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“I grew up here but I’ve been away for a while. Just here to see my family.”
“Oh, that’s lovely,” the woman said with a friendly smile. She tied off a length of organza ribbon around the little packet and popped it in a gift bag. “Well, thank you for supporting the Courtyard with your purchase. I hope we see you back before you head home.”
Murmuring a note of assent, Nolan took the gift and left the store. It was only midweek but the parking lot was almost full of vehicles and people were bustling around, their arms filled with bags emblazoned with the local artisans’ logos. This place really was a gold mine. Yesterday he hadn’t spent enough time wandering about, getting a real feel for the place—it was something he was determined to remedy today.
A flash of color caught his eye and he turned his head to see Raina Patterson outside her store, assisting a customer putting a small side table in the back of their car. He felt a now-familiar wallop of awareness as he took in the way her bright red sweater dress clung to her feminine curves and skimmed her hips like a lover’s caress. His body heated and sprang to life, arousal beating a low thrumming pulse that reminded him all too much of the dreams he’d endured last night.
Dreams where he’d begun to make love to his late wife, but when she’d turned toward him it had been Raina’s face before him instead.
Nolan swiftly veered into the nearest store, determined to bring his body back under control and rid himself of the desire to walk those few yards toward the big red barn and spend time again with its proprietor. He wasn’t here to embark on an affair, he reminded himself. He was here to work.
* * *
Raina looked up, surprised to see Nolan Dane on the other side of the Courtyard. She raised a hand to wave, but it appeared that he hadn’t seen her as he abruptly turned and headed into the cheese maker’s store. She told herself it didn’t matter, that she hadn’t hoped to see him again anyway. Even so, she felt a tiny twinge of disappointment that she forced herself to rapidly shove aside. She had enough on her plate for today as it was. The class she had lined up for tonight was mosaic work, and she had yet to check the inventory of stock she’d ordered for her students to buy and use for their lessons. The simple mirror frame kits would hopefully be a quick and easy project for her students to tackle, all of them first-timers to mosaic work, and she was looking forward to the class.
A prickle of uneasiness ran down her spine—the sense of disquiet making her look around before heading back into the store. She must be imagining things, she thought, pushing the feeling away and delving into the boxes of stock she’d left on the workroom tables. Last night’s message from Jeb was making her paranoid and goodness knew she had little enough time for that.
* * *
The week went quickly and her classes were going from strength to strength. As a side bonus, several of her students were also avid collectors of a variety of antique items including some of the delicate English china she had on display. She was excited to have sold several pieces already and had requests to look out for more. Things were going better than she’d anticipated.
By the time Friday night rolled around, she was really beginning to feel the strain of carrying the responsibility of the store and the classes on her own, and she wanted nothing more than to sit at home with JJ, tucked up in front of the fire and reading a few of his favorite storybooks. But she’d already promised him that they’d go downtown to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony organized by the Texas Cattleman’s Club. It was her goal to one day be sponsored to join the club. Of course, she’d need to make a better than average income before she could afford to do that.
While the club had been a solely male domain when it was founded, in recent years women had become members and the club had become more family-oriented in general. And they did such good work in the community, too. Something she hoped to be able to participate in when the time was right. It was important to give back.
The evening air was cold and Raina made sure JJ was bundled up snug and warm in a jacket and hand-knitted wool beanie that one of her customers had made for him. He looked as cute as a button with a few dark tufts of hair poking out from beneath the beanie.
She helped him from the car when they got to downtown Royal, and for a second she felt a pang of regret that Jeb couldn’t be a part of JJ’s life. But JJ deserved a father he could rely on. Not one who drank and gambled and drifted from one town to the next, looking for work to support his habits.
