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She dashed home and changed into a faded, old pair of leggings with a paint stain on the butt from the time she helped her dad refinish the back deck. Those saggy old pants were the furthest thing from sexy. Then she grabbed a baggy flannel that disguised her figure. Nothing attractive there.
Twisting her hair into a bun and lacing her tattered work boots, she mentally geared up for some manual labor. So long as they didn’t touch or flirt or look directly into each other’s eyes, she should be safe.
“Where are you going?” Her dad’s question stopped her escape out the front door. “You look like you’re ready for a shift at the lumberyard.”
Mission accomplished. “I’m heading into town to help a friend.”
“What friend?”
“Harrison Montgomery.”
He frowned. “When the hell did he get back in town?”
“He’s taking care of the store.” She was surprised her father even remembered Harrison. Maybe Erin had mentioned him. “He’s just checking on things while Erin and Giovanni are away.”
“Be careful.”
His warning gave her pause. Did her father dislike Harrison? Why? To her knowledge, they never shared two words. “I will.”
Her father’s warning stuck with her all the way to town. Why would he tell her to be careful? She had to be overthinking it. He probably just meant for her to wear her seatbelt and abide the speed limit.
When she parked, she spotted Harrison already inside the Hardware store standing behind the register. She took her time getting to the door, studying how his brow tensed and his lips firmed. This was definitely a challenging place for him to visit.
The front door was locked, so she knocked on the glass. He glanced at the store window, the deeply etched scowl on his face transforming into a smile when he saw her.
Rounding the counter, he tossed some receipts aside and unlocked the door. “You made it.”
He bent to kiss her, and she awkwardly dodged his lips and turned her head, laughing nervously when he missed her mouth and kissed her hair.
He chuckled and looked unsure. “You okay?”
“I’m fine.” She set her purse on the counter and looked around, keeping her distance. “So, what are we doing?”
He glanced at the aisles and blew out a breath. “I have no idea.”
“Well, what’s your plan?” She straightened a screwdriver hanging from a display.
“I don’t have one yet.”
When he sounded overwhelmed, she glanced back and her heart pinched. He stood by the front of the store, the lack of lighting casting him in shadows as his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and his shoulders bunched around his ears. If not for the stress lines chiseled around his eyes, he’d look like a young boy, lost and unsure.
Taking pity on him and how overwhelming this must be, she momentarily forgot her rules and walked to him, not stopping until her arms looped around his body and she hugged him close.
“It’s okay. We’ll get it done. Just tell me what needs to be done and we’ll do it. Team work.”
His arms closed around her and the tension in his body gradually unraveled. Her heart wavered and his cheek rested on the top of her head.
They fit together perfectly. She rested her ear over the steady pounding of his heart, giving in to the comfortable moment.
“Thanks.”
The moment the friendly gesture melted into something more, she broke contact, untangling their bodies and turning back to the aisles. “So what’s the end goal?”
“Everything must go.”
She glanced at the front door. “You want to sell the store?”
He nodded. “As quickly as possible.”
She ignored the selfish outcry in her head that instantly understood, without the store, he’d have one less reason to return. Her gratitude that Erin had decided to keep the house a little longer had never been stronger, but Harrison’s sister was rarely in town, due to Giovanni’s travel schedule.
It’s not about you! She snapped her focus back to Harrison and shoved her worries aside.
“So you need to have a liquidation sale. I can run to the pharmacy and grab some posterboard and markers so we can make some signs for the front window.”
“I’ll drive you—”
“No, no, you stay here and work on other things.”
“Such as?”
She bit her lip and searched the counter, sensing he didn’t like being in the store alone. He needed a distraction—something other than her.
Spotting a legal notepad and pencil, she handed it to him. “Make a list of the inventory by category and write down what the retail price is and what the sale price will be.”
He took the notepad and pencil, holding both as if he’d never used such items before. She grabbed her purse and dug out her car keys, guilt prickling that she was already abandoning him.
“I won’t be long,” she promised. She just needed some air and a moment to regroup and firm up her defenses, because at the moment she only wanted to comfort him and do whatever it took to wash that worried look off his face.
