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Chapter 4
Noelle sat behind the glass counter listening to the soft music playing over the radio. Quinn was off today, but the beginning of the week was always slow. She used the time to catch up on her orders. She had spent the weekend hoping she wouldn’t run into Chance as she ran errands. When she didn’t see him she felt slightly disappointed, even though it was contradictory to her thoughts. She hated the chaos that was her mind. Did she want another chance or did she want to move on alone? Her mind was a whirlwind of mixed thoughts.
She heard the bell above the door ring and turned around with her friendly smile. Keeping busy would help her not think about this friendship she had foolishly agreed to. “Good afternoon.”
She groaned internally when she recognized Hattie Jones. Hattie came in once or twice a week, mostly to gossip. Noelle knew that by now everyone knew Chance was back in town. She had been expecting this earlier. She took a breath in knowing Hattie was only here to pump her for information. Noelle had gone to high school with Hattie, but they had never been friends.
“Hello, Hattie. Nice day for shopping.” Noelle tried to stay polite. She greeted the brunette with her usual smile. If Hattie picked up any tension it would be all over town by noon that Noelle was stressed out.
“Oh yes. Devon promised to take me to that new seafood restaurant in Cole County. It’s a fancy place.” Hattie was married to the bank manager and liked to brag about the places he took her.
“Sounds nice,” Noelle told her. “We just got a new shipment in. I saw a lot of pretty evening dresses.”
Hattie started looking at the racks of clothes. Noelle went behind the counter and just waited.
“So I heard Chance Brooks was back in town,” Hattie said without looking up from the clothes rack. Her voice was casual, but Noelle knew she was just looking for any sign she had a run-in with Chance.
Noelle took a deep breath and injected politeness into her voice. “I saw him a few days ago.”
Hattie picked out a red dress and put it over her thin frame. “Devon loves me in red.”
Noelle stayed silent, pretending to straighten things up by the front register. She mentally counted to ten, and sure enough, Hattie snuck a peek at Noelle. “Are you back with him? I heard he is here to stay. His mother is over the moon. The word has spread.”
“No, we are not together.” Noelle felt angry by Hattie’s comment but forced herself to remain calm. She had learned to hide what she was feeling. She refused to give Hattie any cause for going around town spreading rumors. “What happened last fall is old news. If I see him I will be polite.”
“Good for you.” Hattie nodded with satisfaction. “That Carly was always too wild for her own good. She tried flirting with my Devon, but he put her in her place right away. Best to be firm right away, you know?”
Noelle knew what she was trying to say. Devon was a better man than Chance. Chance never put Carly in her place. Carly was always around flirting openly with him and many men. Noelle could have started an argument, but she forced herself to keep cool. All the old hurts and resentments came back up, and it felt as painful as yesterday.
When Hattie realized Noelle wasn’t going to react she went to the fitting room to try the dress on.
“It looks great on you, Hattie,” Noelle told her honestly when she came back out. Hattie was very tall and thin. The red dress looked good with her dark hair and tanned complexion.
Hattie examined herself in the large mirror on the wall, turning to the left and the right. “I love it. So classy, yet sexy. Devon will be thrilled.”
Hattie changed back into her own clothes and took the red dress to the counter for Noelle to ring her up. She dug into her purse for her wallet.
“I am glad you are over that soldier, Noelle. He would always be back and forth. God knows what kind of women they see in those faraway countries,” Hattie told her. “I heard from Edna Mae that Carly was all over town looking for Chance, but he hasn’t been seen. He must be hiding from her. She is a bit much chasing him like that.”
“Really?” Noelle acted disinterested, but she felt her heart clench with pain. So they didn’t know of his new job? Well she was not going to mention it. Hattie would know she
spent time talking with Chance. Then she would be sure to tell one of Carly’s friends.
She already rejected Chance’s idea to try again. What if he started dating Carly? Would she be able to handle it? She was already upset, and she didn’t know if the rumors were true. She hated the chaos his return caused. She had been living in a frozen state for six months. Now it was like her emotions were thawing out, and it hurt.
Hattie nodded with a gleam in her eye. She loved to gossip and took pleasure in being the first to know things. “That Carly will never settle down with one man. She has angered a lot of the married women in this town. I told Missy, Carly’s cousin, that Carly needed to stay away from the married men of this town.”
Noelle nodded and listened but kept her calm expression in place. She knew Carly liked married men, but she put more blame on the men for falling for her innocent act. She listened to Hattie’s gossip with just a nod of her head but not adding to it.
When Hattie finally left, Noelle let out her breath and sat on the stool behind the glass counter. She was expecting this and more, but it still hurt. Flashes of Chance and Carly wrapped in each other came to the front of her mind. She tried to breathe through the pain. She blinked back her tears refusing to let them out. She was afraid she might not control them. It would be humiliating for a customer to catch her sobbing.
How many people knew she had been pregnant and lost her baby? She went to the local hospital, but she had been out of it. She had been in pain and let the nurses take care of the details. What if Chance heard the rumors? Polly Brooks knew. She had stopped by the hospital to check on her. Noelle had sworn her to secrecy. What was the point of telling Chance when it was too late? She was angry with him, but she hadn’t wanted to mess with his concentration knowing what he did was dangerous.
Noelle wiped some tears off of her face. She did not want to fall back in that rabbit hole of grief. Getting involved with Chance would do just that. She already felt nauseated and agitated all over again. Maybe making a clean break with Chance was the wisest thing to do. Friendship could open doors to more, and that scared her. He was a temptation she should not give in to but was too weak to resist.
* * * *
Just as Noelle was about to close up shop that evening, Chance walked in the door. Noelle inwardly groaned. She had not stopped thinking about him all day since Hattie’s visit. Now her head was throbbing with tension. He looked so good in his army pants and black T-shirt. The shirt molded to his muscled chest, and she remembered how it felt to be held against that hard chest. Why was her body so attracted to this one man? Willow Springs was filled with eligible men. A few had asked her out, but she always said no. She wanted to say yes, but then fear filled her, and she rejected whoever asked.
