition, but instead of the loud hum she’d expected, there was not a sound. “No. No.” She turned the key again. “You can’t die here.”
The last thing she could afford at this stage of the game was car repairs. She tried again, as if the first two tries didn’t count. Her heart pounding, she rested her head on the steering wheel. “Really, car? You only needed to go a few more miles.”
A deep voice carried into her car through the open window. “Is there a problem, miss?”
Miss. Sandra looked up into the greenest eyes she’d ever seen. No, she’d seen those eyes before. A very, very long time ago. Back when she believed in dreams and princes and happily ever afters.
Paxton knew a damsel in distress when he saw one. He also couldn’t resist helping one. That’s how he was now looking under the hood of a car that should have died miles ago. Low on water, oil, and who knew what else, the car had to be running on love because it sure wasn’t running on anything else. “New in town?” Paxton made idle chit-chat as he poked at a few wires.
“Sort of. We’ve been driving for days. You’d think it could have lasted a few more. Do you know what’s wrong with it?”
Paxton knew his way around an engine as well as any guy, but he didn’t see an easy fix. “Might be the starter. You’ll have to call Ned. If anyone can get this old girl running again, it’s him. I can give him a call if you’d like. Unless you have someone else you can call to help?”
She shook her head.
“Give me a minute.”
“Is Ned very expensive?” Her expression told him this was not her first encounter with hard times.
How was he supposed to answer that one? “Depends. Starters could cost anywhere between five hundred and a thousand dollars.”
For a moment she looked about to cry. “I should sell it. I can walk anywhere in town for the most part.” Nodding at the car, she muttered, “Have to sell.”
“Of course, it could be something else.” Watching her struggle to maintain her composure unexpectedly twisted his gut and he found himself needing to somehow make things better for this stranger. “Maybe it will be a cheap fix.”
Again she bobbed her head, nibbling on her lower lip. The gesture seemed oddly familiar.
His call disconnected, and Ned from the garage on his way shortly, Paxton tipped his hat at her. “I’m Paxton, by the way. I’d be pleased to wait with you and take you home if you need a ride.”
“Hello. I’m Sandra.” An unexpected grin touched the corners of her mouth for a short moment. “And no offense, but I hope Ned can bring Betsy back to life with the turn of a screwdriver or maybe a kick of the tires.”
Skipping over the kick the tires comment, his mind stopped at Betsy. She named her car. How cute was that. Between the introduction and worrying about getting the car running, the woman flashed another brief smile. He couldn’t help but feel there was something familiar about her, but if she was new in town then he couldn’t possibly have met her.
“I think this car has as many miles on it as it can, but Ned over at the garage can work miracles.”
Facing the car, she mumbled to herself, just loud enough for him to hear, “A miracle would be nice” then she pulled out her phone and frowned.
