AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Who?” Bernard asked.
“Alanna Sandoval.”
“Alanna?”
“Sandoval.”
“Layla? Where’s that dear girl?”
Ethyl rolled her eyes. “It’s ALANNA, the older girl.”
“Huh? There are two of ‘em?”
Ethyl threw up her hands. “There’s always been two of them.” She puttered over to Alanna. “Now, dear, this handsome young gentleman here came in yesterday and said you’d be stopping by with a question.”
Alanna flipped over her card, curious about what Sully had chosen as the last icebreaker. The back of the card was blank.
“Where’s my icebreaker?” she asked Sully.
“I thought you might want to make up your own.” He stood behind her, so close she could practically feel his body heat. His bright brown eyes studied her.
Alanna turned back to Ethyl.
“Honey, where does this go? I found it on the floor.” Bernard held up a ceramic lawn gnome.
“Bernard Nicolas Potsdam, how long have we owned this store?” Ethyl demanded.
Bernard scratched his large, round nose as he thought on this. “I’d say, going on 40 years,” he finally answered.
“It’ll be 44 years this May,” Ethyl corrected him. “So why don’t you know where the lawn gnome goes?”
Bernard thought on this new question, tugging on his earlobe. “I suppose that’s what I’ve got you for, my love.”
Ethyl laughed and slapped her thigh. She was a tiny woman, so small she could be mistaken for a child from behind if it weren’t for her steel gray bun.
“What’s the secret to your relationship?” Alanna asked without thinking.
“What’d she say?” Bernard asked.
“Patience,” Ethyl answered Alanna. “Endless reserves of patience.” Even as she spoke, the woman moved around the store, shifting an item here, tucking an item into a shelf there. “Bernard, she wants to know why we haven’t killed each other yet,” she said loudly to her husband.
“Oh.” Bernard chuckled. “I suppose my arthritis. Can’t hold a knife as well as I used to.”
“Bernard Nicolas Potsdam!” Ethyl’s hands fluttered as she reconfigured a section of creepy baby dolls. She looked at Alanna. “Honestly, dear, it’s about liking the other person. You can’t love someone if you don’t like them. When I’m in a bad mood, Bernard makes me laugh. When he forgets something, I remind him. At the end of the day, you’ve got to like each other. And, well, I suppose I like him well enough.”
“And I like her plenty, too,” Bernard said from the coin cabinet.
Ethyl smiled at her husband. “Thank you, Bernie!”
Sully’s hand slid into Alanna’s, warm and reassuring.
Did she like this man?
Her heart didn’t pause.Yes!it cried. She liked him. A lot. Too much.
“You’ve completed the scavenger hunt,” he said, his voice soft in her ear. His breath whispered across her neck, making her shiver. “As your reward, pick anything you want.” He gestured around the shop.
“Anything?” she turned to him. “Some of this stuff is really expensive!”
