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The bell above the door jingled as they entered the shop. Most of the stores on the island had bells at the door signaling the entrance of customers.
“I’ll be right with you,” Kitty called out from across the shop where she was helping a customer.
“No rush,” Josie responded as she made her way to the checkout counter.
Lane leaned in close and lowered his voice. “What did you say that for?”
Was he serious? She frowned at him before whispering, “Because it’s the polite thing to do.”
He sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah. Right. I guess.”
A few moments later, Kitty stepped up to the counter with a smile on her face. Kitty was a little older than herself. If she recalled correctly, Kitty had gone to school with one of her older brothers.
Kitty’s gaze briefly went to Lane. It was though she was trying to place him in her memory and when she couldn’t, she turned her attention to Josie. “What can I do for you?”
“We have some clothes, well actually, a lot of clothes. We were wondering if you’d be interested in them.”
“I assume they’re in good condition.”
Josie nodded. “About half of them still have tags on them.”
Kitty’s eyes lit up. “I’m very interested. Were these your clothes?”
Josie shook her head. “They belonged to Sandra. This is her nephew, Lane. He’s trying to settle her estate.”
Surprise flickered in Kitty’s eyes. She turned to him. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Lane looked extremely uncomfortable. At last, he mumbled, “Thank you.”
Luckily, Kitty left the subject of Lane being Sandra’s nephew at that. The conversation turned to the clothes. Lane carried the bags of clothes to the back of the shop.
Kitty carefully sorted through the items. She was impressed with the number of designer names and the good quality of the clothes.
“These are lovely,” Kitty said. “I have some customers who are absolutely going to love them.” She looked at Lane. “I can offer you my standard fifty-fifty rate. Will that work?”
He immediately shook his head.
Josie was shocked that he was going to nickel and dime Kitty. He didn’t seem like the type that was hard up for money. So, why was he being so hardnosed about the price for the clothes?
Kitty’s forehead crinkled with worry lines. Her gaze moved to the clothes and then back to him. “Forty-sixty, but that’s my absolute best offer.”
Lane cleared his throat. “You misunderstood. I don’t want any money for the clothes. I just want them to go to someone who will get some use out of them.”
Josie’s jaw went slack. The man was certainly full of surprises. She just didn’t know what to expect from him one moment to the next. Maybe there really was a chance of convincing him about the merits of the inn. Hope bloomed in her chest.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Itwasslow.
But it was progress.
Lane sat in the chair at his aunt’s desk and glanced around the living room. With the clothes all sorted and sent to their respective places, the bungalow didn’t feel quite so claustrophobic.
There were still a lot of things to sort. He didn’t want to do any of it. Why would he? His aunt didn’t want anything to do with him or his mother when they’d hit rock bottom and didn’t have a place to call home. Who did something like that to their own family? Anger simmered in his gut.
Now he was expected to take care of her things. Life was not fair. He should just walk away and leave it for someone else to deal with.
However, he realized if he was to walk away now, it would be Josie who had to deal with all of this on top of dealing with the sale of the inn. He understood her attachment to the inn, but he also accepted that things changed over time. It was a lesson she had yet to learn. Josie seemed quite resourceful. He was certain she would find another job that she enjoyed as much as working here.
