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A large white sign with emerald green letters caught Zach’s attention, and he came to an abrupt halt. The building in front of him was red, with large bay windows showing shelves and shelves of home improvement and hardware items. He glanced back at the sign, which readMitchell’s Hardware,and the sight jogged something in his memory. He had been thinking earlier about trying to find a hardware store in town, and now he had stumbled upon one by chance.
Grinning at how easy it had turned out to be, he reached out a gloved hand, pulling the door open and striding inside. He needed to find a few pieces of hardware for hanging some paintings, as well as some raw materials for a couple of projects that he had in mind.
He rifled through the merchandise, collecting the items on the list he’d made in his head, and when he had everything he needed, he walked up to the front counter. A man about his age stood behind it, and he greeted Zach with a warm, friendly smile as he approached.
“Hey there,” the man said as Zach placed his items on the counter. “Find everything you need?”
“I did,” Zach said with a quick nod.
His gaze dipped down to the name tag the man wore on his long-sleeved gray t-shirt. The name Clark was emblazoned on it, in the same emerald script that was on the sign at the front of the store.
“Are you new around here?” Clark asked, cocking his head in question.
“Just staying for a little while. I’m actually renting a house for a bit.”
“Colette Hillis’s place?”
At that question, Zach’s eyebrows shot up. “You know her?”
“Of course I know her.” Clark looked at Zach like he should have been able to piece that together, and in reality, he likely should have. “That would make you Zach then, right?”
Zach nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”
“Well,” Clark said, extending a hand to him over the counter. “I’m Clark Mitchell.”
“Ah.” Zach nodded, gripping the man’s hand in greeting. “So you’re the owner then?”
“Sure am. So how are you liking living at Colette’s place?”
“How do you know all of this?” Zach laughed and shook his head.
“I’m friends with Derek, Colette’s cousin. He buys a lot of the things he needs for his dog sled business here. Came in the other day, and we got to talking. It happened to come up that Colette had rented out Emma’s old place.”
When Clark spoke the woman’s name, a brief flash of sadness danced across his features. It was gone quickly, and Zach almost doubted that he’d seen it at all, but then he recalled that Colette often did the same thing. So did everyone else he’d met who seemed to have known the old woman who’d owned the house he was now living in. Colette’s previous words about Emma flitted through his mind—about the type of woman that she’d been and the way she’d enriched the lives of the people in the town—and he found himself wishing that he could have known her.
He made easy conversation with Clark as the hardware store owner finished ringing up his purchases and placed them in a bag. Zach handed over some cash to pay for it, and then said his goodbyes before walking back into the cold but sunny day.
Once again, the moment he stepped out onto the street, a weird craving to paint fell over him at the sights and the charm that seemed to blanket everything around him. As he walked, his hands once more tucked firmly in his pockets as the bag from the hardware store swung back and forth from his arm, he caught sight of another sign that grabbed his attention.
It wasn’t big or gaudy, and if asked, Zach wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint exactly what it was that had jumped out at him. The building was a lovely, pale lilac that complemented the colors of the snow around it. Zach stepped closer to it, peering through the windows, and was surprised to find loads and loads of craft supplies.
Almost immediately, his gaze landed on a set of beautiful, vibrant oil paints in one of the display cases, and he felt that familiar tingle in his hand. Before he could put too much thought into it, he pulled open the door and stepped inside.
A bell chimed merrily overhead, announcing his arrival, and he chuckled under his breath as he wondered how many of the stores here had hung jingle bells above their doors for the holidays.
Zach navigated his way along the shelves before he found the spot by the display window that he’d been looking at earlier. He gazed down at the beautiful box filled with tube after tube of glorious, vibrant colors. In his mind’s eye, he could picture the exact way he might blend the varying shades and hues together, playing them off of one another to create a completely unique palette.
His gaze shifted back up and out the window. From the shop’s location, the mountains were perfectly framed behind the charming, snow-covered town. He closed his eyes, imagining the way he could mix the colors to capture the way the sunlight hit the snow and the way the Christmas lights that seemed to be hung up all over town sparkled.
Zach had rarely been one to paint landscapes, more often opting for impressionism and portraits that grabbed the viewer in a wash of emotions and pulled them in. But now, as he stared out the window, he thought that maybe landscapes could be the change of pace he had been needing.
Before he could second-guess himself, he bent over, grabbed the case of paints from where it rested, and tucked it under his arm. He walked to the counter and hurriedly paid for it before stepping outside into the cold. And with the weight of the paint case tucked firmly under his arm as he walked back to the house, it felt as a different, much heavier weight had been lifted off his chest.
CHAPTERELEVEN
“Oh, wow,” Colette breathed as she stepped through the open door of the nursery. “This is beautiful.”
Sarah and Lacy filed in behind her, with Sarah making similar awed sounds and Lacy waving away their praise.
