CHAPTER3
The oddest thing happened. The more Pixie told him about the town, the more Brogan wanted to know, and somehow she ended up agreeing to show him around on her next day off.
And then she agreed to dinner, too.
Neither occasion would really count as a date, because they’d have the kids with them, and yet, it was the closest she’d come in a very long time and her anticipation was keen.
The following day, she and Andy had just gotten to the shop when her phone rang. She set Andy in the playpen behind the counter, kissed the top of his head, and dug out her phone. Seeing that it was Marlow, she swiped her thumb across the screen and put the call on speaker. “Good morning.”
“Am I calling at a bad time?”
“Not possible,” Pixie said as she placed the phone on the countertop. Marlow could call her in the middle of the night and she would make time for her. In many ways, she owed her life to her friend. More importantly, she loved her dearly. “We just got in. I can talk while I open up.”
“Shoot. I was hoping to catch you on the road so you could talk on the drive. I know how busy your mornings are with breakfast and getting Andy ready, and then setting up the shop for the day. The drive is your only semi-free time.”
“Andy and I both woke up spry this morning, so I figured I’d get an earlier start. I wanted to make sure those new shirts were front and center before shoppers stopped in.” They were barely into May, but the inventory of pastel-colored summer wear had just arrived, and she was anxious to show it off.
In the past, Pixie was often unsure of her designs, but this one she thought would be popular. In stylized font was the saying:Peace lights up the skies at Firefly Lake. Sprinkled around it were little glowing fireflies. She thought the design looked especially sharp on the black shirts, but for summer she’d also chosen a rainbow hue of pastels with contrasting print.
She was in love with them.
“Any reason for feeling extra chipper today?” Marlow asked with a lot of innuendo.
Unable to suppress her grin, Pixie hugged a stack of shirts to her chest and twirled on her way to the front display window. “Yes! I had such a great time with Brogan. He’ssogood with Shayna—who, as it turns out, is not his daughter but his niece.” She quickly explained the situation. “Isn’t that amazing?”
“Thank God he got to her when he did.”
“Agreed. She’s the tiniest, sweetest little thing, Marlow. You’d love her.”
“I look forward to meeting them both when Cort and I are back. So your time with Brogan—is that all there was to it?”
“Literally. We sat at the lake house, drinking Cokes and talking while the babies got familiar with each other. Andy didn’t know what to make of Shayna at first. Next to her, he looks like a tank.” She grinned as she said it. “Oh, but guess what? He fell asleep on the floor watching Shayna. Every little thing she did fascinated him. If she stretched, he got super alert. Whenever she made a sound, it startled him. He kept offering her toys, but didn’t understand why she wouldn’t play.”
“Aww. That’s so sweet.”
“Then their naps synced up. Isn’t that wild? I doubt it will ever happen again.”
“And?”
“And what?” Pixie replied. “It was a nice, relaxing visit.”
“And?”
She laughed. “Fine. He asked me to show him around the town, which I’ll do on Thursday when I’m off. Then we’ll have dinner on the weekend at the Docker.”
“Dates! I love it.”
“No,” Pixie corrected. “Not dates. It’s just that he’s new and wants to get familiar with the people and places, since he’ll be here through the summer.”
“And he askedyouto show him around.”
“I’m probably the only one he’s met so far.” She wouldn’t let herself make more of the invitation than that. It was bad enough that her heart seemed to beat faster anytime she thought of Brogan.
“Describe him to me,” Marlow said.
Andy called out to her, so she said, “Just a second,” and took the few feet necessary to check on him. The shop wasn’t big by any stretch, but when Marlow had redesigned the interior, she’d set it up so every wall was filled with shelving and there were circular racks filling the central space, meaning Pixie had to dart and weave—and twirl a few times again—to reach him. Andy loved her antics.
Pixie lowered the phone. “Say hi to Marlow.”
